We said for a long time that video is the king of content on all social media platforms, but especially on Facebook™, and now, two independent studies have the numbers that prove it. Using empirical research, the two studies focused on millions of posts and Facebook™ pages and came up with a wealth of statistical data.
We could write a book based on these findings, but you don’t have the time to read it. So, we focused on some of the general findings and especially on data related to Facebook™ videos. So, first things first…
The State of Facebook™ Pages
The first research conducted by Quintly broke down Facebook™ pages by number of followers and type of content they share. Thus, according to their data:
- 3.8% pages have over 10 million followers;
- 15.6% have between 1 and 10 million followers;
- 22.9% pages have between 100 thousand and 1 million followers;
- 23.2% pages have between 10 thousand and 100 thousand followers;
- 19.9% pages have between 1 thousand and 10 thousand follower;
- 14.6% pages have fewer than 1 thousand followers.
As for the content mix found on these pages, the results are as follows:
- 54.9% link;
- 29.1% image;
- 14.1% video;
- 1.8% status.
Looking at the numbers, it would seem that links rule Facebook™ posts in quantity. But what really matters is quality – that is, the level of engagement and conversions generated by the post.
And the Quintly study came with the first confirmation that the video performs better than any other type of content. Thus:
- Video gets 65% more interactions than images;
- Video also outperforms links by 72% in engagements.
As for simple status updates, these have the poorest performance – 105% less interactions than images.
Let us move on to the next research, performed by Socialinsider on over 9 million native Facebook™ videos. Here are the top findings:
1. Facebook™ Videos Are Rising and Rising
The number of native Facebook™ videos shared by brands is steadily rising and has not reached a saturation point. There was a 2% growth from 2017 to 2018 and this year the trend is still rising.
2. Vertical Videos Outperform Landscape Ones
As smartphones became larger, it became increasingly difficult for users to hold them horizontally to film landscape videos. Out of convenience arose popularity. Now vertical videos (first promoted by Instagram and Snapchat) became the most engaging type of Facebook™ videos.
Thus, the measurements for March 2019 showed the following engagement rates:
- 0.30% for vertical videos,
- 0.21% for landscape videos,
- 0.16% for square videos.
3. Video Length Is Less Relevant than Before
As we mentioned in a past article, video length is no longer a key metric for engagement. The research found a uniform engagement rate – between 0.8% and 0.87% – for videos with the length between 1-2 minutes, 2-5 minutes, 5-10 minutes, respectively, 10-20 minutes.
4. Consistent Video Descriptions Increase Engagement
When sharing native Facebook™ videos, take some time to write descriptive and interesting captions for them, because you will get more engagement. The Socialinsider research found that 300-word descriptions (or longer) generate higher engagement rates than shorter descriptions.
5. Live Video Outperforms Recorded Video
Last but not least, go live as much as you can on Facebook™. At present, according to the report, only 11% of brands go live on Facebook™. Yet, the larger the followership of a page, the higher the engagement rates for live Facebook™ videos are:
- 1.30% for live videos vs. 0.79% for recorded videos for pages with more than 10 thousand fans;
- 0.37% for live videos vs. 0.23% for recorded videos for pages with 10-100 thousand fans.
Therefore, whenever you have something interesting to share, try to share it in a live video on Facebook™.