Last week Facebook announced new video ad features, allowing advertisers to better connect with consumers. In addition to the new features, Facebook has also rolled out reporting integration world-wide. Read on to learn more about the features, as well as tips for creating engaging video content.
Automated Video Captions
How many times have you accidentally clicked on a video, only to blast sound from your phone – or computer – at a time that was a little less than appropriate? I think it’s happened to all of us at least once. It’s happened to me multiple times! So it comes as no surprise that Facebook’s own research showed that 80% of people reacted negatively toward the platform and the advertiser when a feed-based mobile video ad plays loudly and they weren’t expecting it.
So then, it makes sense that Facebook would look for alternate ways for advertisers to share their message without disgruntling consumers. With that, Facebook has decided to allow automated captions for video ads. Previously, advertisers would’ve had to embed their own captions or upload their own caption files. Once this update rolls out, advertisers can choose to have captions added automatically. Facebook’s captioning tool will generate captions for video ads and deliver them to the advertiser within the ad creation tool so that they can be reviewed and edited.
Reporting Features
Back in September, Facebook announced that they would be integrating with Moat, an ad analytics company, which would independently measure Facebook video ads. The features that were to come with this partnership would
allow advertisers more insight into how their video ads were performing.
As of February 10th, the integration with Moat is live around the world, including the 100% in-view buying option. This allows advertisers to purchase ad impressions where the entire ad – from top to bottom – has passed through a person’s News Feed, so that advertisers can be absolutely sure that their whole ad was seen, as opposed to any potential that only a portion of the ad had been visible.
In addition to 100% in-view, Moat also verifies ad views and view lengths, in order to ensure all reporting is accurate, so that advertisers are informed to make the best decisions possible.
Tips For Creating Videos
In addition to the new features that Facebook has announced, they also provided tips for creating video campaigns. One of the biggest takeaways, which coincides with the roll-out of automated captions, is that advertisers should make sure that their videos are useful with or without sound. Since many consumers might opt out of sound, it’s important that the message, especially the call-to-action, is still received.
It’s also important to understand that you need to capture attention quickly, before you lose interest. According to Facebook’s research, about 65% of people who watch the first 3 seconds will continue to watch up to 10 seconds. Only about 45% of the people who watch the first 3 seconds will watch up to thirty seconds. Try to grab attention quickly and ensure that your video is well-connected to your brand, using brand colors, themes and imagery.
For more tips and examples, check out Facebook’s announcement here.
