Facebook plans to March online video ads without disturbing 1.1 billion of users

Facebook has been planning to move into the online video advertising market for months, the Wall Street Journal reported, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not want to disturb its 1.1 billion users.

According to people familiar with the matter, Facebook plans to launch a 15-second video advertising service in the Smartphone and Web pages of its users ' home page as early as this fall. Facebook needs the video ads to be stunning enough that they can convince brands to pay about 2 million dollars a day for advertising.

But news from Facebook employees and advertisers suggests that, since the beginning of the year, Zuckerberg and engineers have struggled to think about how to keep ads from distracting or too slow to alienate users. Achieving this balance between consumer satisfaction and business opportunities has been a challenge for this young social-networking company, which has led to delays and frustration with marketers ' plans.

Some advertisers, for example, have produced video advertising plans for the summer, but have had to look for alternative marketing plans for time-sensitive products after the delay, according to people familiar with the matter. Despite some complaints, several big brands have decided to buy ads when Facebook's video ads are launched.

But on the main side, the delay in Facebook's video advertising is largely due to the need for a big upgrade to its technology. One issue that Zuckerberg is particularly concerned about is that video ads should be loaded quickly. Facebook engineers are already working to develop back-end technologies needed for rapid delivery, according to people familiar with the matter. At the same time, Facebook is also developing other technologies to provide users with a more powerful tool for uploading and viewing short videos, which is expected to be launched soon.

There is also a discussion inside Facebook about how to limit video advertising while providing advertisers with enough space to show attractive content. Facebook, for example, is debating whether to give users the power to stop ads from playing automatically, which is a sensitive issue for mobile phone users.

Executives familiar with Facebook ads said Facebook would charge advertisers 2 million dollars a day, allowing advertisers to cover all Facebook adult users aged 18 to 54. By contrast, advertisers charged 3.8 million dollars for 30 seconds of advertising in the Super Bowl last year. Facebook also allows advertisers to pay lower fees to cover some users, such as male users aged 18 to 54.

An advertising executive said a marketer had considered buying an ad, but eventually gave up because they found it too expensive and not worth it.