Facebook Video Marketing

Forget Profile Videos… Cover Videos are here!

Facebook have taken the fight for the best social network up a level, and it comes with no surprise that it involves their most engaged with content – Videos!

With a high quality, professional and engaging cover photo being essential for the success of any business’ social profiles, we can’t help but feel a little bit excited about the prospect of switching things up with a cover video. But for the moment, this new feature is not universally available, and many of you may be wondering, ‘Why don’t I have a cover video yet?’.

So, with this in mind, here’s what we know so far:

• Size: The suggested dimensions remain close to that of a typical cover photo, with each video required to be at least 820 x 312 pixels. Facebook has also recommended a size of 820 x 462 pixels for optimum quality.
• Time: Cover videos must be between 20 and 90 seconds long, and can be looped to your requirement. As the trailblazer in the world of cover videos, the Narcos clip was just six seconds long but set to loop a few times over in order to meet the time requirements. Cover videos also play automatically when a visitor enters the page, immediately drawing their attention to the page cover.
• Uploads: As with profile and cover photos, cover videos can be previously uploaded videos or be uploaded straight from your files.
• Disadvantages: As things stand, this is a relatively new feature so is not completely fool proof. Some users have complained about the reliability of their video, as they have been known to stop working or be cropped for no apparent reason.

So you know the requirements, but are they actually worth it?

We have used a previous client testimonial as the cover video for the Bee Social Marketing Facebook page, and believe that it is an effective way to entice our audience, as potential clients tend to rely on the views of others before using a business. Our resident graphic whizz, Jack, has also recently created a short recruitment video which has been utilised as the cover video for our client, Bluebird Care Leeds North.

Despite the initial complaints, many users (including a number of our clients) have utilised Facebook cover videos with no problems at all, and we strongly believe that this is one of the most exciting social media developments of the past few years. Not only does it display the true power of video marketing within social media, but it also has the potential to change the way users engage with Facebook profiles.

Keep an eye out for cover videos next time you’re on Facebook, and we will be sure to update you of any developments as and when they occur.

Interested in outsourcing your social media platforms?

Give us a buzz on 01423 297009 or click here to contact us.