We’ve talked at great length about the success of Facebook video, and while it still has yet to reach its true potential (it is less than two years old, after all), a new study suggests that it’s becoming more well-received in terms of video ads than its main competitor, YouTube.
As reported by Ad Age, the study, conducted by RBC Capital Markets, polled 1,000 advertising professionals. Out of those surveyed, 11 percent believe that Facebook video ads are “significantly” better than YouTube’s in terms of return investment. However, another 25% stated that its video ads were “somewhat better,” indicating that a majority does prefer how they’re set up.
Only six percent of those polled stated that YouTube’s ads were “significantly” better, while 15% indicated they were “somewhat better.”
Based on numbers compared from last year, fewer marketers indicated that they were going to “significantly” or “modestly” increase spending on YouTube ads, according to the report.
That’s a pretty big deal, especially considering that digital video ads will receive a tremendous amount of spending, to the tune of $7.77 billion, according to eMarketer.
The study also suggests that marketers will pick up their online advertising spend through the next few years, with interest in different platforms, including Instagram (leading with 72%), Pinterest (41%), SnapChat (36%) and Amazon (34%).
There’s still room for Facebook to grow, though. The study indicates that its overall ad dollar penetration still has room to expand, with 61% of marketers stating that they will increase ad spending with the social site. Instagram, owned by Facebook, could attract additional revenue as well.
That said, Google isn’t out of the running yet, as a number of marketers are pleased with the results that YouTube produce. 14% of those polled stated that 51% (or more) of their online marketing budgets go towards the site, while only seven percent said they won’t be pouring any more money into YouTube-based campaigns.
A good amount of digital advertising dollars seem to be coming from print and television, according to the study.
The same eMarketer report, which was published earlier this year, does suggest that the change in video spending will increase over the next few years, reaching $14.3 billion by 2019. With that, YouTube is expected to make a big chunk ($1.99 billion by 2017), and Facebook will likely see similar shares as it continues going head-to-head with its video competitor.
The video ad market is about to get more interesting, depending on what moves Facebook and YouTube make next