The California based social network has announced recently that the site is testing new video features in an effort to make it a more video friendly platform. (NASDAQ:FB) announced on its blog post that it has begun testing a whole new dedicated Video Feed on the social network.
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Facebook is testing a new feature that lets people exclusively watch video in a fresh challenge to Google-owned YouTube to become the No. 1 online destination for video clips.
Save for Later – The social media company is working on a system that allows users to save videos back for watching at a later time. A “Videos” icon has been placed at the bottom (for users on App) or under the “Favorites” (for web users).
In addition to the video section test, Facebook is testing a number of features that give consumers more ways to watch videos on its platform and marketers more ways to attract consumers to their video ads.
“Facebook’s plans to unseat YouTube’s dominant position as a repository for video content are well developed, and for the first time Google must look to its defenses”, wrote Edison Investment Research analyst Richard Windsor in a research report Thursday. The company has grown its presence in the video space for a while, and in April it reported that videos on Facebook get 4 billion views per day.
Additionally, Facebook Inc.is also not letting up on YouTube in terms of video ads either.
Facebook says it’s also adding a watch later bookmark for when you can’t watch and listen, and another feature where the video plays in another window so you can keep scrolling through the news feed. Facebook that is now trying the new features on web browser has planned to test the same in smartphones operated by Google-backed Android software.
These will all be synced, eventually, in a video channel on Facebook, much like the shopping channel it discussed earlier this week. This technique allows Facebook to render 25 percent fewer pixels than in the initial video, making it a lot easier for us to view the finished product.
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Video ads on Facebook are bringing in big numbers for Facebook, both in views and profits. Ted Zaget, Facebook’s head of advertising, said “A year or two from now, we think Facebook will be mostly video”. The company is going after YouTube with floating screen, video suggestions and dedicated video feed. The firm has also introduced a new video tools for pages to help video publishers grow their businesses on Facebook.
