Video Transcription
Facebook Video is fast becoming one of the most effective ways to increase engagement with your brand online.
This is no accident. One of Facebook’s European executives has even publicly stated that their platform could be all video and no text by 2023.
So if you want to learn how to use Facebook video, now is the time!
And in this video, we’ve got 9 time-tested tips that will help you succeed with Facebook videos.
Before we begin, make sure you subscribe to our channel and click the “notifications” bell so you’ll be alerted every time we post a new video to help you improve your video marketing strategy.
And let us know in the comments below which one of these tips you have found most useful, or if there are any other tips you would like to share.
So let’s get started….
TIP #1: UPLOAD VIDEOS DIRECTLY TO FACEBOOK
One of the best things you can do to improve the engagement of your Facebook videos is to upload them directly to Facebook as native videos.
Facebook’s algorithm heavily favors videos uploaded to their platform. This is because native videos keep people on Facebook for a longer period of time, instead of directing their attention away towards a competitor’s site.
So make sure you use Facebook’s native video if you want to get the best reach on their platform.
TIP #2: BOOST YOUR FACEBOOK VIDEOS BY “PAYING TO PLAY”
As more and more people over the years have started using the platform to grow their business, Facebook has adjusted their algorithm to increasingly prioritise those users who pay to play.
Therefore, if you want to get the most out of your videos on Facebook, putting some money towards promoting them using paid ads will give them a significant boost.
What we do here at Spiel is allocate a set budget towards each video we post on Facebook – and you can do the same.
It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, as you can choose whatever amount you feel comfortable with and over time scale up as you start seeing the returns.
Not only will you generate more followers and significantly grow the reach of your videos, but you’ll actually end up spending less money than if you were to use text-based ads.
TIP #3: MAKE SURE YOUR THUMBNAIL IS VISUALLY ATTRACTIVE
Let’s face it: Your viewers are going to be scrolling through their newsfeed at the speed of sound. Every Facebook video they see looks just like the one before it.
Unless you have something special that grabs them attention and gets them to stop scrolling your video won’t get the attention it deserves.
So, to stand out amongst your competition, you need a really, really, really, really, ridiculously good-looking thumbnail (thanks, Zoolander!)
Our recent video titled “8 Killer Tips To Nail Thumbnails” tells you everything you need to know, but here are the most important takeaways.
First, make sure your text size meets Facebook’s 20% rule. Namely, the text in the image should not take up more than 20% of the thumbnail and should help hook the viewer.
Secondly, expressive thumbnails that include a picture of a person making eye contact with the viewers tend to perform better than thumbnails that don’t include a person and are less expressive.
Thirdly, use a healthy mix of complementary and analogous colours that get noticed to make your thumbnail “pop out” to the human eye. This concept is explained in more detail in our video dedicated to thumbnail best practices which I just mentioned.
Finally, take a look at what the top ranking YouTube videos in your niche are doing. More often than not, certain elements and patterns keep repeating themselves!
TIP #4: USE SUBTITLES TO INCREASE THE ENGAGEMENT YOUR FACEBOOK VIDEOS GET
When you are scrolling down your Facebook feed and you come across a video, it will automatically start playing without any sound.
This means that you have to manually turn on the sound to hear what’s going on in the video.
It’s no surprise then, that up to 85% of all Facebook video views happen without sound, according to the social media scientists at Digiday.
So what does this mean for you?
In order to drive up the engagement of your videos and keep people’s attention glued to your content, make sure you add subtitles to your video as not everyone prefers to watch videos with the sound on.
You’ll make it far easier for your viewers to follow along with your content and engage with it.
It doesn’t have to be a complex process, here at spiel we use Rev.com to get our subtitles created relatively quickly, easily and cheaply.
So you can check out their website to see if their service works for you too.
TIP #5: USE MOBILEMONKEY TO GET MORE EXPOSURE FOR YOUR VIDEOS
What is MobileMonkey?
It’s a free Facebook Messenger marketing chatbot endorsed by some of the world’s top marketers – Neil Patel, Mari Smith, Brian Dean, and the list goes on.
Here’s how it will help your Facebook videos get way more exposure…
After you install and connect MobileMonkey to your Facebook page, start using it to engage with your customers through the Messenger app.
Every time a customer interacts with you, they are automatically subscribed to your Facebook messenger list.
And MobileMonkey does this in a totally GDPR-compliant way, so don’t worry about breaking any rules.
MobileMonkey has both a free version as well as a paid version with more advanced features. However, the free version is great place to get started and familiarise yourself with the tool. So make sure you check it out.
TIP #6: MAKE SURE YOUR FACEBOOK VIDEOS ARE “SQUARE” FOR HIGHER ENGAGEMENT
What we’re referring to here is the actual layout of the video you are going to use to post on Facebook.
When you format your Facebook video, you will
have two layout options: A square layout or a landscape video.
A square video looks exactly as described – a square – while a landscape video
looks like the wide screen image you would see in a movie theater.
On smartphones, square videos end up consuming the majority of the space on
your screen. Landscape videos, on the other hand, look small and are not easy
on the eyes.
There’s even hard data out there that backs this up. According to Buffer, the social media management platform, square videos get 80-100% more engagement and 35-35% higher video views compared to landscape videos, all while costing 7.5% less!
TIP #7: EMBED YOUR FACEBOOK VIDEOS IN YOUR BLOG CONTENT TO INCREASE THEIR WATCH TIME
Just before we get into this next tip, make sure you are following the first tip I mentioned earlier in the video to upload your videos directly to Facebook as native videos. Otherwise, this tip won’t work!
After publishing your video content on Facebook, you can add the video to the relevant section of your website, or create a dedicated blog page.
Doing this will increase the watch time of the video, and Facebook’s algorithm will heavily “favour” the video, thus boosting the video’s reach on the platform.
To embed one of your Facebook videos to your website, go to the video you would like to embed, and locate the upper-right corner of the post. Click the drop-down menu and select “Embed”.
Facebook will generate an HTML code for embedding the video on your website.
TIP #8: USE HIGH-CONVERSION HEADLINES AND DESCRIPTIONS IN YOUR VIDEOS
There are many ways to go about writing persuasive headlines and descriptions that will improve the performance of your videos.
Here are some quick tips we’ve personally found to be effective for consistently writing high-conversion headlines.
Firstly, your headline and description should accurately explain to the viewer what your video is about, otherwise when they start watching they will feel mislead.
Secondly, the headline and description must make a targeted, unique promise. People need to know exactly how they will benefit from watching your content or they simply won’t bother.
Thirdly, try using numbers in your headings and descriptions as they are known to increase click through rates. When adding numbers, another handy tip to remember is that in general odd numbers such as 1,3,5,7 tend to perform better than even numbers such as 2,4,6.
And finally, remember to keep testing your headlines and descriptions to discover what works best for you, as no two situations are the same and the only way you can really be sure what works best for you is by testing different things in real time.
TIP #9: NEVER FORGET THE CALL-TO-ACTION AT THE END OF YOUR VIDEO
Last but most certainly not least, the call-to-action (CTA) is the final piece that turns your Facebook video from a marketing dud into a sales-generating stud.
Once you’ve given your viewers the information they need, it is important that you tell them what you would like them to do next if your video has a specific objective.
Your call to action should be easy to understand and the viewer should know exactly how they will personally benefit from taking your suggested action.
And whether or not your video has a specific objective, in each of your Facebook videos you should ask the viewer to like, share, comment and follow you if they enjoyed your content.
Finally, make sure you verbally and visually
announce your CTA. People need to see and hear what needs to be done next in
order for the instruction to better register.
Keep your eyes and ears out for our upcoming video on CTAs, where we will take
a deep dive into creating highly effective call to actions!
We hope you found this video useful. If you follow the tips suggested, I am confident you will quickly see a good boost in the performance of your videos on Facebook.
And before going, don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe to our channel so that you get notified each time we release a new video to help you with your video marketing.
Also, if you need any further help with creating effective Facebook videos, you can get in touch with us here at Spiel at www.spielcreative.com
Thanks for watching!
