Many page owners have struggled with their love/hate relationship with Facebook. In the past, it was a great way to market your product or service though text and images. However, for page owners that didn't keep up with the algorithm changes implemented by Facebook, happiness quickly turned into frustration. Facebook made it so only your followers that engaged directly with posts saw more of them, and some page owners saw their reach fall rapidly.
Knowing what Facebook wants from us is the key to getting seen. So, what does Facebook want? In a nutshell, not hard sales copy going up the newsfeed. Your followers don't want that either, case study after case study has shown people don't like ads that look like ads in their social media. Facebook wants to see your followers liking, commenting, sharing, and spending time on your posts. And that is where building a video strategy for your brand comes into play.
Why Do Videos Work?
The reason videos work so well to engage the general population is rooted in the tenets of biology. Humans are visually driven. We like movement and are especially engaged when we see other humans speaking to us. Combined with other sound like music, this can further the enticement to keep watching. This is why video is a powerful way to show your product or service in its very best light.
Check out this infographic.
Facebook's Algorithms Calculate Time on a Post as Love
Here is the heart of why videos work so well on pages. One of the components of Facebook's algorithms calculate the time that viewers spend on a post as equal to that person finding that post interesting and a quality experience. You know how users skim text and move on. That's the beauty of this type of marketing strategy. They will have to sit through the time for a video to play and it does not matter if the viewers like, comment, or share. The time spent equals a quality user experience to Facebook. This means more followers will see your posts because your page is considered the all-important entertaining experience for Facebook users.
Convey More Information
A video about features, other uses, or accessories are all ways to highlight a product. For services, showing the end result or features of a consultation in action are another way to entice a viewing audience. One minute of video is a lot of time. Test it yourself. Write down the five best features of your best selling product or five features of your service. Now, set a timer and read them. It took mere seconds to convey that information.
Easy to Share for Viral Marketing
Once you get into the swing of making videos a regular feature of your marketing, work on ways to make them viral. Solve a common problem in a way that relates back to your business. Tell people to like, comment, and share your video. Make it clear even though it's a video, you're listening to them and want feedback.
Take advantage of making Facebook's algorithms work for you. Make it a goal to set up a Facebook video strategy. Then, make producing a video a regular part of your Facebook interaction with your followers.
Tabitha Jean Naylor, Clearwater FL
Tabitha Jean Naylor, Clearwater FL is the Founder of Successful Startup 101, a digital magazine that provides answers to today's most pertinent questions facing startup founders, and the Owner of TabithaNaylor.com, a marketing firm that delivers 'big agency' quality at rates that are affordable for startups and small businesses.
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Thanks for this great post. I’ve been getting more into FB video because it creates more engagement with my target audience.
Thanks for keeping us updated on FB.s rules of how they do things. FB changes a lot and we have to change with it to keep up.
I like the info about the algorithms Tabitha! That’s new for me, so thank you, great post (again 🙂 )
Ok it’s all making sense now….time = love on FB. Thanks for the information…time to get comfy doing videos!
Great article. Still trying to get the courage and define what my first video will be about it is in my future tho. I know this.
Vickie
I have used Facebook for marketing, but not to the extent of video marketing. That is such a simple concept yet eluded me. I watch videos on Facebook every time I log in so it’s logical that others are doing the same thing. Thanks, Tabitha for freshening up my marketing strategies with this venue.
It makes sense as people will clearly stay there longer. I often put videos on my profile. They are usually mindset related or book recommendations. I have just started doing them more for my page and this article has convinced me to do more. Thank you Tabitha.
This is great info. Sharing the features of my best selling product is a great tip.
Love this! Facebook has evolved for the better, especially if using for your business. Video Marketing is key to your success.
thanks for the great tips! I was posting youtube videos onto my FB wall for the longest time and could not figure out why they were not getting watched very much. When I started putting them DIRECTLY onto FB and skipping the YouTube way….my videos got more views than the YouTube ones did by FAR! Awesome!
I will now be making videos for Facebook a main project towards video marketing. There is definitely information in here I did not know. I found this extremely valuable.
Awesome tip! Facebook videos are definitely HOT. People don’t really like to have to leave Facebook, they are comfortable there… they prefer to stay with what’s familiar. Great advice
Great information on how FB actually shows love and whats to come. I see it is time to become right with videos, it’s iimperative to marketing in the days to come. Thank you for the great post!
Great article, I do videos usually daily so I like hearing this!! Thank you!
I have definitely noticed that my reach on Facebook is much much larger on my video posts. Tabitha is spot on when she says that we are visual beings. I personally spend more time watching videos in the newsfeed than I do on image and text based posts. I think it is imperative that business owners start implementing video marketing asap!
Wow! This is often! I am going to be sharing more videos now. This makes so much sense! Thanks so much for making this clear for us!