How to Post a Video on Facebook
Video content has exploded on Facebook in recent years. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers an unparalleled opportunity to share video content and engage massive audiences.
But simply uploading any old video won‘t cut it on Facebook. To break through the noise and capture attention, you need to understand the platform‘s constantly evolving video environment.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know to successfully post videos on Facebook – from formatting and uploading, to promotion, analytics, and more.
The Rise of Video on Facebook
Video has become an undeniably massive part of the Facebook ecosystem. According to Facebook IQ research, over 100 million hours of Facebook video content is watched daily, while 500+ million users watch video on Facebook every single day.
To put the dominance of video into perspective, Facebook reports that:
- There are 8 billion average daily Facebook video views
- 100 million hours are spent watching video daily
- 500+ million people watch Facebook videos every day
- 5 billion videos are shared each day
- Live broadcasts receive 6X more interactions than regular videos
And video isn‘t just something casual Facebook scrollers watch. Over 65% of people say that they actively seek out and watch videos on Facebook daily.
For content creators and marketers, these statistics signal a massive opportunity with Facebook video. By 2023, video is forecasted to account for 82% of all internet traffic worldwide. So now is the perfect time to focus efforts on video content for Facebook.
Uploading Videos to Facebook
The first step to sharing videos on Facebook is…uploading them! While the process is straightforward, there are optimal formats and settings to deliver the best experience for viewers.
Supported File Types
Facebook supports the following video file formats:
- .MP4
- .MOV
- .AVI
- .WMV
- .MPEG4
- .MPEGPS
- .FLV
- .3GPP
- .WebM
MP4 and MOV files are highly recommended, as they provide the best quality and compression for online video. According to Facebook, MP4 videos see a 20% higher completion rate than other formats.
Video Optimization Best Practices
Before uploading, be sure to optimize your video files for the Facebook environment:
- Trim excess footage from beginning/end
- Compress oversized files with Handbrake
- Ensure audio levels are normalized
- Downscale 4K to 1080p resolution
- Customizemetadata tags
Properly optimized video files will process faster, deliver higher video quality, and minimize errors during upload.
It‘s also crucial to keep file sizes reasonable – videos over 1024 MB may fail to fully process in Facebook‘s system.
Ideal Facebook video specs recommendations for wall posts
Uploading from Desktop
Posting videos from desktop is a simple process:
- Click the "Photo/Video" button in the status composer box
- Select your video file in the file explorer popup window
- Customize options like audience and captions
- Click "Post" to publish your video
Videos begin processing immediately, then appear natively in your News Feed once encoding finishes. Expect most video uploads to process within 10-20 minutes.
