Facebook announced Tuesday morning that the News Feed will now feature a select number of auto-play video ads. These ads are being tested by a small group of advertisers. Luckily, these videos do not include audio at this time; you must tap the video in order to hear it. Tapping it will also expand the video and when it’s finished, you will see a carousel with more video ad choices for you to watch.
As of right now, only a very small number of users will even see the Facebook autoplay ads as they are still in their infancy. Good news for data usage: the videos have been “downloaded” in advance using your wi-fi and will not affect your data plans.
You may be thinking, “Well I’ve seen Facebook video ads for so long!” and you aren’t wrong. Video ads aren’t new, but the auto-play feature is. You may have noticed that many of the videos (not ads) are auto-playing in your News Feed already, that feature was recently released to get users comfortable with upcoming Facebook autoplay ads.
If you’re a business owner interested in this kind of marketing, you only need to save up roughly $1 million -$2.5 million for a 15 second video! Prices are rumored to be in that range at this time. Expect to see ads for major brands and films at first.
Image: Getty/Jonathan Nackstrand
With nearly two decades in the industry, Belle Strategies’ Owner Rachel Creveling is a seasoned business consultant who specializes in comprehensive company growth. By integrating strategic support and workflow optimizations across operations, marketing, sales, IT and HR, she creates custom solutions to position clients for optimal results. She excels at incorporating trending tech and studied Strategies for Accountable AI at Wharton.