With 70% of Thais viewing videos on Facebook's Watch feature every month, businesses are being encouraged to tap the market and get creators and publishers involved, according to the platform's rebranded parent company Meta.
"Social video has evolved significantly in recent years, with the pandemic accelerating both the consumption and innovation of video experiences," Preecha Khunatamstit, entertainment partnership lead for Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh at Meta, said in a virtual group interview.
"More than seven out of 10 Thais come to Watch on Facebook every month."
Some 2 billion people watch online videos every day globally while 99% of Thai internet users watch online videos every month, he said.
Some 720 million people globally spend at least one minute on Watch every month.
According to a Facebook Watch study by consultancy Kantar, Thais are primarily drawn to short and medium-length videos, with videos of 0-3 minutes (short length) watched an average of 13 times per week, videos of 3-10 minutes watched an average of 11 times per week and videos of 10 or more minutes watched an average of nine times per week.
The survey gauged 500 respondents aged 18-60 in Thailand.
Generation Z are a growing audience, covering 28% of total viewership, compared to Millennials at 23% and Gen X and Baby Boomers combined at 49%.
Social media is the primary channel for discovering videos, the study said. Some 67% of respondents said they watch publishers' videos due to convenience as they are using Facebook anyway.
The top content for short videos of up to three minutes are movie trailers, news, reviews, feel-good videos and sports highlights, and for medium-length videos it is news, reviews, food, travel and documentaries. The top content for long videos includes drama, travel documentaries, reality and TV shows, news clips and talk shows.
The smartphone is the primary device that 98% of users use to watch videos, followed by notebooks and desktop computers at 79%, smart TV and connected devices at 42%, and tablets at 38%.
The study found that almost two-thirds of Thais were persuaded to consider products after seeing ads on Facebook Watch, and 28% of Thai respondents bought products after seeing ads on Watch.
Mr Preecha said Facebook will focus more on short-length video and expand into partnerships with more variety.
"Our collaborations with partners in Thailand continue to focus on developing engaging and exciting content," he said. "Our aim is to support partners and businesses so they can benefit from current video content trends, particularly short-form video and Reels."
