Facebook debuts auto-play video ads on news feeds

Dec 18, 2013 | Facebook marketing

In a controversial move, Facebook is launching video ads for the first time, playing automatically with no sound whenever a user checks their news feed. Watch this video from Bloomberg examining the move below: Ads on mobile devices will have been downloaded in advance when the device was connected to wi-fi, the firm said. The […]

In a controversial move, Facebook is launching video ads for the first time, playing automatically with no sound whenever a user checks their news feed.
Watch this video from Bloomberg examining the move below:


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Ads on mobile devices will have been downloaded in advance when the device was connected to wi-fi, the firm said.
The new format will begin with a series of ads for forthcoming film Divergent.
Since September Facebook as been testing ways of watching self-play videos on the social network and stressed that this extension to adverts is currently a limited trial.
“This format isn’t intended for every video ad or page post video on Facebook… We’ll continue to refine this new way for brands to tell stories on Facebook to ensure the best experience for people and marketers,” it said.
Originally the video ads were due to start in the summer but founder Mark Zuckerberg delayed their introduction partly because of fears of how such adverts would go down with users.
Mobile users have complained that such ads would eat up their mobile data allowances.
To placate its mobile audience, Facebook has stressed that only videos that have been downloaded in advance via wi-fi will play.
“This content will not consume data plans, even if you’re not connected to wi-fi at the time of playback,” it said.
It added that users who do not want to watch adverts can “simply scroll past and the video will stop playing”.
It is not known how much Facebook will charge advertisers for the service although in August, bank Morgan Stanley predicted it could rake in approximately $1bn (£613m) for video ads in 2014.
Its report went on to suggest that such ads could generate as much as $6.5bn by 2020.
View the blog announcement here

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