As part of it's never ending mission to bring you more of what you like, Facebook now includes two new metrics for ranking Facebook videos including how long you actually watched the video.
This follows in the footsteps of YouTube (aka, Google) where audience retention (the length of time you watched the video) became a major factor in 2012. Please note that these new Facebook measurements only apply to Facebook video posts and not to video links outside of Facebook (although they do have rankings catered directly toward those types of videos, too.)
Today we'll cover three important points:
- What are the factors?
- What do they mean?
- And, most importantly, how can you put this knowledge to good use for your business?
Ranking Factors for Facebook Video
The two new factors (source: Facebook's Newsroom) affecting the ranking of your videos are:
- Are people even interested enough to click the play button on the video?
- If so, how long did they watch it before they moved on?
These join likes, shares, and comments in Facebook's ranking algorithm. Facebook made the change as video usage in social media continues to rise. According to their press release, videos on Facebook are now watched by twice as many as watched them just six months ago.
What the New Metrics Mean
Since videos become "more important" the longer someone watches them, those videos that get started and retain viewers eyes the longest are more likely to show up high in the Facebook News Feed. Naturally, those that get ignored or clicked away from will filter toward the bottom of the rankings.
Along with ranking the videos, Facebook is collecting your personal preferences for videos through these measurements. If you watch a lot of Facebook video posts, you'll see more and more videos coming into your News Feed. If you skip over them, Facebook will skip over displaying them to you.
How You Can Use This Info
First, you probably already have a group of friends, associates, or even members of your mastermind who are the first to click the like button on your Facebook posts. Go ahead and ask them to watch your videos as well as liking them. And make sure they know to watch them to the end.
BTW ... if you do not already have such a group of likers, go ahead and start putting one together!
Next, ask yourself the following questions.
Would I watch this video if it weren't mine?
Does it answer a useful question that a viewer might have? Is it entertaining or engaging? Both of these answers need to be yes. Now ask one of your inner circle to watch it. Make sure that person isn't your mom, though. You know she'll think it's wonderful.
Do the title, description, and keywords accurately reflect the content of the video?
What words are people likely to use to find the content that your video includes? Be sure those words are used in the title, description, and keywords. You don't want to be the bait & switch guy who tags an air conditioner repair video as "Miley Cyrus."
What can I do to improve this video?
Note that it's not "can I," it's "what can I" -- you can always improve something. But once you figure out what you can improve, you need to decide if the time spent improving the video is time well spent. It might not be.
The Quick Takeaway
Video is a great way to get your message across to your followers. If you're not already on that bandwagon, it's time to climb aboard. Tweak your Facebook video uploads (and those on YouTube) and get your inner circle of followers to help you out by liking and viewing them.