Facebook takes another step towards video content

The media giant will offer more monetization opportunities to video creators through Facebook Watch and its Brand Collabs Manager
20 June 2018

Mark Zuckerberg is seeking to make the platform more attractive for video creators. Source: Shutterstock

Video is not just a type of content anymore, it’s an industry by itself. In the US alone, both video creation and consumption has skyrocketed in the past few years.

In fact, it’s what has fuelled the rise of some of today’s most popular video creators such as PewDiPie (Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg) and Casey Neistat.

Google’s video platform Youtube, however, has earned the tag of being first on the scene and has captured a huge share of the market.

It’s also won the hearts of video creators by giving them the respect and attention they deserve, and some of the best monetization opportunities out there. It’s why many of today’s video content creators call themselves YouTubers.

However, Facebook is seeking to disrupt that monopoly and it seems to be going all out to woo creators onto its own platform.

The company’s VP of Product and Director of Entertainment Partnerships, Fidji Simo and Sibyl Goldman just announced several new features that help creators better manage and tailor their online presence and reach. Here are a few of the highlights:

Making video more interactive

“We believe that watching video doesn’t have to be passive and that many types of traditional entertainment formats — from game shows to reality TV to scripted content — can be reinvented to be community-centric,” said Simo and Goldman.

Hence, the company announced a set of new tools — polling for Live and on-demand video and gamification for Live — that will give creators the power to create fun, unique, and interactive content for their fans.

Polls in action on Facebook’s video platform. Source: Facebook

Bringing more videos to facebook watch

When the company launched Watch, it started with shows, and while they will continue to have a prominent place in Watch, it is now bringing videos from Pages into Watch as well.

During tests, the company found that people enjoy discovering and watching a combination of shows and videos in Watch — and for creators, this means their videos may be eligible to show up in Watch to be discovered by a broader audience.

Rolling out top fans to more creators

In March, the company started a test that highlights a creator’s top fans by displaying a badge next to their names, enabling creators to easily identify and interact with their most loyal fans.

Creators and fans loved the feature, so it is rolling out the feature more broadly

Testing a new video template for pages:

Facebook is starting to test a new Video template that creators and publishers can use on their existing or new page.

This template puts video and community front and center on a creator’s Page, with special modules for things like videos and groups.

The new template will be easy to try out with one click, or revert back to their original Page template if desired.

Accepting applications for rights manager for creators

In March, Facebook announced that it was testing a new version of its Rights Manager tool that’s built especially for the creator community, and recently the company began accepting applications from any creator, helping them control where and how their original content appears.

Announcing brand collabs manager

Facebook says it wants to help creators be discovered by brands for new branded content collaborations.

The Brand Collabs Manager lets brands search and find creators to potentially establish deals and partnerships with.

We’ve been testing this with a limited set of partners, and will now be opening up more broadly.

Brand Collabs Manager – Brand Search View. Source: Facebook

Enabling ad breaks for more creators

Today the company is starting to open up our Ad Breaks program to more creators in the US.

“It will be opening up in stages, starting with creators who are creating longer, original content that brings people back and fosters a loyal community,” said Simo and Goldman.

Expanding fan subscriptions

Facebook has been testing a way for fans to support creators they love by pledging US$4.99 per month in exchange for perks like exclusive content and a special badge highlighting their status as a supporter, and are now expanding to more creators.

Expanding fan subscriptions. Source: Facebook