17 Oct 6 Best Practices For Optimising Your Facebook Video Content
Noticing more videos in your Facebook feed lately? Wondering if producing Facebook video is effective and worth the investment? Naturally as a video production company we’re going to say a resounding yes, but don’t just take our word for it. You know your target market already spends vast amounts of time on social media, where video is a preferred method to receive information (according to Hubspot.com, 53% of people want more video content online). But did you know using video on Facebook reaches your target audience with laser like focus while giving them valuable content that is five times as likely to maintain their attention?
So what is the best method for reaching Facebook’s audience via video, and how should you be optimising Facebook video content? Having explored Facebook video in all its forms, here’s a condensed version of 6 commonly-touted best practices to increase awareness and engagement for businesses through Facebook video content.
1. It’s OK to Name Drop
While the ability to multitask during the mobile age has increased, Social Media users in general have short attention spans. According to Time Life Magazine the average attention span is down to eight seconds. This means that even if you have a great story or create a cinematic masterpiece, if you don’t mention your brand or product early you may lose your audience before they reach any form of brand mention – giving them zero chance of brand recall. If branding is your prime objective, according to studies the most effective time to mention your brand or product is within the first three seconds. After this point, brand name recall reduces drastically – diminishing the effectiveness and impact of branded video content.
2. Use Subtitles
85% of Facebook users view video on mute. This requires content videos to capture consumer’s attention without sound. In fact, according to Facebook Business, adding subtitles to your video increases viewership by 12%. It also allows for your videos to be consumed at any time (ie sneakily viewing your content at the workplace, or attempting to avoid waking their housemates in the middle of the night).
3. It’s Hip To Be Be Square: Optimize Your Video for Mobile Devices
Have you noticed more and more videos on Facebook have a square or upright vertical format versus the traditional landscape rectangular shape? A 9:16 vertical video or 1:1 square format video takes up more surface ‘real estate’ than the traditional video shape, making them more likely to catch people’s eye while they’re scrolling through their Facebook feed, and more visually appealing for mobile users. Reusing a traditionally shot video? It’s worth resizing it – adapting your video for mobile viewing will increase engagement. Furthermore, by also reducing the length of your video to 30 seconds (or less!) you’ll greatly increase mobile engagement thanks to faster load times while also increasing the likelihood of people watching your video to its conclusion.
Not sure about formats? Here’s what a traditional landscape video looks like on Facebook:
Meanwhile, the same video optimised for mobile (and sharing on both Facebook and Instagram) looks like this:
Both formats can still work well in the right situation, but which one grabbed your attention first? And which would command more eye attention while scrolling through your feed?
4. Upload Videos Directly to Facebook
There are a couple of ways to upload your video to Facebook, but they basically boil down to either sharing a link or uploading the video directly to the Facebook interface (which is called a ‘native upload’). The advantage of uploading your video directly to Facebook is the platform auto-plays and pre-rolls natively uploaded videos in more places, meaning it’s more likely to be watched as it’s not necessary for consumers to have to click again on your video to view it. (This goes for general video content on most social media networks – natively upload wherever possible).
5. Ensure You’re Optimising Facebook Video Thumbnails, Captions and Tags
Don’t forget to add a compelling Title and thumbnail to entice viewers, just like you would on Youtube – except go a lot easier on the thumbnail text, as Facebook frowns on text-heavy imagery. Don’t be afraid to make sure any keyword you are targeting is included somewhere in the title or caption too, as Facebook scans this content to help its algorithms measure content relevancy. Facebook also gives you the option to categorise your video, which may help it show up to those interested in a topic (say business for example). You can also tag other relevant pages ( use an @ sign before their name) or add the other kind of tags – keyword tags – to make your video more findable to people outside your immediate audience.
6. Wow Your Viewers
And last but not least, remember all the tips in the world can’t save a poorly planned video. Make sure you’ve thought out your video’s objectives, then work out ways to bring it to life in an impressive fashion. Hook them with great visuals. Use humour when appropriate. Think of an amazing story behind your brand. By creating a wow factor that suits your brand character and style, your ads will be more engaging, more likely to be shared, and will receive more views and increase your fan-base and brand engagement.
Facebook has the largest diversity in demographics, can reach multiple target audiences, and has created unique ways to reach whatever goals your brand is seeking. By optimising your video content for mobile and social media consumption, you are ensuring your marketing is more likely to reach its target audience.
Need assistance with producing Facebook video ads or social media content? Soul Arch Media can give you the edge by making videos that tell your story and increase audience engagement. Contact our friendly production team today on 07 55595551 or drop us a line!
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