Why Uploading Your Videos Directly To Facebook Is Imperative To Your Business
Post Updated 19th July 2017.
During the week I was having a conversation by email with a client who had received their video.
They had uploaded it to YouTube and was planning to use it in their email marketing newsletter.
I asked if they were planning to upload to Facebook.
Their response - 'No, we'll just post the YouTube link onto Facebook'. I was quick to respond.
Source: techcrunch.com. Figure from April 2015 (expect further growth)
For those who aren't aware in the world of tech, Facebook and Google, who owns YouTube are competing factions. And as an understatement, they really don't like each other.
It used to be, that when you posted a YouTube video on Facebook it would show in its entirety. Then it moved to a smaller thumbnail and now it's a small square on the right with some text to its left hand side.
Which Do You Prefer?
Directly uploaded video to YouTube
Directly uploaded video to Facebook
On the left what happens when you post a YouTube link to Facebook - the thumbnail - the image that really attacts viewers is crushed down. Meanwhile the post on the right, where we have directly uploaded to Facebook, its big and bold and Facebook will even autoplay for the viewer - hoping to catch and retain their attention.
Facebook has actively moved to make it's competition's video look unappealing.... unwatchable.
Now compare that to what Facebook has done for video. A viewer used to have to click and be taken to a new page to watch the video, now they sit within the feed;- full screen. Facebook has even gone to the next step - autoplay. It's actively encouraging the viewer to watch the video, their video.
So when someone asks about uploading their video;- "To YouTube or Facebook". The actual answer, if they are looking for the best exposure for their company or brand, is "both".
They are both tools and need to be utilised as best possible. YouTube is great for hosting so that you can embed that video into your website or email campaigns, and not forgetting if you want it to get searched for and discovered. Whilst Facebook is great for communicating with those who follow your company and want to know more.
What do we do at GINGERBEARD Media? We post natively to Facebook at 720p (1080 gets crushed by Facebook so you loose quality), and then link to our website/blog which has the YouTube video embedded in it. But you could also upload to Facebook then provide a YouTube link in the status or comments if you're looking to push people there.
The most important thing however is over come the first hurdle - getting people to view your video! So let Facebook penalise you, let it do some of the work for you!
As ever I hope this short article has been of use to you. And that if you'd like to talk about how video could be helping your business - please feel free to get in contact.
