Facebook adds for wider reach
Facebook has launched a new video ad service called Slideshow and updated its News Feed program to serve its mission to reach everyone, across any level of connectivity, how and when they want to connect.
Over half of Facebook’s ad revenue comes from outside the United States, with Asia-Pacific as the largest contributor and showing the fastest growth.
Emerging markets, where growth is today, are where 85 per cent of world’s population and 90 per cent of people under 30 live. Millions are getting online via mobile devices.
Kelly MacLean, head of emerging market ads, said last week that the three challenges for emerging and high-growth markets are access and device, retail fragmentation and localisation.
She said Facebook was committed to supporting users and businesses in emerging and high-growth markets, which in five years will contribute over 60 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The emerging and high-growth markets lead innovation. For example, in the United Kingdom, only 5 per cent of all retail transactions are on mobile devices, especially on near field communication technology, while 30 per cent of Kenya’s GDP goes through Tranmpesa, the mobile payment channel in that country.
The three main trends are in devices, consumer preferences and technology.
The device landscape is shifting and connecting. Marketers need to overcome this challenge.
Emerging and high-growth consumers view ads favourably.
Businesses and people are innovating in response to local challenges including credit cards, infrastructure and transportation.
Facebook created Slideshow to help businesses reach the people in emerging and high-growth markets who want to watch more video content. However, businesses everywhere are adopting Slideshow as a slick way to overcome the challenges of creating videos, or simply to try a new and engaging ad format.
Slideshow, a new type of lightweight video ad created from a series of still images, is easy for advertisers to use and engaging for people. It makes video ads easier to create and possible to watch on every device and at any connection speed.
To make a slideshow, advertisers just upload three to seven still images that can be from an existing video, a photo shoot or even stock imagery in Facebook’s library, and choose its length, from five to 15 seconds.
Slideshow reduces the need for video production time and resources, and because of its smaller file size, it extends eye-catching ads to people on basic devices or with poor connectivity.
Slideshow will be available in the emerging market first to enhance marketers’ ability to expand their reach to people. While it cannot play audio, in the future it will.
Nikola Srinivasan, product manager for emerging markets, said Facebook’s approach is to develop products and services for the next billion people coming online. Facebook is focused on creating products and programs for emerging markets.
News Feed was given a few updates to improve the experience by working seamlessly and quickly for people in all parts of the world.
Facebook determines what kinds of stories to show users in News Feed. For example, if users are on a slower Internet connection that will not load videos, News Feed will show users fewer videos and more status updates and links.
Facebook first downloads the story that users are looking at rather than a series of stories. And it will display previously downloaded stories when users come back again on News Feed on a bad connection.
For example, if users open News Feed on an aeroplane, they still can read stories they scrolled past previously, when they do have a connection, instead of just waiting for anything to load.
