Facebook pumps up video offerings with auto-play sound and TV app

Facebook is big on video—and the ad revenues that come with it.

Facing pressure from marketers uploading video content on its platform, Facebook recently added features that it hopes will make the medium “more engaging and more flexible” on the social platform.

The most significant change is that videos will play with sound in your news feed, if the sound on your mobile device is enabled.

“With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life,” wrote product manager Dana Sittler, Product Manager and engineering manager Alex Li in a Facebook blog post.

Phones set to silent will not automatically play videos with sound, and Facebook offers a way for users to turn off the feature in their settings.

Though some users might moan over the change, the platform said it has received “positive feedback” from users on the test its run so far.

Facebook also announced a more friendly user experience for vertical videos, and introduced a “watch and scroll” feature, which enables users to watch a video in a thumbnail while you look through other posts on your timeline.

[Calling all executive communications directors and VPs: Join us at Facebook HQ for the Facebook Leadership Communications Summit!]

Finally, Facebook has followed competitor YouTube by offering a Facebook Video app for TV. The app will enables people to watch its videos on TV screens, and is available for Apple TV, Amazon Fire or a Samsung Smart TV users.

Here’s a preview of changes users can expect to see:

CNBC reported that the Facebook Video App could translate to more advertising dollars, if Facebook can snag marketers’ TV ads:

The move further accelerates Facebook's competition with Alphabet's YouTube, and also shows how it is looking to snag ad dollars and viewers' attention from the big leagues -- broadcast television.

PR and marketing pros will probably see a continued focus on video content from Facebook, as well.

The BBC reported:

Much of Facebook’s recent growth can be attributed to the spread of video on its network—and the company told investors recently it planned to aggressively monetise that success.

(Image via)

from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/2kObB4C