Facebook Videos- View counts don’t add up

While the advantages of using native Facebook video far outweigh the disadvantages, comparing view counts between Facebook and Youtube is like comparing apples to (very small) oranges.

I was amazed last week scrolling through my Facebook feed of the view count on some of the very substandard videos I was seeing.  Short clips from marketers with literally no thought towards audience or purpose were racking up impressions in the thousands.

So I decided to look into this a little more closely.  What exactly counts as a Facebook video view?

First of all, there is no arguing that Facebook video is an incredible force right now in distributing video content.  With a number now exceeding 8 billion views a day, combined with the fact that 65% of Facebook videos are now natively uploaded- if you are a marketer and not utilizing this medium- you are not doing your job.

The biggest advantage of posting Facebook videos natively is autoplay.  As a consumer is scrolling through their feed, the initial images of your video have the ability to grab their attention.

I would have assumed in order for an impression or view to count, the user would need to select the video- which enables the audio.

But in reality, a Facebook view is logged after just three seconds of viewing, even if unselected and just scrolled past on a timeline.  If a viewer is parked on a post above or below your video for just a moment, it is counted as having an impression or view.

Youtube will not name at what point a video gets a view logged, but has said it is around 30 seconds.

In essence, you need to divide your Facebook views by 5, 8, maybe even 10 to get an accurate comparison to Youtube views.

So what does this all mean for us as content creators and you as marketers?

1)      There really is no reason to not use both mediums, but Facebook native uploading is the way to go on their platform.

2)      A view on Youtube counts for a lot more than an impression on Facebook.

3)      Most importantly from content creation, it is very important to consider the medium in the final edit of the video.

In fact, I would now argue that every production requires a different edit for each platform.  On Facebook- the first five seconds has to be visually dynamic and appealing without consideration of the audio.  It is a much different edit than a traditional production, but the best visual content has to lead the video.

Youtube is similar, but I would say the window is closer to 10 seconds to pull in the viewer, plus the audio actually has a role on that platform when convincing viewers to keep watching.

We have now moved to a world where the two minute branding video we produce for your website should be re-edited for Facebook, slightly re-edited for Youtube, have a 15 second version created for Instagram, and edited into a dozen 10 second snippets for Snapchat.

Social media diversification for our clients is our top focus in 2016.  It’s finding the perfect balance between content, audience and platform to produce the biggest ROI for our clients and their consumers.

How to use social media in corporate branding videos

Twitter has done an amazing job combining the content from their platform, with dynamic moments from Major League Baseball and the NBA.

The excitement doesn't end with the game. See the top NBA highlights, the most spirited fans, and more on Twitter.

Three years ago, the Houston Dynamo opened a new stadium in downtown Houston.  It was truly an amazing facility that fans were blown away by the first time they walked in.  The dilemma was how do you gain momentum and buzz across the city about how impressive the stadium was.  An additional hurdle was only having one game (at the time) to showcase.

We came up with the idea of using the most traditional method, a customer testimonial, in a completely new way.  We combed back through thousands of Twitter posts that occurred before, during and after the inaugural match- and pulled the ones that most effectively highlighted the experience at the new stadium.

Obviously, the spot was on a much smaller scale and budget than what Twitter produced, but it was a fantastic new way of communicating how people outside of an organization feel about a new product.

We utilized the same technique this last year for the BRIN Running Series races:

I love Twitter the most for the exact reason this technique was used.  Good, bad, or indifferent, social media gives you an unfiltered look at how customers view your product or service.  Any time we are debuting a video in a stadium or arena, I will search twitter during and after the air time to see the immediate response.  It's easy to tell quickly if the purpose of the production was achieved.

This is truly the customer testimonial of the 21st century.  It is no longer required to identify a few "happy customers", bring them into a studio and do a lengthy interview to hope you get the material you want about what you are trying to sell.

Just scan twitter, facebook, instagram or any of the other mainstream social media platforms and you will see how customers feel about what your company is doing.

If the reviews are positive, we can use that material as an effective and unbiased trumpet for your cause.

To learn more about how we can integrate this technique into your branding, contact me  at brandon@v2content.com