Welcome to the fabulous world of Facebook video
So it has finally happened and Facebook will now start to sell video ads, but hey no big deal!! You could put a video on Facebook already! This is different. Facebook are now entering the domain of Youtube, BBC player, RTE player where those pesky video ads arrive prior to you viewing. Even if that isn’t their first port of call, I suspect that it is in the pipeline when they do roll out this service.
On the plus side this will allow you as a business to reach specific markets. With over one billion subscribers (1.2 billion last sept 2013) Facebook is as big a player as there is in the social media space. Claiming that 80% of these log in on a daily basis, that is a lot of impressions that you can command.
While “impressions” are the number of times a post from your page is displayed, whether the post is clicked or not, people may see multiple impressions of the same post. For example, someone might see a Page update in News Feed once, and then a second time if their friend shares it. A “reach” is the number of unique people who received impressions of a page post. The reach number might be less than the impressions number since one person can see multiple impressions.
[Source www.facebook.com/help/274400362581037]
Facebook will allow you amazing reach in terms of geo-location and demographic of your target audience. Another benefit is that it is really flexible in terms of budget etc which is terrific for smaller businesses with low budgets, especially in term of international reach no where else will give you as good a bang for your buck!
The one thing that I do want to warn you about is the FB impressions does not mean click throughs, all they are promising is that your offering will end up on pages in the specified location, ie USA, UK, JAPAN whatever you specify. It does mean that you need to have an eye-catching thumbnail to get the viewer on onboard but that is for another discussion.
Sidebar here but Im not sure if any of you ever watch that show on RTE call ‘Room to Improve’. Personally I despise Reality TV but this particular show is a terrific example of how design can make or break any project. The show features an architect who goes around refurbishing peoples homes highlighting what good results one can attain when employing professional designers.
I am all for getting some form of design into the equation as it becomes plainly obvious that good design works wonders, especially where the viewer needs to be drawn in a small period of time, seconds in the case of an online offering.
While I really am not a Facebook/social media fan, I acknowledge it’s use and benefits. For keeping in touch with friends and peers, it makes Facebook/Social media a fantastic tool. However in terms of commercialisation (a cloud that always hung over Facebook) this shift to allow video ads by them is huge. All of their users represent a huge international market and a exact market for a marketeer who can capitalise on it.
In terms of privacy I equate that argument with those who want gun control in the US. Far too late. If you are concerned, go lobby your politicians but that horse has already bolted. If you want privacy get off the Internet and lock yourself in a bunker.
So Video ads on Facebook will enable you as a business to reach say French ladies from 18-35 only, for example. Just tick all the right boxes and the world is yours . All Facebook users by default have a comprehensive profile defined on their home page.