Facebook is pushing video as the next big advertising tool in the region.
In a presentation to advertising agencies in Dubai yesterday, Facebook said its users globally are watching more than one billion videos a day.
Regionally, the social networking site has 42 million daily users of which 76 per cent access the site on mobile devices, while its monthly users have risen to 74 million.
“Facebook as a platform is showing this [video] as a primary focus. Video is an incredibly exciting way of storytelling,” said Mark D’Arcy, the chief creative officer of the Facebook Creative Shop. “Our content is now competing with any content ever made for people’s attention. We’re overwhelmed with choice but our time is finite.”
Facebook claims that its targeting is sophisticated enough to reach the users most likely to click through and watch a video on its platform, which can be used by advertisers and businesses to reach the right person at the right time.
Video also has better potential to go viral, as was the case with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
"We know so much about our users we are more likely to target people who are most likely to view videos and a certain type of content," said Matthew Corbin, the global agency lead at Facebook, to a roomful of advertising executives.
“Video is open for business, and by that I mean we are ready to work with you to be extremely successful and reach and target people.”
The publicly listed company is also hiring creative staff in its Dubai office to help expand its offerings and work with its partners and advertising agencies in the region.
According to a report from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the 35 billion visits to social networking sites on desktop and mobile in the second quarter of this year, 86 per cent were to Facebook.
Research conducted by Ipsos reveals Mena users as some of the most active and engaged in the world.
In the UAE, 74 per cent of users interact with a brand on the network, while 50 per cent are influenced by what they see on Facebook. In Saudi Arabia, 68 per cent of users interact with a brand, while in Egypt the number drops to 49 per cent. About 77 per cent of Facebook users are on the platform during prime time TV hours.
“Facebook is not just taking over the internet, it is taking over advertising,” said Yousef Tuqan, the chief innovation officer at Leo Burnett Mena.
“You have 1.3 billion people and you can create such custom, tailored services to them. If you can broadcast content on the scale of television but customised to the local market – this is a watershed moment.”
The company has recently been criticised for being less of a social network and more of an advertising platform.
“Everything we do is built around people to share and connect,” said Mr D’Arcy. “The business of Facebook comes in a secondary way.”
Facebook’s total revenues for the third quarter of this year rose 59 per cent to $3.2bn, of which $2.96bn came from advertising. Mobile advertising now represents 66 per cent of total ad revenue for the company.
thamid@thenational.ae
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