Facebook will reward longer videos that people actually watch
The social network now puts a lot more emphasis on how long people watch a video.
Facebook has changed the way it chooses videos to surface on your News Feed, and this new method favors longer clips. The social network explains in its latest blog post that "percent completion" or the percentage of each video you watch helps its algorithm understand what kind of content you enjoy. "If you watch most or all of a video, that tells us that you found the video to be compelling -- and we know that completing a longer video is a bigger commitment than completing a shorter one," the post reads.
Recode says Facebook will continue counting views that last three seconds or less. But going forward, the social network will make percent completion a bigger factor in ranking videos. So, what does that mean for you? If you're an ordinary user, you'll likely start seeing more longer things to watch than before. If you have a Facebook Page, it's worth noting that longer videos "may see a slight increase in distribution on Facebook," while shorter ones "may see a slight dip."
An earlier report about a new ad format now makes a lot more sense. According to Recode's sources, Facebook is looking to start playing ads around 20 seconds into a video, which could compel publishers to create longer ones in a bid to make more money.
