Facebook Gives Page Owners Tips To Improve Their Video Production

Any way you spin it, 2015 has been a huge year for Facebook video. The numbers are spectacular, with daily video views more than doubling since January and now sitting at 8 billion, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s most recent announcement in November.

Even critics’ arguments — that Facebook’s video metrics are suspect because they are based on three-second views or that they are substantially inflated by people stealing viral videos from YouTube — don’t diminish the fact that Facebook video is a huge opportunity for marketers.

And during the year, Facebook has rolled out many tools to help people with their video efforts on the platform. So many that there’s a good chance many Facebook Page owners aren’t aware of them. The tools range from scheduling options and new engagement metrics to adding captions and embedding videos on third-party sites, and Facebook product manager Anaid Gomez-Ortigoza wrote a blog post today as an end-of-the-year reminder of how to use them best. Here are some of the tips:

1) Schedule videos to automate your content calendar

Whether you’re planning an exclusive release or preparing for an understaffed weekend, scheduling videos for your Page can help you organize and automate your content calendar on Facebook. To schedule a video, when you upload it, click the arrow next to “Publish” and choose “Schedule Post” from the drop-down menu. On the next screen, you can select the date and time that you’d like your video to go live.

2) Set expiration dates for videos

You can also set an expiration date for your video. When a video expires, it is automatically unpublished, which means it will no longer be visible on your Page or anywhere else it was shared on Facebook, though Page owners will retain access to the video’s insights. This feature is especially useful for videos with licensing restrictions.

To set an expiration date for your video, follow the directions for scheduling your video. On the next screen, you’ll have the option select the date and time you’d like your video to expire.

3) Add captions to tell your story with and without sound

Since videos on Facebook autoplay in News Feed with sound off, it’s important to think about how to tell your story without sound. In some cases, we’ve seen publishers provide text overlays and banners keep viewers engaged even with muted audio, while others have experimented by narrating data points and statistics with moving graphics and images. Another option is to add captions to your video so that viewers can easily follow along when watching your video — this can even be helpful with sound on.

Captions are added as .SRT files to your video during the upload or edit process. On the web, people who watch your video can click “CC” on the bottom right-hand side of the video to enable captions. On mobile devices, captions display automatically when a viewer has volume muted. Learn more about captions in the Help Center.

4) Edit and manage all your videos with your Video Library

The Video Library is a place where you can organize and manage your videos. You can access your Video Library by visiting the Publishing Tools tab within your Page. Use the search and filtering tools to locate a specific video by title, description and more. You can also edit or change any details related to your videos, including adding captions in other languages, changing a custom thumbnail and more.

5) Embed your videos elsewhere

Facebook’s embedded video player allows publishers to display videos from Facebook on their own sites. If you’re planning an announcement or special moment around your video, it’s a good idea to share your video’s embed code with press, partners and others. To access the embed code, visit your Page’s Timeline and click the drop-down arrow next to your video. Click “Embed Video” to copy and paste the embed code.

See Facebook’s post for the rest of the tips.