Facebook is expected to start testing a new way to advertise on the platform, with so-called “mid-roll” ads.
This new idea, which is expected to come into testing soon, will enable advertisers to place an ad in the middle of a video, rather than topping the video – a method CEO Mark Zuckerberg is said to have prohibited on the social network.
To place a mid-roll ad, reports say the Facebook videos will need to be at least 90 seconds long and users will have to have been watching for at least 20 seconds to see the advertisement.
And the good news for publishers is that Facebook will be giving them a 55% revenue split, the same split offered by video platform YouTube.
Although likely welcomed by advertisers looking to push products on Facebook, there have been questions over how effective the mid-roll ads will be, as users will have to be engaged in a video for at least 20 seconds to see the advert.
However, it was recently revealed that Facebook users watched an average of 100m hours of video every day, meaning mid-roll ads could turn out to be a useful way for advertisers to boost awareness and sales.
Find out more about these mid-roll ads here.