6 Tips for Getting Found (& Winning Viewers) on the Facebook Video Tab

 Before you know it, video will run the world.

-- Well, the marketing world.

While video has always been a powerful marketing tool, in the last decade it has taken huge strides to significantly transform the way people not only interact with family and friends on social media, but brands as well.

With mobile devices, Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Live allowing people to instantaneously interact with others and produce content without the need for high-end video equipment, the video marketing barriers are lower than ever and video itself is more popular than ever.

It’s no wonder that 52% of marketers believe that video marketing is effective for brand awareness, lead generation, and online engagement.

With the Facebook app’s video tab officially rolled out, the social network is not only placing an emphasis on sponsored posts or videos shared from other outlets, but providing users with a powerful platform for streaming their own live broadcasts.

Here’s how you can make the most of Facebook’s latest addition and get more viewers!

Facebook’s Focus on Video

In April of 2016, Facebook slowly rolled out the video tab to a select number of users, asking them to test the feature before releasing it to everyone.

You might be wondering, what brought on this change?

Data! Did you know that in late 2015 more than 4 billion videos were being watched a day on Facebook? Just think about how much that number has most likely increased in the last year or so.

Taking notice of this behavior, Facebook decided to dive in head-first.

"People are creating and sharing more video, and we think it’s pretty clear that video is only going to become more important," Zuckerberg told analysts according to USA Today.

"...That’s why we’re... putting video first across our family of apps, and taking steps to make it even easier for people to express themselves in richer ways."

Clearly, video is becoming the future of social media. Especially live video. Don’t believe me, take a look at a few more stats:

• More video content is uploaded to the web in 1 single month, than TV has created in 3 decades.
• Facebook video posts have increased by 94% annually in the United States.

Video isn’t the only trend that’s going to impact your marketing. There’s also social media and mobile. Facebook is bundling these trends together with their dedicated video tab that’s only available on mobile.

Today, not only do people want to receive news and updates as they’re happening, and video is changing the way trending news stories are being presented.

Live video isn’t just an outlet for news organizations or journalists, but rather a new platform for brands and consumers a like.

Some brands that have implemented live video into their campaigns include:

• Nissan
• Benefit Cosmetics
• General Motors

With this new emphasis on video, you’ll see more broadcasts and live stream videos as well as sponsored videos flooding your Facebook newsfeed.

Breaking Down the Facebook Video Tab

The video tab is located on the bottom menu, nestled between your timeline and marketplace (which has also made a comeback) tabs.

Unlike the videos that appear in your newsfeed (videos shared by those you follow), those that appear in the dedicated video tab are broken up into three native segments.

1. Notifications: These are recent videos posted by pages and people you follow and receive notifications from.
2. Top Live: Videos that are currently live that have the most viewers.
3. Suggested Videos: These are videos you might like based on the pages and people you follow. Videos in this section are also based on the video’s popularity on Facebook.

With the dedicated video tab, the hottest stories and breaking news are right at your fingertips, allowing you to spend less time searching for the latest news stories and trending videos.

How to Get On the Facebook Video Tab (And 6 Tips for Getting More Views)

With video becoming more and more prominent on Facebook (and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down), you might be wondering how your brand will stay out in front of your audience.

Here’s what you should know to optimize for the video tab.

First off -- Go live.

Back in March 2016, Facebook updated its algorithm to focus on live video and real-time posts when it learned live videos are viewed 3x longer than a previously recorded and uploaded video. Considering that live videos are also given priority in the video tab, a wise marketer will take advantage!

If your business is thinking about going live, you’ll need to download the Facebook Page Manager App; You won’t be able to go live as business page with the main app. Get it from iTunes or Google Play here.

Once you’ve download the page manager app, follow these steps to stream your first live video.

When creating a Facebook Live video, you’ll want to keep these things in mind to help it get found on the video tab:

1. Create a compelling description that will make your audience want to watch.

The video tab doesn’t display titles, only your logo, brand name, and a short description. So make your description count.

You’ll also want to keep it concise; only about two short lines show up before the “see more” button.

2. Don’t ignore your audience.

Ask them questions and get them to participate during your broadcast. These interactions also appear on the video tab alongside your description and act as social proof, encouraging others to join.

3. Tell your audience what day and time you’re going to go live.

You may not be able to fully control how your broadcast turns out when “going live,” but you can build your audience with a little early promotion. The more viewers you have, the higher your video will likely appear in newsfeeds and the video tab.

4. Encourage viewers to “subscribe” or turn on their notifications

To ensure you’re showing up in your audience's video tab, you’ll need your audience to turn on notifications, so during your broadcast, walk them through how to do that!

By having your audience turn on live notifications, this will allow your profile photo to display at the top of the video tab above those highlighted in “Top Live.”

Here’s how you can guide your viewers to turn on video notifications:

• Go to the page you want to receive the notifications from and find a previously live video.
• In the right hand corner of the post, click on the downward arrow
• Select  “Turn on Live notifications”

5. Stream something your audience will want to watch.

Unlike Snapchat and Instagram Stories, Facebook allows you to make and share longer-form video content.

With the a 90-minute time frame, you’re able to reach a larger audience and the longer you’re live, you increase your chances of people scrolling past your video within their newsfeed and watching.

After you’re done broadcasting:

6. Post an eye-catching thumbnail. 

This is something you can only do once you’ve finished streaming, but it’s very important.

To add a thumbnail via your computer, click on the date stamp, then options, and select “edit this video.”

When changing your thumbnail, don’t be afraid to incorporate text or call-to-action.

Since the video tab doesn’t display video titles, this would be a good place to incorporate a compelling title.

Also, Facebook appears automatically displays your profile photo in the bottom left hand corner of the thumbnail so no need to waste space on that.

Are You Going Live?

Have you started to use Facebook Live? I’d love to know what you think and what your thoughts are on Facebook dedicated a tab on mobile to video.