by There is a huge opportunity for small and mid-sized brands in social media right now, and it's called Facebook Video. Facebook's video platform is far more than a tacked-on video service. It is a direct competitor to YouTube, designed from the ground up to be an engaging user experience that drives significant viewership and ad revenue.
There are many enticing features that make Facebook Video is a great fit for brands. Here are a few reasons why you should build your presence there as soon as possible.
It's Easy to Get Views on Facebook Video
Does your brand have a Facebook page? If you are like the vast majority of businesses around the world, you do. Here's the good news: everyone who has liked your Facebook page up until now is already signed up for your video updates. You don't have to start from scratch on this platform.
It's important to note that linking a YouTube video on your page does not get it onto Facebook Video. For Facebook to include your content in its video feed, you must upload it natively to the Facebook platform.
Native content gets much better reach on Facebook. It will help get your content shown to friends-of-friends of your users, boosting your growth statistics. This is a big opportunity to reach a larger audience.
Facebook Video Will Be Even Bigger in a Few Years
Users have been uploading an increasing number of videos to Facebook over the last few years. Between 2014 and 2015 there was a shocking 100% increase in the number of videos uploaded.
Consumers are ramping up their viewership to match this influx in content. Facebook Video claimed more than four billion video views per day in 2016, and that number has continued to move up throughout 2017.
You can be the video marketer who wins big on Facebook Video. Even if you just mirror your YouTube content on Facebook and make sure to reupload it natively to the platform, you'll be outdoing a lot of other marketers. The best time to build an audience on a social media platform is early on. You have to move quickly to take advantage of this opportunity.
Facebook is Rolling Out Monetization Features
Early in 2017, Facebook announced several new video monetization features:
(1) Mid-roll ads, which play mid-video and interrupt the viewer for 15 seconds.
(2) Live Stream Ads, which can be triggered by the streamer whenever they have more than 300 concurrent viewers and last for 15 seconds.
These features are still in beta, so not all Facebook pages will have access to them. They will eventually become available for every content creator who meets the minimum requirements.
A lot of brands are sleeping on Facebook's potential as a profit center. Larger brands can use this as a way to recoup some of the costs of an expensive ad campaign. Smaller brands and especially lifestyle bloggers could turn this into an extra profit stream on top of YouTube ad revenue.
Many content creators have recently reported dwindling YouTube ad revenues. Facebook Video could be the next frontier for earning money from your video content.
Don't Wait Another Day
Now is the best time to take advantage of the Facebook Video opportunity. More and more viewers are turning to FB for video content. Why not make your brand the one to provide the entertainment?
An easy way to start is to post a few new videos each week. Measure views, reach, and audience engagement. After a month or two, you should be seeing good upwards momentum on the path towards video success.
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