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Are you using Facebook native video?
When you publish videos to Facebook, the result is high visibility and a greater likelihood of engagement.
In this article I’ll share seven ways to connect with your audience using Facebook native video.
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#1: Preview Long-Form Content
An effective use of Facebook native video is long-form content previews.
If you have a long video you plan to share, choose a highlight to use as a preview to post on Facebook. This little chunk of video gives your audience a taste of what they’ll get in the complete video.
A 10- to 15-minute video is too long to capture the attention of the average Facebook user. A 1- to 2-minute preview video is the perfect length for Facebook consumption. If viewers are intrigued, they’re directed to your YouTube channel to watch the full video.
#2: Share Daily Tips, Tactics and Advice
When building an audience, consistency is incredibly important.
Your audience appreciates your perspective, experience and expertise. The more often you can deliver value to your audience, the more often you’ll get value back from them.
Since engagement with a Facebook page is often cited as a relevancy factor in Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm, daily videos that inspire interaction from fans can drastically improve audience reach. Remember, however, that value is the most important factor.
#3: Record Videos on Location
The ability to easily upload and share videos from a smartphone to Facebook leads to an incredible opportunity. Record and share reports, news and updates from conferences and other events instantly with your Facebook audience.
While Facebook native video doesn’t have the streaming capabilities of Periscope and Meerkat, the ease of capture, upload and distribution from your smartphone makes Facebook video nearly real-time.
Immediately publishing conference interviews, on-location tours or other behind-the-scenes content to Facebook also gives your non-attendees an experience that’s the next best thing to being there.
#4: Answer Audience Questions
Create a more engaging experience for your Facebook audience by answering their questions in a video and posting it directly to Facebook.
Fans and customers frequently reach out to you as an industry expert. Sometimes a video is a more effective way to communicate than a blog post, especially if it’s a question you get asked over and over again.
Answering the question in video takes less time than writing a blog post and allows you to explain in a clear, direct manner. Using video also provides a personal and thoughtful touch that a few sentences of text never could.
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#5: Create Brief Explainer Videos
Short videos work well on Facebook. Think of how average Facebook users consume content on the platform. They keep scrolling until something interesting gets them to stop. Even then, viewers want something quick and easy to consume before they move on to the next thing.
A 45- to 90-second explainer video is a great piece of content to attract attention and awareness to your brand without detracting from the Facebook experience.
Don’t expect Facebook users to take direct action from an explainer video they consume in their news feed. But that’s not really the point. This is just one more branded touch point on the path to conversion that cuts down on time during the sales cycle.
#6: Create Video Ads
The Facebook advertising platform provides marketers the ability to generate ads with Video Views as the goal.
Using Facebook’s Power Editor, marketers can build entire ad campaigns using video and optimize the advertising spend for increased video views.
Video ads can include a direct call to action (CTA) such as Shop Now, Learn More and Sign Up.
As a best practice, make your CTA relevant to the experience they’ll get after clicking the button. For example, don’t use the Learn More button and then send your audience to a sales page. Accuracy is vital to audience retention.
#7: Use the Facebook Video Tab
In December, Facebook launched the Video tab, specifically designed as a repository for Facebook native video shares.
There are two distinct features of the Video tab marketers should take note of: Video Playlists and Featured Video.
Facebook Video Playlists are similar to YouTube playlists in functionality: content creators are able to batch videos together in relevant segments. Your audience will appreciate the ability to consume similar videos one after the other without having to search through your news stream to find the next in a series.
Once on the Video tab, businesses can highlight one featured video at the top of the page in extra-large format. Additionally, your featured video can add a headline, text (including links) and a running comment stream.
Use the featured video to attract attention to your best work.
Final Thoughts
There’s one important item to consider when tracking the results of video on Facebook.
The public-facing view count on Facebook is triggered when a user watches your video for 3 seconds. This is a significantly shorter period of time than YouTube, which counts video views after 30 seconds of viewing. This doesn’t make Facebook’s method wrong or less valuable, we simply must take this into account when gauging the effectiveness of our video marketing campaigns on various platforms.
While Facebook may never replace YouTube, the company seems determined to give them a run for their money. As marketers, it’s essential to adapt your video marketing practices to take advantage of Facebook’s focus on native video to increase reach, engage viewers and ultimately grow your fan base.
What do you think? Do you use Facebook native video? What types of videos do you post? What are some of your favorite Facebook native videos? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
