Saumya Tewari
Digital

Facebook launches video ad tool 'Slideshow' for emerging markets

It is designed to help advertisers reach consumers across devices, especially those with slow data connectivity.

With its focus on emerging markets, Facebook has rolled out a new lightweight video ad format, Slideshow. Targetted at small businesses and geographies with slow data connectivity, the ad format helps those advertisers tell brand stories who do not have the resources to create videos.

Facebook launches video ad tool 'Slideshow' for emerging markets
A slideshow can be created by five to seven series of still images, either exclusive or provided by Facebook's stock imagery from the library. The length of the slideshow can range from 5-15 seconds. Currently, the format does not support text on top of the images and sound.

The slideshow is positioned as an effective tool to reach out to consumers with feature phones and slow data connectivity.

An official blog post from the social media platform states, "A 15-second slideshow can be up to five times smaller in file size than a video of the same length."

Slideshow is rolling out to Power Editor and Ads Manager over the coming weeks. Businesses and brands can reach out to Facebook account managers to understand more about the format.

Facebook launches video ad tool 'Slideshow' for emerging markets
Speaking to afaqs!, Nikila Srinivasan, product manager for emerging markets monetization, Facebook, informs that the ad format solves two different types of problems, namely, budget cost and reaching out to consumers across devices and connectivity.

On being asked if the tool be rolled out on Facebook owned photo sharing app, Instagram, Srinivasan informs that Slideshow is something that can be delivered on Instagram like every other Facebook property.

According to eMarketer, internet usage in India is likely to grow higher. More than 130 million people use Facebook in India, which has grown 22 per cent since last year. The report states that 90 per cent of users access Facebook via mobile devices in India.

Facebook states that 50 per cent of its ad revenue comes from outside the US. In India, the social media giant works with companies like Unilever, P&G, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, Mondelez, Tata and ICICI Bank, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Ola, and new companies like Craftsvilla.com.

However, Facebook does not reveal its India specific earnings, or what the country specific ARPU (average revenue per user) is. According to the earnings posted by Facebook on NASDAQ, its Asia Pacific ARPU was only $1.25 in Q2 2015 compared to the US and Canada which contributed $8.63.

The company has been luring advertisers by focussing on video capabilities and effective targetting capabilities. It even launched a missed call ad unit specifically designed for India in July 2014.

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