Note: This is a guest post written by Roz Visarra
Facebook announced this week that they will be launching a new video ad format that will be displayed on user news feeds, and the company is testing it with movie trailers, starting with the movie, Divergent. Facebook’s autoplay video ad does exactly that, play automatically after loading. However, the audio will be muted and will only play if you click the video.
Will Autoplay Video Turn Off Facebook Users?
The idea that you can’t turn off a video ad might annoy some people, but it’s doubtful it will come to the point that users will want to leave Facebook because of it. When Facebook began showing ads on its news feeds in January 2012, there were some complaints in the beginning, but users eventually got used to it. I expect the same thing to happen with the Autoplay.
While it’s true that most users don’t want to see any ads on their newsfeeds, but it’s likely here to stay. If people want to enjoy Facebook’s service without paying a fee, they must be willing to put up with the ads. This isn’t about defending Mark Zuckerberg or the advertisers, this is just common sense. Facebook services cost money, and to keep providing that service for free, they have to find a way to make a profit.
Between charging users and displaying ads, the latter is the better option. This really is no different from those ad supported apps you download on mobile devices, and unlike other Internet advertisement channels, these autoplay videos don’t pop up on your screen, and you can scroll past them easily. In addition, the ads will be cached while you are on the Internet so your data plans don’t get affected.
Bottom line: ads are necessary for Facebook to survive and innovate, and its newly released autoplay video advertising is a good compromise for its users and advertisers.
