Online video is the big trend in marketing these days. From Instagram to Periscope, videos are popping up everywhere but the biggest place of growth for videos is Facebook. In April, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook videos have approximately 4 billion views a day and he’s even hinted that videos will only grow on Facebook, predicting the platform will be mostly videos in just a few years. The social media giant is making it clear to its users and especially its advertisers that it’s time for them to start using video. If you’re still holding back, here’s our round up of reasons to take the plunge and start using video in your Facebook marketing.
The Autoplay Feature
This past December Facebook presented it’s Autoplay feature for video ads. Every 15 second video (known as Premium Video Ads) play without sound as a user scrolls through the newsfeed. All they need to do is click on the video for it to pop up into full-screen and play with sound. This gives brands a great opportunity to really grab attention of the user, which can be difficult to do on the crowded platform.
Analytics
Like Facebook has done in the past, they offer a suite of metrics to help brands measure the effectiveness of their videos. The metrics include total and unique video views; the average duration of the video viewed; audience retention graphs and the ability to filter analytics by the length of time the video is viewed and link clicks on your call to actions. The sophisticated analytics allow you to really know how your video is being received and how to tweak it to get better conversions.
Mobile Conversions
Mobile is the present and future of marketing and online activity. We all know this. Including Facebook. Facebook is beating YouTube in mobile video views. Sheryl Sandberg recently reported, more than 75% of Facebook video views come from mobile devices. You are combining two of the most important aspects of online marketing mobile and video when you use videos on Facebook.
It’s Just The Beginning
Facebook is practically brand new to video and they’re already taking on YouTube, which has been in the game for over a decade. Facebook is still rolling out brand new features all of the time, which proves it’s a top priority for them. They want you on video and they are going to keep coming up with ways to entice you to get there. Recent announcements include a “Suggested Video” feed is coming and revenue split with top video creators.
We predict that sooner or later, everyone will be trying videos on Facebook. The question is will you jump in now or wait until everyone else takes the plunge?
Let us know in the comments!
