(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Facebook on Thursday moved to bolster its appeal and money-making potential as an online platform for viewing video similar to YouTube.
The leading social network will next year test showing short ads before videos on a new 'Watch' section devoted to just that activity, according to a blog post by product manager director Maria Angelidou-Smith and product manager Abhishek Bapna.
"While pre-roll ads don't work well in News Feed, we think they will work well in Watch because it's a place where people visit and come back to with the intention to watch videos," they said in the post.
Pre-roll ads are commonly used to support online videos, but Facebook has long opted for 'ad breaks' during videos.
The social network also said it is updating its News Feed content ranking system to ramp up distribution of videos by popular publishers or other creators.
New feature
If you are an advertiser on Facebook, you now have a bigger audience to cater to as Facebook has launched a click-to-WhatsApp button on its platform that will let advertisers connect with over one billion WhatsApp users.
Facebook that has over two billion users confirmed this to TechCrunch on Friday that it is rolling out the feature gradually, starting with North and South America, Africa, Australia and most of Asia.
"Many people already use WhatsApp to communicate with small businesses. It's a fast, convenient way to stay in touch," Pancham Gajjar, Product Marketing Manager, Facebook, was quoted as saying.
"By adding a click-to-WhatsApp button to Facebook ads, businesses can now make it even easier for people to learn about their products, set up an appointment or use their service," he added.
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