Five tips for a video that truly stands out on Facebook

By Laura Nixon-White

In the digital era, advertising is an absolute minefield of costings, trends, platforms, engagements, analytics and algorithms. If an advertising video is a second too long or has the incorrect thumbnail it could be over with the swish of a finger drag, despite the creators best efforts.

In this article we will try to demonstrate to the reader that a video produced with the knowledge of social medias intricacy’s can aid a companies video, helping it to stand out from the other 8 billion that are watched daily on the social media giant, Facebook.

Step one. Size matters.

It’s true. Well, the size of the video that is. Studies have shown that people lose interest after just 90 seconds of viewing with other studies even stating that a video should be no longer than 15 seconds. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule of keeping it short and sweet, with pages like LadBaby producing videos that are frequently over 10 minutes long and gathering millions of views. But they are the exception, so keep it short.

Step two. No lolly-gagging.

As mentioned in the first point, people will lose attention fast so getting to the point straight away is paramount. The general consensus is that you will need to demonstrate in the first 5 seconds that there is a reason for the viewer to continue watching your content. This can be done by keeping the introduction short, clear and informing the audience what they will be learning throughout the video. An example of this would be the short clip that shows before a movie trailer. It’ll hit you with an explosion and then head into the actual trailer, with the viewer hopefully hooked.

Step 3. No one looks at the Thumbnail, right?

WRONG! In an age where people don’t have time to sneeze, judging a book by it’s cover is commonplace and the thumbnail is the cover of the book you want people to watch. Consider carefully the design as the wrong image could seriously jeopardize the outcome of your video advertising campaign.

Step 4. Don’t be a square.

When posting to a platform like Facebook something to take into consideration is that most of the users are viewing content on a mobile phone. Therefore, it stands to reason that vertical videos work best and although it might not be the most convenient way to post, all that matters is that it is convenient to the viewer.

Step 5. Variety. Well, it’s the spice of life.

A constant sell on Facebook will be off putting to viewers, so there are a few different types of content that you can put out there to keep things interesting, relevant and exciting.

  • Live Video. Streaming live on Facebook will earn you 10 times more views than a standard video.
  • Tutorial Video. Our brains are programmed to retain visual content better than a page loaded with words, so tutorial videos intermittently posted keep the viewer challenged and entertained.
  • Informational videos. This can come in the form of more information about a company or a product, or even videos that are related to a product or company.
  • BTS videos. When done right, Behind The Scenes footage can provide a bit of humanity behind a company and even add a dash of humour.
  • UGC videos. User Generated Content is a fantastic way for digital marketers to reach out to customers. You are much more likely to buy a product, or feel that it is worth your money if you hear it from someone like yourself who had a great experience with said product, rather that the company telling viewers that they should invest.

So, to conclude.

Video marketing truly is a minefield but we believe, with the right video, content and guidance a person or a company can make use of the 8 billion videos that are watched daily on Facebook and use this to help further their endeavour. Don’t over sell, keep it interesting and above all, keep it short. Unless you’re Will Smith. Apparently then you can post whatever you like, for however long you like and it somehow seems to keep working…