Marketers for social media platforms have started to realise the significance of social videos. Our analysis of the top 100 social media businesses reveals a meteoric rise of 104% in the quantity of videos posted by brands between the first and fourth quarters of 2016.
Facebook is actively promoting itself as a viable alternative to YouTube as a place to host your videos. Facebook has even adjusted their algorithm to prioritise native videos (those that are uploaded directly to Facebook or recorded with the Facebook app) in terms of exposure and reach. Brands seldom miss a chance to upload their films on Facebook due to its massive user base and ability to target certain demographics and interest groups.
We compared the top brand videos on YouTube from the first quarter of 2017 with their counterparts on Facebook to discover which platform yielded higher engagement. The results of our investigation of the number 541 are as follows:
YouTube has a TONNE more viewers.
All the other companies’ films did far better on YouTube than Quaker’s did, but it was the one exception. Videos in this category typically attracted 15.4 times as many views on YouTube as they did on Facebook.
Given that these clips were hand-picked based on their popularity, many of them may really be advertisements that you have to watch before accessing the content you want. Facebook users cannot be coerced into watching your entire or even partial movie, while the auto-play function may allow you sneak in a few more views.
You must also think about how video views are counted differently across platforms. One key distinction is that when someone clicks “play” on your video on YouTube, it means they viewed at least some of it. The video starts playing instantly on Facebook. It will be considered a view unless the user scrolls away from it within three seconds.
Facebook users are more likely to engage with videos than text posts.
When comparing the number of likes, comments, and shares a video received on Facebook versus YouTube, Facebook came out on top. It’s worth noting that Facebook users were less interested in these films than they were on YouTube. For the vast majority of firms, other videos on YouTube did much better than their most popular one.
In this study, we solely considered data from publicly available Facebook and YouTube posts. Promoted dark postings on Facebook have not been considered. These films may have fared better in terms of interaction and/or views if they were shared in the dark.
The majority of the videos on YouTube were likely advertisements, as their viewership skyrocketed for a brief period and subsequently levelled out. Consider the viewership of Audi’s Super Bowl commercial over time.
On YouTube, brands upload somewhat more content.
While it’s true that these firms uploaded a greater quantity of videos to YouTube, you need also consider the various forms of content they shared on Facebook. This brings us to the primary issue that causes YouTube to lag behind other platforms. There is no way to interact with other users or send each other social messages. They haven’t made a big effort to develop new features or publicise the ones they already have.
Conclusion: What should you prioritise when promoting your business via video?
Social media marketers should pay attention to both Facebook and YouTube since each platform offers something distinctive. Facebook’s video features have not advanced to the point where they can replace YouTube. As long as YouTube maintains its status as the second largest search engine, it will not go unnoticed.
Facebook, on the other hand, facilitates the presentation of a more ‘human’ side of the company. More options to interact with the audience and respond to their questions and concerns are made available. Because of live video, Facebook has a tiny advantage. Despite being functionally identical to YouTube, the latter has a far smaller user base.
It’s recommended that brands invest on both channels. Make sure you produce somewhat distinct versions of your video for Facebook and YouTube if you’re a small business investing in generating one. When producing films, marketers should have statistics at the forefront of their minds.
Marketers working in social media must always be looking at the success of their videos and the success of their competitors. This allows them to learn what works best in terms of duration, content, timing, etc., on each platform.
Social media marketers may quickly settle on an effective video advertising plan by combining data-driven insights with an obvious image of social media goals and the advantages of each platform.
Monitor How Many Times Competing Videos Are Viewed
You may monitor your rivals’ Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram video views with the help of Unmetric Analyse.