Facebook Inc testing auto play videos

Facebook Inc is in the process of conducting tests on videos that automatically on mobile versions of its service, which would see the 1.15 billion-member social network attract lucrative, television-like video ads, Reuters reports.

The videos would be silent when appearing in a Facebook user's newsfeed, expanding and playing the audio when clicked according to a post on the company's official blog yesterday.

Only videos posted to Facebook by individual users, celebrities or musicians would have the auto-play function during the test, according to Facebook. The social network however said, it would "explore how to bring this to marketers in the future."

The test, involving a small group of US users, is expected to boost expectations for Facebook video ads. Several media reports in recent months, said Facebook was planning on charging brand marketers $1 million to $2.4 million to show 15-second auto-play video ads on its social network.

Facebook's stock was up to a new high of $45.62 yesterday, as investors anticipated new revenue sources such as video ads and ads in its popular Instagram photo-sharing app.

Facebook would conduct a small test before it sold auto-play ads to advertisers to make sure technology was up to scratch and to get a feel of users' response.

According Los Angeles Times, the widely anticipated move highlighted how crucial video had become to companies such as Facebook, which were seeking ways to keep billions of their users entertained and hooked to their service, especially on mobile devices.

Video was already one of the top draws on Facebook, and according to research firm ComScore, Facebook was the third-biggest US online video site in August, with 62.1 million unique viewers watching 801.1 million videos in the US alone.

Though video continues to be popular on Facebook, the social network had always played second fiddle to Google's websites, including popular video-sharing service YouTube. Facebook was displaced to second place in August when AOL registered a big audience jump, according to ComScore analyst Andrew Lipsman.

With the more immersive experienced video offered as against still images and a bit of text, video was also shaping up to be the most promising new areas of potential revenue for Facebook, according to commentators.

Video was a fast-growing segment of online advertising projected to draw $4 billion this year, according to research firm EMarketer Inc.

YouTube had already shown the power of video to pull advertising with the billions of dollars it generated each year.