Facebook digs deeper into the video business, the more so YouTube recently came public with declarations related to its increasing popularity and market growth. Facebook has been making some strategic moves to boost its video strategy as well, in order to gain some more users and retain them under the social media umbrella.
Now Facebook wants you to watch even more videos than you previously did, as it prepares to launch a new feature which allows you to send your “favorites” to a watch later box. When you log on to the social media network, you will be able to see the new “Watch later” button on all videos that appear on your news feed. The feature is presently available only for the desktop version of the site.
The function works simple and intuitively, letting you save a video to view at a later time. This strategy allows the social media giant to stuff your brain with even more video content, thus boosting its ad revenue. At the same time, Facebook sends a declaration of war to YouTube, which took a much too comfortable position in consumer’s eyes.
YouTube seems to have won itself a very privileged position in consumer’s preferences, who are increasingly attracted to what the channel has to offer. Google’s video service is improving and adapting to the new mobile way of consuming videos at a very rapid and productive pace. Facebook seems to have taken it personally, as it has grabbed the video business and turned into a good chance of making more money.
This is not the first move Facebook is making towards the video boosting direction. The social network has previously released another function, namely “save”, to allow users to review article links and other forms of media at a later, more convenient time.
The watch later function is nothing new, really, as we are already indulging in “watch later” videos on YouTube as well. Furthermore, the video quality of Google’s video entertainment network is much higher and the diversity is greater. This will be a hard battle for Facebook that is making efforts to shift user’s perspective towards video consumption. However, they are taking things seriously and try to take a bolder step, hoping to ultimately gain all the market reach they aim at.
Earlier this month, Facebook announced that is testing out a completely new, revamped ad-supported video feature, under the name of Suggested Videos. This feature is set to share revenue with all content creators. It hasn’t seen the light of our feeds, though, as it is still undergoing tests on iPhones. “Suggested videos” includes a revenue-sharing agreement with a wide range of media companies and content creators.
Image Source: slashgear.com
