Facebook is doubling down on its commitment to video as it sets sights on the YouTube train.

More ads, more revenue

The big push into original programing brings with it new earnings potential, as Facebook offers brands more control over when ads are shown.

Facebook’s new video ad options are a response to marketer requests for more say over their ads, and borrows heavily from YouTube’s own advertising model.

What Facebook is calling In-Stream Reserve, advertisers can connect with users through a select list of high quality publishers and creators. This means Facebook is allowing for advanced ad space buyouts.

Layers of options

A sub-option within In-Stream Reserve is Categories which, according to Facebook, allows “advertisers to choose content packages in specific categories,” like sports, fashion, entertainment, and so on.

YouTube has had a very similar practice underway for some time with Google Preferred, which offers advertisers to opt for product placement on the top 5% of YouTube’s content.

The final addition, ThruPlay, “allows advertisers to optimise and pay only for ads that are watched to completion, or for at least 15 seconds,” which will equate better bang for the marketing buck. With so many options, YouTube may truly have a competitor on their hands.

What are your thoughts on Facebook’s new ad offerings? Do you think Facebook’s ad value could give YouTube a run for their money? Give us your two cents in the comment section.