YouTube's advertising effort may have just gotten some serious competition as Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) announced it added four new products to FAN (Facebook Audience Network) that enables marketers to buy targeted ads across its mobile and third-party apps, leveraging user data.
The four new products are autoplay ads, carousel ads, dynamic product ads and click-to-play ads, according to Adweek, which broke the story.
While it's unknown how many advertisers are already part of FAN -- Facebook doesn't reveal participants -- the social media company reported that it brought in $2.9 million from mobile ads during the second quarter. The additional products could provide a nice revenue kick to its mobile segment.
The autoplay option, along with the capability to target ads to specific users, is likely to be a popular one for advertisers. Brands like Hotels.com have gotten creative with the autoplay feature -- in which the video ad plays silently unless the user deliberately clicks on the video.
Carousel and dynamic product ads may also perform well based on how these products are doing in Facebook's other ad units, with both cited by the company as top performers, Adweek said.
Facebook is rapidly updating its advertising strategies and technology to capitalize on the growth of its video platform. In early July, the company said it would start sharing ad revenue with selected video creators like Funny or Die and the NBA.
For more:
- see this Adweek article
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