TORONTO – Facebook will begin testing video advertisements that will automatically play in user’s new feeds, the social networking giant announced Tuesday.
These advertisements will automatically start playing without sound when a user comes across them in their feed. Users can choose to click on the video to hear sound, or simply keep scrolling to avoid watching the ad. Facebook said the new feature will allow marketers to reach a larger audience on the social platform, while using high-quality video and audio to capture the users interest.
“This approach will continue to improve the quality of ads that you see in News Feed,” said a Facebook blog post about the new feature Tuesday.
Some Facebook users will start seeing the video advertisements as early as this week while Facebook tests the idea with partner Summit Entertainment to show a series of videos related to its upcoming film Divergent. Users can see an example of the video advertisements on the Facebook for Business page.
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The social network added that videos will be downloaded when a user’s device is connected to WiFi so that user’s data plans aren’t affected.
Facebook noted that the feature is still in it’s early testing phase and that it is not currently selling video advertisements to ad partners. But, the move could significantly boost Facebook’s advertising revenue. The company’s shares rose $1.05, or 2 per cent, to $54.86 in premarket trading.
What do you think of this new feature? Tell us in the comments.
– With files from The Associated Press
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