In the last couple of months two of the largest companies online have rolled out services that could have a massive impact on the future of video marketing.

Facebook Live has raised its profile considerably this month. A couple of weeks ago a Californian man broadcast the birth of his son, though he later revealed he hadn’t realised the video would be seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world. In just the last week a video of a woman laughing hysterically whilst wearing a Chewbacca mask was watched by more than 50 million people the first day it was released.

There is great potential here for marketers.

Live currently lets you broadcast from your smartphone for up to 90 minutes, but it looks like within a matter of weeks you could be able to keep on streaming for as long as you like. The rumoured drawback is that you won’t be able to release a recording. Nevertheless, this seems like a great opportunity for those who do live webinars to promote their business.

It has been estimated that Facebook video is up to four times more shareable than any YouTube content posted on the site. Facebook users can send invitations to friends to join them on live streams and the degree of interaction is also increased, with Facebook Live content generating ten times more comments than standard videos.

The prospect of targeting Facebook Live the same way you can target Facebook advertising means that content could be delivered to precisely the  audience it is aimed at.

Other anticipated upgrades to Facebook Live includes the use of metrics to identify which portions of a live video create the most viewer engagement. This will enable later viewers to skip ahead to the most popular parts of the recording.

Also in the last couple of months Amazon has announced Video Direct, a move seen by many as an attempt to challenge YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook.

However, Amazon seems to have set up their new service so that it is most likely to be used only by professional video creators. This makes it an obvious opportunity for media companies, music promoters and online marketers. Currently the service is only available in the UK, US, Germany, Austria and Japan. Content can be monetised by playing ads before viewers can access the content or the content can be bought or rented advert free. Recorded content can also be made available for free to Amazon Prime members. Just imagine the potential audience.

There is also the option to package a set of videos together and offer them via a subscription. A potential opportunity for any online marketer who already has a video-based course in their product range.

As with Facebook Live this latest development from Amazon also holds great potential for those wishing to target a specific audience. With the amount of data Amazon has regarding what people have bought and what they’re most likely to buy, you can imagine how that can help identify and target an audience for a specific set of products.

Change is the one constant online. The latest developments from Facebook and Amazon could point the way to new opportunities in internet marketing. With millions online watching billions of videos it’s surely an opportunity too good to miss.