Facebook’s Got A New Video Algorithm. Here’s What You Need to Know

It’s no surprise that Facebook is stacking the deck towards video.

We’ve seen that video performs insanely well in campaigns, as it humanizes your brand and helps the viewer understand what they’re digesting easier than written text.

The social platform has shown video favor with the introduction of Watch and Stories and with priority in its newsfeed algorithm.

Now, they’re doubling down on that.

In an update release Monday, David Miller, Product Management Director at Facebook, revealed updates to Facebook's video ranking algorithm.

The goal of this is to help video content creators “find their audience and build profitable video businesses on Facebook.”

What’s Changing in The Facebook Algorithm?

At the core of the update, Facebook is going to reward you for creating “sticky” video content that fuels repeat views.

Think about that recipe video that you’ve watched five times, for instance. It’s going to benefit tremendously from this algo-update.

Per the update, Facebook will be adding “more weight in ranking to videos that people seek out and return to.”  

Duration and originality were also mentioned in the algorithm, noting that three-minute videos typically perform best and those that capture the attention span for at least one-minute will be higher ranked.

Basically, Facebook wants to make sure you’re creating valuable content that users actually use. And use frequently.

Lastly, the algorithm update is going to be de-prioritizing pages that simply share videos and don’t upload original content.

Facebook has even created a best-practice document around sharing so you don’t get too deep into a “sharing-scheme.”

Why It Matters to Marketers

Investing in Facebook video? Then you’ll want to bookmark this article.

Your video strategy should be tailored to reflect the new algorithm changes, specifically hitting that roughly three-minute runtime that Facebook is looking for.

This algorithm update, in my opinion, can actually yield a ton of results for those creating valuable videos for their users. The hard part, however, is determining what people will watch again and again.

In theory, if your content is useful viewers should be frequenting it and if you’re hitting the three-minute mark for runtime, it appears that you’ll be ranking higher and more frequently in newsfeeds.

If you do not align with what Facebook wants your video content to be, you’re missing out on potentially valuable brand awareness and leads.

And, you could be wasting effort on videos that don’t get traction. Which is something no one likes to see.

What To Do Next

Based on what we’ve learned, your next step should be to audit what you’re currently doing in regards to video and exactly how you can (or what you should do too) benefit from the new update.

If you’ve been releasing shorter, “quick-hit” videos, this update means you should probably rethink what you’re putting out to play into the new algorithm.

Hitting the three-minute video mark with an engaging and “sticky” video is no easy task, so get creative!