It’s hardly news that the video and advertising battle between Facebook and YouTube is heating up, and this has never been more evident than it was on VidCon last week, when both companies as well as other competitors showed off their offerings and tried to woo some of the Internet’s big video stars.
For the past decade, YouTube has been THE place to make a name for yourself with online video, but the field is much more crowded now, and this year, Facebook has been making a big push to become the main alternative to YouTube if not the first choice for creators and advertisers.
Last week, Facebook gave Pages new video visibility and management tools, which automatically put it more in line with how YouTube lets people manage and share their videos. You can now keep videos private or have them viewable only by a link.
For advertisers, the company launched a new “spotlight” showcase aimed at highlighting some of the best in Facebook video ads so others can learn about what makes an effective one.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the increased competition from VidCon, and says pressure from Facebook is forcing YouTube to “forge better relationships with popular creators, finding them opportunities for growth and in some cases paying the more.”
In other words, video creators stand to benefit greatly from increased competition among platforms. Twitter, by the way, is taking video more seriously than ever as well.
Marketing Land reports on comments from Twitter’s Baljeet Singh from VidCon:
Twitter is hoping to capture some of that youthful enthusiasm, and Singh said his company is well positioned to do that. For one thing he said, Twitter’s mobile focus means that more than 90% of video views on the network come from mobile devices. For another, he said, Twitter is a superior place for the interaction between creators and their fans.
“It’s one of the few places that you can really and truly engage with your audience, build up your audience, interact with your audience, reply back quickly and have a real conversation,” said Singh, who left YouTube for his position at Twitter last year. “And fans alike think of it as a way to directly connect with those creators.”
Twitter said in May that 82% of users watch video content on Twitter, and that 90% of video views happen on mobile devices.
YouTube launched a big redesign of its mobile experience, starting with Android, and coming soon to mobile web and iOS. It aims to make it easier for users to find and create videos. It utilizes a new tabbed navigation with sections for Home, Subscriptions, and Account.
The journal cites numbers from investment bank Luma Parnters indicating that annual ad spend on video is growing 34% per year, and is due to hit $10 billion next year.
Image via YouTube
