Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is receiving an increasing chunk of brand marketing, especially when it comes to posting and playing videos, says a report from Ad Week. Brands such as Budweiser and McDonald’s and celebrities such as Beyonce are now posting videos directly to the social network instead of just posting YouTube links.
A concern for YouTube
This is a concerning trend for YouTube, as after the social networking company rolled out its video feature, the domination of Google’s popular video site is declining. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is not just taking away video revenue from YouTube but is also grabbing ad dollars, as the company is focusing on video advertising. According to Robert Sandie, CEO of online video tracker consultant vidlQ, “It’s such a smart play because it’s the most natural next step in slowly taking over video.”
According to Sandie, the effect of Facebook Inc’s power play and brands’ marketing strategies will be clear at Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, as YouTube has dominated when it comes to posting early looks at Big Game spots. There is no denying that Facebook will make efforts to keep viewers focused on their News Feed.
Facebook Inc (FB) preferred by brands
Social media tracker Socialbreaker detailed the shifting preferences of brand marketers. According to a report in January, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) posted 27 videos to Facebook, 18 of which were YouTube links, and the remaining were Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) videos. In September, it published 32 videos, out of which 19 were Facebook videos. Budweiser posted 60 YouTube videos to Facebook in May, out of which fewer than 10 videos used the Facebook feature, and in September, those numbers flipped.
The social networking site acknowledges video as one of the key areas for its platform, just like Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL), and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG). Unlike previously, now the marketer gets two options while posting a video to Facebook. Users can now select Facebook’s indigenous video feature, which automatically plays and shows most videos naturally in users’ News Feeds. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) launched the AutoPlay video feature last year , and now it is quite popular among marketers.
Lucas Herscovici, VP of consumer connections at Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (ADR) (NYSE:BUD), said that the Autoplay feature lets marketers widen engagement and exposure to Millennials in a smooth way, and also their content is shown in consumers’ News Feeds naturally.
However, the increasing popularity of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) among marketers does not nullify the popularity or purpose of using other sources. YouTube is still the preferred video watching app for users on Twitter, LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) and Reddit.
