Facebook Tests Video Ads

Banks will soon have one more way to spend their marketing dollars online.

Facebook announced Tuesday it's testing out video advertisements to appear in news feed for the new film Divergent.

The user experience works like this: Videos will play automatically (without the user clicking or tapping) and will run without sound. If and when the video is tapped, the video's sound will play.

The feature is designed for awareness campaigns meant to reach a large number of people.

"This format isn't intended for every video ad or posted video on Facebook; it meets specific needs for certain marketers with certain objectives," said Facebook in a news announcement.

As banks vie for younger, digitally savvy consumers, some financial institutions are rethinking where they spend marketing dollars and are investing in ads running in digital spaces where they expect their targets already hang out. PNC recently made a splash in airing video commercials on sites like YouTube to attract Gen X and Y consumers to take out Virtual Wallet accounts.

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