Facebook may soon run short video ads in the middle of playing content. The social network giant will be testing the mid-roll videos to see if it is more effective for their advertisers.
Live broadcasts in 2016 were sometimes taken over by mid-roll video ads by Facebook advertisers. Now, the company may try it on non-live videos scattered throughout the site. It is no secret that Facebook has been taking care of the growing video audience in their network mainly because it is shaping up to be the driving content next to photos.
Industry sources told Recode that Facebook will be testing the mid-roll ad format in videos which need to last for at least 90 seconds to be considered in the mix. The ads will start to roll after a video has been watched for at least 20 seconds which means that the content on Facebook may start to change to accommodate the advertisers.
Facebook is also rolling out a similar revenue split by YouTube which sees the 55 percent of all sales given to video publishers. The social network giant could be trying to compete with the largest video hosting site owned by Google.
Videos on Facebook typically have no format and are mostly memes and performances by the users. Most users still share embedded YouTube video links on the site which means Google still makes money off of the social network's shares and likes.
Three people familiar with the Facebook advertising matter told Marketing Land that the mid-roll video ads will be limited to 15 seconds only and it has to be high-quality ones. Facebook reportedly started sending out emails to advertising agencies regarding the mid-roll video ads.
As of this writing, there are still no changes in the videos on Facebook. The mid-roll video ads may start appearing once enough advertisers sign up for the new slots.
Learn more about the Facebook ads below: