Facebook Is Adding a Brand New Streaming Service. Here’s How Entrepreneurs Can Make the Most Of It

Long ago, Netflix — a mail order DVD rental service at the time — started a service where people could stream movies and TV shows online.

This would change the face of entertainment forever.

Later on, Netflix was joined by Hulu, Amazon, and various streaming services for cable channels like HBO and Showtime.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a new player in town: Facebook.

This titan of a tech company is throwing its own hat in the VOD ring.

Facebook is already a leader in live streaming, and soon, they're going to add a full-on video streaming service called Facebook Watch.

For marketers, this is big news.

Facebook is already a content marketing staple, and this adds a whole new way to advertise on the platform.

It's a serious game changer.

In a recent blog post on Kissmetrics, marketing master Neil Patel talks about exactly how Facebook Watch is going to affect the world of video content marketing, and how entrepreneurs can start getting ready for its debut.

Here are four ways Facebook Watch will change the game for marketers.

1. Ad break ads will likely become more important for Facebook advertisers

In an increasingly internet-marketing-savvy world, people are getting better at tuning ads out. Just last year, Google gave up on its right sidebar ads and removed them.

Fortunately for advertisers, Facebook Watch promises great things.

There’s a lot of noise in a Facebook user’s News Feed, so it’s not always easy for your ad to grab attention. But with video, you have a captive audience who is stuck watching your ad.

They can’t simply scroll down their feed to get away from it.

Longer videos will only increase the effectiveness of ad break mid roll ads.

And if Facebook adds social engagement functionality within the ads themselves, such as reactions and sharing, they’ll perform even better.

Traditional television has been on a downward trend for years.

Facebook Watch will only accelerate the ongoing shift of ad dollars from TV to digital and mobile.

2. Facebook Watch gives influencers and social creators a powerful new channel

As promising as the ad breaks are, it’s notable that Facebook Watch publishers can opt out of them entirely.

Instead, they can make money through product placement, as long as they tag the sponsor for transparency.

One can imagine the implications this has for budding videographers, actors, singers, and documentarians who hope to fund their growth via influencer partnerships.

The rise of the influencer owes much of its success in large part to YouTube.

But Facebook Watch could prove to be even more fruitful for influencers.

3. Facebook Live may become even more important for brands.

Facebook Live, along with Instagram Live, has been gaining popularity with brands ever since it came out two years ago.

Facebook Live allows brands to humanize themselves and connect with fans in real-time.

The live shows and events on Facebook Watch will do the same.

4. Ultimately, Facebook Watch changes the game for video content marketers

Facebook heavily emphasized the community aspect of Facebook Watch in their official announcement:

“Watching video on Facebook has the incredible power to connect people, spark conversation and foster community,” said Daniel Danker, Facebook’s product director. “On Facebook, videos are discovered through friends and bring communities together.”

Three of the four bullet points in the release mentioned connection and bringing people together.

Even the few seed shows Facebook funded are touted as “community-oriented” video series.

It makes sense: The sense of community is what led people to fall in love with the platform in the first place.

Because of this, Facebook Watch will likely see much higher sharing and social engagement than other platforms.