Facebook announced today that it is testing a "dedicated place" where its users can go when they want to watch videos to the exclusion of other posts and content on the social network. After tapping a "Videos" icon at the bottom of the Facebook app on an iPhone or in the “Favorites” section on a web browser, users will see a feed of videos from friends, publishers, pages they follow and videos they've saved to watch later. All the videos will be shareable, of course.
This advance in making Facebook more video-focused is being tested with a small number of people. "This is isn’t something most people will see on Facebook right away," the company wrote in its newsroom.
In its announcement of this test—and of other video-related tests it's launched recently—Facebook hinted that its goal is for users to turn to Facebook first when they want to "discover the videos that matter to them."
As TechCrunch, Business Insider and others reported today, Facebook's video tests are pointed warning shots aimed directly at YouTube—and possibly any other provider of video. Dedicated video will only make the world's largest social network larger, and impossible to ignore by brands and organizations fighting to capture attention.
In fact, PR News will be honoring some of the brands that have been engaging successfully in that fight at its Digital PR Awards luncheon on Nov. 9 in New York. The Digital PR Awards finalists in the Facebook Communications category are:
- The ALS Association - ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
- Cardinal Health with Fahlgren Mortine - RNspire encourage nurses to ‘Share a Smile’
- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield - Dental Campaign
- The Honest Company
- The Howard Hughes Corporation - Downtown Summerlin Grand Opening
- Hunter Public Relations - Mrs. T’s Pierogies Takes a Seat at the Millennial Table
Take a look at all the finalists for PR News' 2015 Digital PR Awards.