Facebook Watch – A new platform for marketers?

It’s a change in our viewing habits – Social video has exploded and such there has been a resurgence in marketers focus on video formats including online video advertising, cinema and the use of video for content marketing.

Facebook wants a portion of the marketing from YouTube, Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. They’re serious about this too. With a commitment to spend nearly $1bn on their original content programme over the next year.

Facebook aims to produce long-form series content similar to Netflix’ original series. They hope that this focus on quality content will keep them ahead of competition from already established YouTube.

Facebook Watch is currently as of writing (Friday, 8th December 2017) only available in the US but Facebook aims to bring this into more territories as soon as possible. It’s expected to arrive in the UK very soon.

Marketers can currently advertise using mid-roll ads but Facebook is soon implementing pre-roll ads. But there is also an aim for brands to develop branded shows for the platform, similar to those on YouTube.

At the moment, brands such as Business Insider are being funded by Facebook to create original shows for Watch but this is expected to open up to brands across the world within the next year.

To read more about Facebook Watch, visit: Facebook’s Press Release