Facebook adds new features to its video ads

Facebook has added new features to its video ads, including an automated captioning tool, new metrics for brands, and the global availability of 100% in-view ads. The automated captioning tool aims to help users that view ads with the sound switched off, these can be edited via Facebook's ad create tool. This is in response to criticism from users who are put off by loud audio from videos in their News Feed. It is believed that this new feature will help increase viewing times for video ads by an average of 12%. 

The social network also introduced new metrics for brands deploying video ads, along with the global availability of 100 percent in-view ad buying and verified analytics from Moat, the latter two of which were initially announced last September.

The automated captioning tool is aimed at improving the experience for Facebook users who view video ads and other videos with the sound off, and it generates captions for video ads, which can then be reviewed, edited and saved by advertisers via the social network’s ads create tool.

Facebook said in a Facebook for Business post introducing the new features that 80 percent of users react negatively toward both Facebook and advertisers when they encounter loud audio from video ads in their News Feed, adding that its research showed that the addition of captions can help advertisers increase viewing times...