techtimes :Facebook Apologizes For Exaggerating Video Traffic Figures, But Money Will Continue To Flow Into The Platform

Facebook Apologizes For Exaggerating Video Traffic Figures, But Money Will Continue To Flow Into The Platform

AdvertisementFacebook is growing rapidly in the video department, which is why the company is doing whatever it takes to convince advertisers to take advantage of what it has to offer.Facebook is so determined to do this that it failed to realize its video numbers were off.The company has been sharing with advertisers the average amount of time users spend watching videos.

Potential Fallout for Facebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) Video Metric Scandal

Social media king Facebook Inc ( NASDAQ:FB ) is on thin ice with advertisers after it was revealed the company overstated an important video viewing metric, and the fallout could soon hurt its bottom line and change the online ad landscape forever.That's because advertisers and media companies, who are now aware that video viewing times were artificially inflated by a whopping 60% to 80%, may choose to spend less on video ads.At the very least, a temporary pause in spending seems prudent, given how significantly the numbers were fudged.

Facebook Overestimated Key Video Metric for Two Years

Facebook miscalculated the average time viewers spent watching videos on its site, drawing fire from big ad buyers and marketers.WSJ's Sarah Rabil joins Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero and explains how the miscalculation happened and the financial impact on both Facebook and its advertisers.Photo: APBig ad buyers and marketers are upset with Facebook Inc. FB -1.63 % after learning the tech giant vastly overestimated average viewing time for video ads on its platform for two years, according to people familiar with the situation.

Facebook Inflated Video Ad Stats for Two Years

Facebook has admitted inflating the average time people spend watching videos for two years by failing to count people who watched for less than 3 seconds.According to the Wall Street Journal, ad agencies were first alerted to the problem when Facebook wrote a post in its Advertiser Help Centre saying it was introducing a new metric measuring time watched after realizing that its previous measure only counting views lasting more than 3 seconds, the time a video must be seen to count as a view.Following inquiries from agencies, the social network disclosed that this could have inflated average viewing time by between 60% and 80%.

Facebook, You're Forgiven—5 Facebook Video Trends Brands Should Hit Play On

Facebook may have admitted to significantly overestimating the average time users spent watching its videos, but that doesn't mean marketers should disregard the social network's massive marketing power.Facebook video's functionality has been growing and evolving throughout much of 2016, with the company releasing a series of updates and new opportunities to create and share video on its platform.The implications are huge for marketers, who are now tasked with navigating a relatively unfamiliar landscape on Facebook.