Optimizing Facebook video postings

By | 07/09/2017

Creating good videos is key to success for Facebook publishers. Analyzing 100m+ Facebook videos published last year, Buzzsumo found a range of really interesting insights into individual aspects of successful videos.

First of all, the authors looked into the topics of the videos and found an astounding influence as you can see from the below graph. Now obviously it is sometimes quite hard to think of ways to connect your page’s main topic(s) to some of the success drivers – but it sure is worth a try!

The team also looked into the length of videos and the effect on audience interaction. Most engagements is achieved with videos ranging from 60 to 120 seconds. And certainly: don’t make it too short!

The authors also looked at the differences between ordinary Facebook video and Facebook Live videos. It is interesting that live videos seem to generate slightly more engagement, but they need to be considerably longer!

Other topics covered in the study also included the variety of reactions to videos as well as the role and optimal length of introductory texts.

In summary, the 5 takeaways identified by the Buzzsumo team were:

  • Keep it short: The videos were typically short with an average length of 115 seconds and a median of just 65 seconds.
  • Keep the intro crisp: The introductory text to these Facebook videos was also short with a median of 61 characters. The post text encouraged you to just dive into the video.
  • Try going Live: Facebook is promoting Facebook Live video, and these can be longer – think 15 to 20 minute focused sessions.
  • Hacks, Tips and How-tos: These types of videos perform particularly well, as do inspirational and humorous videos.
  • Create shareable content: The top videos were more likely to be shared than liked.

Read the full study here:

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