When people log onto Facebook, they are often looking to upload their own images and videos. That is a whole lot of people who are sharing videos, and hoping that others will view, like, and share them. According to Facebook's data, more than 60 percent of activity comes from users who are watching videos. If you want to use your own videos to generate views, and drive traffic to your website, the following tips will give you an advantage.
Should You Upload or Embed Facebook Videos?
There is some debate over this topic, so take what you read with a grain of salt. Essentially, when uploading your videos to Facebook, you should do both of these things: Upload and Embed. Of course, it would not make sense to use both techniques for each video, as you would be double-posting.
To embed a video, you must insert the link, as part of a post. Embedding videos is a great way to drive people to external links. For example, if you have a YouTube account that is related to your business, it is smart to embed the link. This will allow people to view the video on Facebook, but it can also drive traffic to your YouTube page, giving you even more hits overall. This is great for your SEO, which is another important thing to think about. An embedded URL like this is also great for sharing on multiple social media sites, such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
If you upload your videos to Facebook, it helps people to find them with the inbuilt search functions. Your videos will also be added to your profile page, making it easier for people to browse through your collection of videos. Of course, you lose the benefits of having your videos link to outside websites. However, uploading through your profile will make your Facebook page seem fuller, and more legitimate. People often shy away from pages with little-to-nothing on them, as they can appear fraudulent.
Include Good Copy with Videos
Firstly, you need to create high-quality videos, that people will be drawn to. However, that is often not enough. As users scroll through their Facebook feeds, they are bombarded by countless images and text. You need to include some written copy that will compliment your video thumbnails, and encourage people to actually watch your videos. This can be as simple as a single sentence, but it has to be exciting, and it really needs to instantly grab people's attention. However, be sure that you do not lie about the contents of your videos. If you lose people's trust, they are unlikely to want to spend their time looking at your posts.
Make Good Videos!
This might seem obvious, but no amount of special tricks can help you, unless you are sharing videos that people want to see. You do not need to be a professional filmmaker, but your videos should look clear and have good audio, as a minimum. People might avoid a great video, simply because it looks grainy, and has distorted voices or sounds. Put in a little extra effort from the start, and ensure that your videos are worth watching. After you have the basics sorted out, make sure that you include content that people will find interesting or entertaining.
Use Videos Sparingly
Rather than posting loads of short videos of average quality, upload great videos, less often. People are not on Facebook all the time, so it helps to save your best videos for the peak hours, when you anticipate that your followers will be online.