Coming to Your Facebook Feed: More Political Videos

By: Derek Willis | New York Times

Political campaign advertising in the form of Facebook and YouTube videos began to take hold in the 2014 congressional races. But candidates are still struggling to use them effectively.

For much of the campaign, the political ads encountered online were 15- and 30-second clips that appeared before the videos that users actually wanted to watch on YouTube and other sites. Although there are other forms of digital advertising, including those that appear on search results, these so-called pre-roll videos are an attractive method for campaigns because they are similar to television advertising and because campaigns know how to produce that form.