Marketers: Changes Are Coming to Facebook and YouTube

(March 1, 2017) – Attention business marketers: there are some changes on the horizon with Facebook and YouTube.

In the past few weeks, Facebook and YouTube have both announced some changes to their video advertising formats. These video platforms announced that the changes wouldn’t take place until later this year. So what are these changes?

Latest Facebook Updates

Facebook will have new ways for video to be watched, and YouTube will end 30-second unstoppable ads.

This past Valentine’s Day, Facebook announced four new ways to watch Facebook video. The biggest change involves adding sound to videos in the News Feed, which will be added between now and the end of the year. The other ways include vertical video, watching and scrolling, and a Facebook video app for TV. The updates make watching videos on Facebook richer, more engaging, and more flexible.

The News Feed has played silently up until now — unless a user tapped on a video to hear the sound. As younger people have been watching more Snapchat videos on their smartphones, they’ve apparently come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on. With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in the News Feed, thus bringing those videos to life. Be aware that if a phone is set to silent, videos will not play with sound. Also, within the new update, it will be possible to minimize the video you’re watching to a picture-in-picture view that keeps playing in the corner of your screen while you browse other stories in the News Feed. Vertical videos look better on mobile devices. If you are a business that prefers that your videos auto play with the sound on, that will now be an option to think about. But, depending on your video marketing content, you must keep in mind that the vast majority of Facebook users may or may not like the auto play with sound.

YouTube Update 2017

For YouTube, Google has announced that it will end non-skippable 30-second ads that appear before a YouTube video next year. Formats that include 15- and 20-second ads will stick around. You’ll likely see more of the six-second “bumper ads” rather than ones that you can move past after five seconds. According to YouTube, more than half of its video views come from mobile users, where a 30-second ad can negatively affect consumers with a smaller data plan.

The outcome of these changes isn’t known yet, as they are still rolling out. That makes the changes to Facebook and YouTube’s video advertising formats well worth watching. Businesses should recognize that YouTube appears to be giving its users what they want while Facebook is testing the limits of what its advertisers would like to have.

These updates are something to keep in mind, as you may not want your video to autoplay with blasting music, which can make viewers annoyed or want to quickly exit. Depending on your video content, starting off with a catchy tune may also be helpful. It’s really about tailoring your video content to your desired audience. That way, autoplaying with sound will not have as much of an impact on your video marketing. As with the YouTube update, this may allow users to watch your video instead of quitting during the 30-second ad.