What is ThruPlay Facebook Ads? How to create Thruplay ads
If you are looking for a way to optimize costs and ensure that customers truly watch your entire video ad, then Facebook ThruPlay is an option that advertisers should not ignore. In this article, BlackHatWorld will help you understand what ThruPlay Ads are, why they are important, and how to create effective ThruPlay ads to increase conversion rates.
After more than 11 years of operation and expansion into many countries, BHW Agency has become one of the most reputable providers of Facebook ad account rental services for businesses in BH, GH, and WH niches.
We offer competitive prices and comprehensive support packages, helping advertisers confidently launch their campaigns. Thanks to our optimal advertising solutions, we have helped thousands of clients achieve impressive results in conversion rates and sustainable revenue growth.
What are Facebook ThruPlay ads?
When you run ads in Ads Manager, you may notice that Facebook has changed some optimization options for video ads. Previously, you could choose to optimize for 3-second or 10-second video views, but these options have now been replaced with ThruPlay or 2-second continuous video views. This means the familiar 10-second option is no longer available, and ThruPlay is now the preferred method, as Facebook prioritizes it to help advertisers optimize campaign effectiveness.
With ThruPlay, Facebook will deliver videos to people who are likely to watch for at least 15 seconds (or the entire video if it is shorter than 15 seconds). This is considered a sufficient time threshold for viewers to start receiving the message, and it is also when Facebook charges for the ad.
Meanwhile, if you choose to optimize for Impression (2 seconds), the ad will be charged when users only scroll down slowly for a very short period. However, we all know that 2 seconds is not enough to convey the content, so this option often brings little real value to businesses.
How ThruPlay ads work on Facebook.
It might sound complicated, but it is actually straightforward. You, especially beginner advertisers, do not have to worry that Facebook will force viewers to watch the entire video. ThruPlay is understood as a minimum of 15 seconds of viewing. This means that if a user stays with your video for at least 15 seconds, Facebook will count it as a “complete” view.
- If your video is 30 seconds long, ThruPlay will be counted when the viewer watches 50% of the video content.
- If your video is 1 minute long, ThruPlay will be counted when the viewer watches 25% of the video content.
We frequently emphasize that 15 seconds is the “golden length” for video marketing, especially when you want to reach a cold audience. And as you can see, Facebook has also acknowledged this by introducing a new measurement method that focuses on real user engagement.
In organic posts, you will still see familiar metrics like 3-second, 10-second, or 1-minute views in the Insights section. However, that data serves different analytical purposes. When running paid ads, Facebook wants us to focus on evaluating real engagement because we are spending money to reach customers.
When should you use ThruPlay ads?
ThruPlay is particularly useful in many cases, such as:
- Brand awareness: Helps your brand make a strong impression on customers’ minds.
- Product demo videos: Allow customers to better understand the features and benefits of a product.
- Storytelling videos: Create an emotional connection, making viewers empathize with and remember your brand longer.
In other words, with ThruPlay, advertisers can optimize ad costs while ensuring that their video message truly reaches people who have taken the time to care about and follow the content.
How to create Thruplay ads for newbie
To help new advertisers easily implement ThruPlay ads on Facebook, we will provide a detailed step-by-step guide from campaign setup to content optimization.
Step 1: Choose the campaign objective
Access the ads manager and click the “create” button in the top left corner of the screen.
Then, select the campaign objective as “video views”. Note that Facebook will optimize your entire video ad campaign, rather than delivering individual ad sets separately as before. This is the foundational step for Facebook to understand that our goal is to effectively increase video watch time.
Step 2: Choosing the target audience
This is a crucial step that determines whether ads reach the right potential customers. You can select your audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
For example, if we are running ads for earrings, we should target women who are interested in beauty, fashion, and jewelry. This way, the ad budget will not be wasted on people who are not interested.
Chúng tôi luôn khuyến khích các nhà quảng cáo phát triển tư duy bán hàng thông minh và kỹ năng marketing linh hoạt để chọn ra tệp khách hàng chính xác nhất.
Step 3: Choose a video ad optimization method
In the budget and schedule section, select the ThruPlay feature. This is an optimization method that helps deliver your ad to people who are likely to watch the video to the end or for as long as possible. As a result, your brand message will be fully conveyed and will be more memorable.
Step 4: Adjust the budget and ad schedule
When setting up a budget, we often recommend that you set a minimum of 1 USD per day so that the ad has enough data to be optimized.
Additionally, set the schedule to start at 0:00 on the following day. This way, Facebook will allocate the budget for a full day instead of splitting it across the remaining hours of the day you set it up. This is a small tip to optimize your ad budget, helping it to be spent and allocated more reasonably.
Step 5: Design advertising content
The ad content is what keeps viewers engaged. You can select an existing video from the page or a video that has been run before. If you want to reuse an unpublished post that has received many interactions, enter the post ID in the “enter post ID” box.
Advertisers should test multiple video versions, from length and headlines to calls to action, to find the content that yields the best results.
Things to keep in mind when running Facebook ads with ThruPlay to avoid fake ad metrics.
Over the years, we have observed a recurring reality: ads may show unusual metrics due to fake clicks, bots, accidental clicks, or simply how Facebook’s optimization algorithm works. However, we recently discovered a new issue, directly related to the Thruplay metric, which many advertisers need to be very careful about.
When you should recheck the thruplay metric?
When you should recheck the thruplay metric. If you are optimizing ads for Thruplay and see numbers that are “too good” to be true, be cautious. We tested a small campaign to promote a personal podcast with a 20-second video, a “listen now” CTA, and a Spotify link.
Since we didn’t have a website to install a pixel, we had to rely on the metric unique outbound clicks (the number of clicks to external sites from Facebook). The campaign was divided into 3 ad sets:
- Optimizing for link clicks
- Optimizing for post engagement
- Optimizing for throughplay
Unusual results appeared in the Throughplay ad set
- The campaign reached 526 people but had 665 throughplays (126% of the reach).
- Nearly 100% of viewers watched the entire 20-second video.
- Average watch time: 20 seconds (the entire video).
- However, there was only 1 unique click to Spotify.
If the video was truly engaging, there should have been at least dozens more people clicking the link. This shows that the impressive throughplay metric was just an illusion and did not bring any real business value.
Audience Network rewarded video makes metrics look good but has poor performance.
When we do a deep analysis using Breakdown By Placement, we find:
- 493/526 reach came from the audience network rewarded video.
- 654/665 throughplays also originated there. cũng xuất phát từ đó.
With this format, users are forced to watch the entire video to receive a reward within an app or game (coins, items, etc.). As a result, they watch only for the reward and do not care about the ad’s content. The result is that there is no other actual action, such as clicking on the website or making a purchase.
When you choose to optimize for throughplay, Facebook will find every way to bring in the most throughplays at the lowest cost. This leads to a situation where the report data looks “great” but is completely worthless in reality because they are just forced views.
Lessons learned for advertisers.
- Don’t rush to believe the beautiful numbers in Ads Manager.
- Always check the Placement Breakdown to see where the views are coming from.
- Remember: Facebook only optimizes for the action you choose; it does not care about quality.
- If you want real efficiency, you should optimize based on behaviors linked to business goals like purchases, sign-ups, or actual outbound clicks, instead of chasing vanity metrics.
Facebook Thruplay ads are an optimal choice for businesses that want to ensure their message is fully delivered to viewers. With a simple setup and cost-optimization capabilities, Thruplay not only helps increase brand awareness but also helps you reach the right potential customers. Apply the right strategy to take full advantage of this ad format.
Frequently asked questions
Thruplay ads are optimized for users to watch the entire video (from 15 seconds or more, or the full video if it is shorter), while video views only count views of 3 seconds or more. This helps advertisers reach the right group of customers who are genuinely interested in the content.
There is no fixed budget, but we recommend you start with 8 – 20 USD/day so Facebook has enough data to optimize. Depending on the industry and target audience, the cost of a thruplay can be only a few hundred VND per full view.
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