Californian social giant Facebook has told its partners that auto-play video adverts aren’t likely to be rolled out until some point in 2014 – but should marketers be disappointed?
Speaking to AllThingsD, sources said that while the ads were originally set for release in the summer of 2013, they are now not expected to be rolled out until next year.
It is believed that content will run for 15 seconds in a similar way to the video facility of the Facebook-owned app Instagram. According to marketing site ReelSEO, the ads will play automatically but without sound; users will be given the option of unmuting an ad if they are interested in what it’s offering.
While news of the delay will probably be a blow to those who planned on using the feature to hook extra customers ahead of the Christmas frenzy, the announcement shouldn’t bother all of the companies which use the social network to engage with their target audience members.
Although the Facebook ads would no doubt be useful for quickly garnering ‘Likes’ and directing users back to a main website – since they also appear on the news feeds of users who have not yet Liked the brand’s page – companies can still effectively increase their fan-bases by publishing engaging videos and links to industry-relevant content.
On top of this, the Facebook auto-play videos could be out of reach for many SMEs – with rumours placing the price of the ads at around £1.2 million per day.
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