Twitter Begins Testing New Autoplay Video Feature For Ads

Twitter, after Facebook, has introduced a new autoplay video feature on its iPhone and iPad apps. During the test run, users of official Twitter apps on iPhone and iPad will be able to see videos playing automatically without even pressing the play button.

The auto play videos will include promoted video ads, videos that users upload through the app and clips that are part of its Amplify program. Videos originating from Vine - the 6-second video app owned by Twitter will not be included in the test run.

According to a report by the Advertising Age, one part of the two-pronged experiment will provide some users entire videos being autoplayed in loop, while in the other prong, users will see looping 6-second autoplay previews teasing a video.

Like Facebook, the video will start playing in mute mode and once the user taps the video, sound will be enabled.

Autoplay videos is the latest and easiest way for companies to attract user attention. With autoplay there is little scope for users to spend time reading what the video is about before clicking it. It boosts the view numbers which can in turn help companies guage consumer interest and customize their content accordingly, IBNLive notes.

In January, Twitter updated its app to allow users to record and upload videos.