Facebook tests online video ads

Facebook is aiming for a slice of the burgeoning online video advertising market by opening up users’ feeds to instant-play ads.
The value of UK online video ad sector – including social video and video advertising on mobile devices – is predicted to rise to £870m in 2016, according to eMarketer, from £160m only last year.
Facebook said videos will instantly play as users scroll past them in their feeds, but no sound will be made unless a user chooses to hear it by pressing the sound icon on the video, or touching the video if viewing on a phone or tablet.
Users can simply choose to scroll past the video and ignore it. Videos will also only download to mobile devices when a user is on WiFi, so no data allowances will be used up, Facebook said.
Explaining the update, Facebook said that only “select users” would see video ads. “We’re beginning to test a video-viewing format for advertisers. Marketers will be able to use this new format to tell their stories to a large number of people on Facebook in a short amount of time – with high-quality sight, sound and motion,” it said.
“We’ll continue to refine this new way for brands to tell stories on Facebook to ensure the best experience for people and marketers.”

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