Facebook unseats YouTube as top spot for video advertisers

Companies considering video advertising campaigns on the web are most likely to pick Facebook for ad buys this year, according to a survey released today by Mixpo. The data reveals that 87 percent of survey respondents plan to run a video advertising campaign on Facebook, compared to 81.5 percent of respondents who plan to run a campaign on YouTube.

Facebook and Google are the two leading players among platforms being used for advertising, with Twitter coming in a distant third for companies interested in taking out a video ad campaign. When it comes time to run those campaigns, the companies surveyed said that they’re looking most for user engagement with interactive elements in the video, shares and conversions.

That’s hardly a surprise, since Facebook and Twitter both offer auto-playing video advertisements, while YouTube offers pre-roll advertising slots. By judging how engaged people were with an ad, marketers can get a better picture of how well their campaign is performing – much better than just looking at raw view counts.

This is validation for Facebook, which has recently put a massive emphasis on video content. The company recently rolled out support for 360-degree video, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said in public appearances that video will become some of the most shared content on the social network.

Increased support from advertisers may square with increased interest in video content from users. That, in turn, has the potential to turn Facebook into a YouTube-esque video platform and seriously providing competition to Google in the video business.