- 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 2021.
So if you want to learn how to use Facebook video,
now's the time.
And in this video, we've got nine time-tested tips
that will help you succeed with Facebook videos.
(upbeat instrumental music)
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 found most useful
or if there are any other tips you'd like to share.
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So, let's get started.
Tip one. (bell dings)
Upload videos directly to Facebook.
One of the best things you can do
to improve the engagement of your Facebook video
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 two. (bell dings)
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 prioritize 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 three. (bell dings)
Make sure your thumbnail is visually attractive.
Let's face it, your viewers are going to be
scrolling through their news feed
at the speed of sound.
Every Facebook video they see
looks just like the one before it.
Unless you have something special that grabs their attention
and gets them to stop scrolling,
your video won't get the attention it deserves.
To stand out amongst your competition,
you need a really, really,
really ridiculously good-looking thumbnail.
Thanks, Zoolander.
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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 complimentary and analogous colors that get noticed
to make your thumbnail pop.
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This concept is explained in more detail
in our video dedicated to thumbnail best practices.
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 four. (bell dings)
Use subtitles
to increase the engagement your Facebook videos get.
When you're 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 videos 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 videos,
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 five. (bell dings)
Use MobileMonkey to get more exposure for your videos.
What is MobileMonkey? (whooshing)
It's a free Facebook Messenger marketing chat bot
endorsed by some of the world's top marketers.
Here's how it'll help your Facebook videos
get way more exposure.
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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're 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 a great place
to get started and familiarize yourself with the tool,
so make sure you check it out.
Tip six. (bell dings)
Make sure your Facebook videos are square
for higher engagement.
What we're referring to here is the actual layout
of the video you're going to use to post on Facebook.
When you format your Facebook video,
you'll 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 widescreen image
you would see in a movie theater.
On smart phones, 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.
According to Buffer, the social media management platform,
square videos get 80 to 100% more engagement
and 30 to 35% higher video views,
compared to landscape videos,
all while costing 7.5% less.
Tip seven. (bell dings)
Embed your Facebook videos in your blog content
to increase their watch time.
Just before we get into this next tip,
make sure you're 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.
(whooshing)
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 favor the video,
thus boosting the video's reach on the platform.
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To embed one of your Facebook videos to your website,
go to the video you'd 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 eight. (bell dings)
Use high-conversion headlines and descriptions
in your videos.
There are many ways to go about writing persuasive headlines
and descriptions that'll 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, (ding)
your headline and description should accurately explain
to the viewer what your video is about,
otherwise, when they start watching, they'll feel misled.
Secondly, (ding)
the headline and description
must make a targeted unique promise.
People need to know exactly how they'll benefit
from watching your content or they simply won't bother.
Thirdly, (ding)
try using numbers in your headings and descriptions,
as they're known to increase click-through rates.
When adding numbers, another handy tip to remember
is that in general,
odd numbers, such as one, three, five, seven,
tend to perform better than even numbers,
such as two, four, six.
And finally, (ding)
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 nine. (bell dings)
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.
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Once you've given your viewers the information they need,
it's important that you tell them what you'd 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'll 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 the content.
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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.
(whooshing)
Keep your eyes and ears out for our upcoming video
on CTAs, where we'll take a deep dive
into creating highly effective call-to-actions.
(whooshing)
We hope you found this video useful.
If you follow the tips suggested,
I'm confident you'll quickly see a good boost
to 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.