An estimated eight billion videos are viewed on Facebook every day, making the platform a prime target for marketing. Earlier this year, however, it was reported that 85 percent of Facebook videos are watched without sound—calling into question whether users actually, you know, watch them.
Facebook counts a video “viewed” after three seconds of play time. However, since videos auto play within a user’s feed, accurately reporting who was consuming content versus looking away from the monitor for at least three seconds has been a challenge. Further adding to the speculation, mobile Facebook videos only have to be at 50 percent on the screen before it begins to play on its own.
Marketers have learned to cater video content to Facebook’s current format, either creating videos that can be easily enjoyed with the sound turned off or capturing a user’s attention so that they want to turn sound on. However, Facebook is exploring the idea of turning the sound on by default.
Facebook rolled out a series of tests across Australian accounts on Tuesday, specifically for mobile devices. In one version of the test, sound plays immediately as the video begins, if you have sound enabled on your device. Another group is able to turn sound on during the test session using an icon that will sit to the bottom right of videos. Both groups see a pop-up message informing them about how to use the controls, and sound will only play if the smartphone’s volume is up. If you don’t want to annoy your workmates, sound can also be turned to “always off” in Facebook settings.
“We’re running a small test in News Feed where people can choose whether they want to watch videos with sound on from the start,” Facebook told Mashable Australia. “For people in this test who do not want sound to play, they can switch it off in Settings or directly on the video itself. This is one of several tests we’re running as we work to improve the video experience for people on Facebook.”
If Facebook can offer detailed metrics about viewer sound preferences, marketers can plan accordingly. At this point in time, the test is just that—a test, and whether or not Facebook adopts a new sound policy for videos remains to be seen.
