Friday, May 31, 2013

Facebook Video Advertising

If you are like me, you have noticed a significant increase in the number of ads in your Facebook Newsfeed over the last six months.  For most people, myself included, these ads aren't too obtrusive. You simply scroll down past it to get to the next piece of "news" in your newsfeed.  But as post-IPO Facebook continues to find ways to appease investors and monetize it's ad campaign I find myself wondering when they will cross the line.  

Perhaps that time has come.

Last month adage.com reported that Facebook would begin selling 15 second video ad spots for $1 million dollars each.  At first glance this may sound relatively innocuous but it appears as if these advertisements will be "auto-play." This means that you'll be forced to watch the 15 second video clip, whether you like it or not.  

We've all encountered auto play video ads many times before but in my experience these ads are usually on what I'll call "secondary" websites that may never have been clicked on if they weren't displayed as a google search result.  The websites that I typically visit every day do not have auto play video ads. They are able to draw me in each day (and therefore monetize their businesses) based on the quality of their content.

This type of advertising will drive me away as a daily Facebook user.  

Is this the tipping point for you too?




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