There was a time when Facebook and video streaming wouldn’t even be in the same sentence. Now, Facebook takes in around four billion videos a day. Four billion. Let that sink in. The vast majority of those videos come through mobile devices.
This has Facebook investors and advertisers’ ears. While there’s been no public talk of launching Facebook video advertising, there has already been public meetings. Questions are being asked about making big money off Facebook videos. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook leader dodged those questions, giving no indications of such intentions. In fact, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg downplayed such intentions, claiming video ads may not be good for financial growth. According to one respected technology analyst, video ads will contribute 5% this year. That may not sound like much, but remember, Facebook is a multi-billion dollar entity. But I find it interesting just this morning, they announced an alliance with a media program called Anthology. Anthology pairs up businesses and media, determining which media is a good fit for which company…to promote of Facebook, of course. Facebook’s logo is on Anthology’s front page. They’re already bring in the big boys as partners. I’m talking big boys like Oh My Disney, The Onion, Vox Media, College Humor, among others.
Facebook is definitely planning something in the video advertising field. Why else would you spend unknown money, time and energy to form an alliance with a company like Anthology? I think this alliance was formed because Facebook knows it’s heading toward choppy waters, and they’re using Anthology as a great sail and navigational tool. If the social media conglomerate does get further in the video streaming game, especially advertising videos, what about competitors from You Tube and others? Facebook is being so hush-hush because they know what could happen if competitors know too much. That’s actually a smart move. Do you think Facebook is serious about video streaming and video advertising?