Will the New “Mid Roll” Facebook Ads Create More Opportunities for Multifamily Marketers?
On Monday Facebook announced its plans to launch a new video advertising feature, according to Techcrunch. The new feature will allow advertisers to run video ads “mid roll,” which will presumably lead to increased engagement for advertisers and higher revenue for publishers.
Mid roll ads will only be available on videos that run for 90 seconds or longer. The Techcrunch story also noted the ads will appear at least 20 seconds or more into the clip.
Pros and Cons
Although publishers have pressured Facebook to create more revenue streams for videos in the past, the announcement was welcomed with mixed reviews.
Some publishers fear the requirements regarding video length (90 seconds) and ad length (15 seconds) will not fit the current model of their content. Buzzfeed’s Tasty division, for example, became one of the most successful video series on Facebook by producing short, mesmerizing clips. If Tasty were to expand these clips in order to monetize them, it’s possible they could lose their edge and popularity.
Other publishers are more optimistic. Those who fall in this camp believe that larger videos will force publishers to produce more in-depth content, which is ultimately better and more engaging for audiences.
How Can Multifamily Join the Fun?
Mid roll ads present yet another opportunity for multifamily marketers to inform qualified leads about their communities.
Like other Facebook Ads, these mid roll videos will only appear to a targeted audience of your choosing. That means you won’t waste any money on ads viewed by unqualified individuals. This stands in stark contrast to Youtube Ads which, while useful in their own sense, cannot access the robust demographic data contained on Facebook.
If you don’t have a video ad to air, or don’t have the budgetary means to make one, we recommend you read this post. It explains in detail how multifamily marketers can make high-quality videos for little to no cost.
More Details About Mid Roll Facebook Ads
Facebook first began to experiment with mid roll ads in August. At that time, however, the ads only appeared during live stream videos.
The social network has yet to announce an official launch date for the mid roll feature.