Yes, it is possible to post a video directly on your Facebook timeline or page. Facebook allows users to upload and share videos up to 240 minutes long. The video will appear in the post just like a photo or other media.
Ways to Post a Video on Facebook
There are a few different ways you can post a video on Facebook:
- Upload a video directly when creating a new post
- Share a video from YouTube or other platform by pasting the URL
- Go live and stream video in real time
- Use Facebook Stories to post short video clips
Let’s go through each of these options in more detail.
Uploading a Video File
The easiest way to post a video is to simply upload a video file when creating a new post:
- Click the “Photo/Video” button when creating a post
- Select the video file you want to upload from your computer
- The video will begin uploading and processing
- Customize the post with a caption and tags as desired
- Click “Post” and the video will appear in your timeline
Facebook supports common video formats like MP4, MOV, and AVI. The maximum file size for uploaded videos is 4GB.
Sharing Videos from YouTube or Other Sites
You can also easily share videos from YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, or other platforms by pasting the video URL into your post:
- Copy the URL of the video from the original site
- Paste the URL into your Facebook post
- The video thumbnail and title will automatically appear in the post
- Customize the post caption if desired
- Click “Post” and the shared video will appear
When people view the post, they’ll be able to play the video directly on Facebook.
Going Live
Facebook Live allows you to stream video in real time to your friends or followers. It’s great for interviews, announcements, Q&As, tutorials, and more:
- In the status update box, click “Live Video”
- Give your broadcast a title and description
- Click “Go Live” and start streaming!
- Viewers will be notified to tune in and can comment in real time
- The video will be posted on your timeline when you end the broadcast
Live videos can be up to 4 hours long. This is an easy way to engage your audience with compelling real-time content.
Using Facebook Stories
Facebook Stories allow you to post short videos and photos that disappear after 24 hours. To post a video story:
- Tap the + sign in the top navigation bar
- Capture or select a video up to 15 seconds long
- Customize with effects, text, drawings, filters, etc.
- Share to your story – your friends can view it for 24 hours
Stories are a fun, casual way to share video content without cluttering up your permanent timeline.
Video Specs and Optimization
To ensure your videos look great and perform well on Facebook, it’s important to upload videos with the proper specifications:
- Resolution: 720p or 1080p HD is best
- Aspect ratio: 1:91:1 or 16:9 widescreen
- Format: MP4 or MOV files are recommended
- File size: Up to 4GB per video
- Length: 240 minutes maximum
- Bitrate: Aim for videos encoded at 3,500 to 5,000kbps
Additionally, these tips can help optimize your video for Facebook:
- Add a compelling preview image/thumbnail that stands out in the news feed
- Use captions or subtitles for sound-off viewing
- Include a catchy, informative title and meta description
- Post at optimal high-engagement times for your audience
Shorter videos under 2 minutes tend to get the most engagement on Facebook. Consider splicing longer videos into multiple short clips.
Video Post Best Practices
To maximize the impact of your video posts on Facebook, keep these best practices in mind:
Choose Clips That Align With Your Goals
Carefully select videos that support your brand message and engage your target demographic. Funny clips may go viral, but won’t necessarily achieve your business objectives.
Mix It Up
Post a variety of video formats (live, embedded, short form, etc.), lengths and content types to keep viewers interested.
Encourage Engagement
Prompt viewers to like, comment, share and take other actions with clear calls-to-action. Ask questions to spark conversation.
Reuse Effective Content
Repurpose and repost your top-performing videos for new audiences. Try clipping short segments from longer videos to extend your content.
Analyze and Refine
Use Facebook Insights to monitor the performance of each video post. Double down on what’s working and improve what’s not.
Facebook Video Posting Tools
Creating great videos takes time. If you need help coming up with enough video content to populate your Facebook feed, consider using these tools:
Adobe Spark
Spark’s free video maker helps you easily turn photos, text, and music into polished social media videos in minutes.
Biteable
Biteable is a simple drag-and-drop video builder with tons of templates, animations and effects for social media.
Animoto
Animoto produces pro-quality marketing videos from your photos, video clips, and music.
Magisto
Magisto uses AI to analyze your clips and automatically edit them into short videos optimized for social media.
Canva
Canva’s slick web and mobile apps let you create great-looking social graphics and videos in seconds.
Video Marketing Strategy
Simply posting a variety of videos may get you some engagement, but won’t necessarily impact your business goals. To maximize your Facebook video marketing results, employ these proven strategies:
Promote Your Best Content
Only share your most useful, engaging videos on Facebook – the ones that clearly reflect your brand. Promote each post with ads for maximum visibility.
Spotlight Influencers
Encourage influencers relevant to your audience to share your videos with their followers for greater reach.
Go Behind-the-Scenes
Give viewers an inside look at your company culture, employees, processes and story through behind-the-scenes videos.
Collaborate with Partners
Work with complimentary but non-competing brands to co-create and cross-promote collaborative video content.
Leverage Live Video
Broadcast live events, demos, Q&As and more using Facebook Live to engage your audience in real time.
Repurpose Content
Turn written content like blog posts into short animated videos and repurpose video segments across platforms.
Measuring Facebook Video Performance
It’s critical to monitor the performance of your video content on Facebook using built-in analytics. Important metrics to track include:
- Reach: How many people saw the video post
- Views: How many times the video was viewed
- Completion rate: Percentage of viewers who watched to the end
- Engagement rate: Likes, comments, shares and other interactions
- Clicks: Interactions with any call-to-action buttons
- Conversions: Desired actions like signups or purchases
Compare videos to uncover trends and identify your best formats, content types, post times and more. These insights will allow you to refine your approach and produce even better results. You can also run Facebook A/B video tests to directly compare performance.
Here is an example video performance report in table format:
| Video | Reach | Views | Completion Rate | Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How-to Tutorial | 1,200 | 985 | 68% | 250 reactions, 21 comments, 14 shares |
| Product Demo | 2,500 | 1,857 | 54% | 491 reactions, 40 comments, 31 shares |
| Behind-the-Scenes | 3,100 | 2,724 | 87% | 1,582 reactions, 174 comments, 121 shares |
Conclusion
Video is a highly engaging, powerful format on Facebook that can really help you connect with your audience and achieve business goals. While simply posting any video content may drive some interest, strategic optimization and promotion is key to getting videos to perform well.
Focus on producing genuinely useful, relevant videos showcasing your brand story. Monitor performance metrics closely and double down on what resonates. With compelling video content and smart promotion, you can dramatically boost your Facebook engagement and results.