Getting the most bang for your buck by using Facebook Videos

Quick question, think fast.  If you want more exposure on Facebook for your ministry or brand, do you upload videos to YouTube or directly to Facebook?

The answer is Facebook.  Did you get it right?

I must admit, as much as I love social and online media, I am still very much a novice at it.  I mean, I know my way around and all, but when it comes to strategy and development of that strategy, I am completely new to this game.

So for almost a year now, I have been in a huge discovery and learning mode when it comes to social and online media and marketing.  That is why I have clung to some of the experts and what they have to share and I’m learning a ton.

For instance, I always thought that if I want to reach more people with videos, I needed to create a YouTube channel and post all videos there and then post them to the various social media outlets.  Although creating a YouTube channel is helpful depending on what you are drying to accomplish, it’s not necessary.  I know this because I learned a new trick the other day from Michael Stelzner’s podcast.

In one of his recent podcasts, Michael suggested in his tip section that instead of uploading videos directly to YouTube and then sharing them to Facebook, to get more views of your Facebook page, load your videos directly to Facebook.

Why would someone do that?  Because when you are on Facebook mobile, videos start automatically in your newsfeed and it might cause someone to watch your video rather than just skipping over it.  It’s called auto-play which plays your video automatically when someone comes up to it on their newsfeed.  However, if you had a video uploaded from YouTube you have to press the play button to get it go thus getting less exposure because people tend to not click it.

I tried this new trick out this past week and although the numbers of my YouTube views declined, I had greater overall views and more exposure to my “brand” (i.e. New Life Christian Church) because more people watched it on Facebook directly.

So, if you are looking for more exposure to your brand or ministry, try uploading your videos directly to Facebook this week and see how it goes.

Thoughts?  Comments? Experiences?  Post them below so we can all learn from each other how to use social media better to get the word out about what we are up to.