3 video best practices to try on Facebook

Making video content for any platform comes with its own unique set of strategies and tactics to succeed. On Facebook, you'll find a deeper community who connects around their interests and passions. It's a community that is authentic and loves to engage meaningfully with you and what you share. We encourage you to always be authentic, stay consistent and always engage your community. Experimentation is key when creating for any platform, and Facebook is no different. Below are three tactical best practices for you to consider when creating video for Facebook.

Capture attention - add a 3-5 second trailer to hold interest

The first 3 to 10 seconds of a video are really important! Make sure these first moments are visually interesting since people make split second decisions around what content they want to engage with. Try including a 3-5 second trailer at the beginning of your video to captivate your audience.

You can utilize Creator Studio to see where your viewers are dropping off. Open up Video Details by clicking on your video in the Content Library of Creator Studio. Look at the Audience Retention curve, and uncheck "only include views over 15 seconds" to see where people are dropping off in the first few seconds of your video. We recommend looking at your retention curves often and aiming to improve your retention over time, as that will help increase your reach on Facebook.

Example: AmbersCloset

With Amber’s video Storytime: Why I’m Afraid of Whales, adding a 3-5 second highlight trailer at the beginning of the video increased 1-minute views by approximately 43%*.

*internal Meta data 2020

Frame the story - with a 4:5 aspect ratio

The way you tell a story visually matters. We live in a world where most people watch videos on mobile just inches from their face and often in vertical orientation rather than turning their phone to landscape. Try framing your visual story and build for vertical format. Editing your videos using a 4:5 aspect ratio may work best for your videos on Facebook.

Example: Nabela Noor

With Nabela’s video "What I Eat In a Day”, editing the aspect ratio to 4:5 outperformed the 16:9 by 2x*.

*internal Facebook data 2020

Engage your community - commenting on posts

Joining the conversation in the comments section of your own posts can delight your audience and maximize your reach. Longer comments, like sharing your own perspective on the discussion or answering questions, can spark even more engagement with your content.

We also suggest you engage with content from other accounts. Feel free to weigh in, respond to things you enjoy, and re-share posts with your own commentary.

At the end of the day, the only magic formula for successful content on Facebook is you. We encourage testing, experimentation and following the data for what works best for your content and your audience.