13 Tips to Create Strong Video Content on Facebook

If you want your Facebook video content to perform well, it has to be strong.

Like most major social media platforms, Facebook is leaning hard into promoting video content. Following the meteoric rise of TikTok in 2020, other social media companies such as Instagram set their sights on competing more directly with video-based platforms.

For creators who were comfortable posting content driven by static images and copy, this was a major shift. Brands that wanted to keep up with the trends--and boost their content’s reach--would need to incorporate video production into their content strategy.

The online world has shifted in favor of video content over the past several years, and that trend looks like it’s here to stay for now. If you’re planning to incorporate Facebook video content into your social media strategy, you’ll want to make you videos as compelling and high-quality as possible.

Each platform has its own recommendations for creating optimised video content. While many video best practices overlap, there are platform-specific tips you need to know to set your videos up for success.

Luckily, Facebook features tools to help users create a solid mix of short-form and long-form video. Let’s take a look at some tips for creating and publishing strong video content out of the gate, plus platform recommendations to help your brand stand out on Facebook.

What Types of Video Content Does Facebook Support?

Video options on Facebook include short, vertical Reels and Stories, long-form video, and live streaming. Essentially, there’s a video type for everyone on the platform.

Facebook’s Reels feature lets users create eye-catching, short video content just like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok. Disappearing Stories can give your followers behind-the-scenes glimpses into your world.

Pre-produced long-form videos are great for brands and influencers sharing educational, instructional, or artistic content. They also work well for YouTube creators who want to cross-post their content to multiple audiences.

How to Create Video Posts in Facebook Creator Studio

To get started with video creation on Facebook, open a new tab and navigate to Creator Studio.

Select the Page where your post will publish. From your main dashboard, you’ll see a green Create New button in the upper left-hand corner.

Click Create New. You’ll see a drop-down menu with multiple options, including Create Post, Creat Reel, Upload Video, and Multiple Videos.

The Create Reel, Upload Video, and Multiple Videos options will prompt you to upload your content first. Then, you can add your copy, select a thumbnail, and publish or schedule the post.

Create Video Posts in Facebook Creator Studio

Multiple Videos lets users bulk upload more than one video at a time. That’s great if you have a batch of vidoes you need to save in your drafts for later.

When you upload a batch of videos, you can start working on one while the others upload. Once uploaded, you can edit your drafts at varying degrees of progress.

Creator Studio also allows users to schedule their posts ahead of time. This option can help busy brand and social media managers who are working with large amounts of content on a regular basis.

Another way to publish video to Facebook isn’t necessarily to start with the upload. Instead, you can click Create Post in the drop-down to get started.

From there, you can draft your copy and upload the video you want to post.

Tips for Optimising Your Facebook Video Content

Uploading and posting video to Facebook is straightforward. Still, there are additional steps you need to follow to optimise your video content.

Let’s take a look at how you can strengthen your Facebook video content to help it appeal to the platform--and a wider audience.

1. Shoot for high visual quality.

While you don’t need expensive equipment to make great Facebook video content, you do want to make sure your visual quality is high. If your videos look low-quality or unprofessional, viewers won’t stick around.

Don’t worry too much about studio quality if you’re just starting out. A great smartphone camera will take you a long way.

Concentrate on getting good lighting. Natural light or an inexpensive ring light will get you going in the right direction.

You’ll also want to make sure your background is neat and uncluttered. Use a blank wall or minimally decorated background if you need to, or even step outside.

2. Check-in with your audio.

In addition to your visuals, you’ll want to make sure your audio is crisp and clear. Try to minimize background noise and interference as much as possible.

Listen back to your video recordings to make sure the audio is high quality. Your followers will get frustrated and exit a video they can’t understand if the sound is garbled or the volume is too low.

3. Include captions in your videos for accessibility.

Accessibility is more important than ever. You want as many viewers as possible to stick around and watch, but if your content isn’t accessible, they’re more likely to move on.

According to a 2019 Verizon Media survey, 92% of users view mobile video with the sound turned off. That means, without captions, you’re potentially missing out on a tremendous audience.

Adding captions (CC) and subtitles to your videos gives more viewers a chance to hang around. That way, they can watch your video content with or without sound.

Using Facebook’s tools, it’s possible to write your own captions, upload your captions from YouTube, or automatically generate them.

Double-check your captions before you publish to make sure they’re accurate.

4. Make sure your videos are actually videos.

Facebook shares its best practices when it comes to video creation and uploading. The platform specifically asks that users provide a “true video experience” to their audiences.

For example, your video shouldn’t be a slideshow of static pictures, a looping video, or a montage of text and quotes. Facebook wants to see video footage that depicts movement.

While it won’t harm your brand to include the occasional image in your video, you’ll want to make sure the majority of your footage shows the motion Facebook requires.

5. Focus on mobile-first video.

Mobile-first content continues to rise in importance. According to data from Statista, there are 4.67 billion mobile users worldwide.

Not only that--59.72% of internet traffic worldwide is attributed to mobile use.

To optimise your videos for mobile first, consider incorporating as much vertical video as possible. This utilises the entire mobile phone screen, which helps you grab the viewer’s attention.

Reels and Stories are the best places to use vertical video (9:16 aspect ratio) on Facebook. Keep TikTok-style video formatting in mind when you create similar video content for your Facebook Page.

Rather than using landscape-oriented video on Facebook, consider square video (1:1 aspect ratio). According to data from Buffer, square video takes up 78% more space on mobile social media feeds than uploaded landscape videos.

Aside from video formatting, your video content is key. Facebook recommends that you get users’ attention within three seconds, and to make sure your branding is prominent and easy to recognise.

Remember that your viewers are using small screens when they see your content. That means your video shots don’t need to be too far away. You’ll also want your captions and text to be easily readable.

Finally, Facebook loves smiling faces and aesthetically pleasing colours in mobile video. Focus on getting the faces of your brand in front of the camera whenever you can and use colours your viewers will immediately associate with your brand.

6. Make sure your video content is aligned with your brand.

It’s important to make sure your Facebook video content is right on par with your brand--not just the look and feel, but its values, too.

Whether you’re representing your brand or creating content for someone else who does, you want to make sure you’re delivering the experience your audience expects from you. This means aligning with your brand and showing up professionally, every time.

7. Plan ahead for Facebook Lives.

If you want to incorporate Facebook Live into your marketing strategy, plan ahead for the livestreams. Rather than winging your live videos, plan ahead so your viewers get the best possible experience.

Minimize possible distractions where you can. That might mean you need to plan around construction, childcare, or other work responsibilities. If you work from home, you’ll need to consider your schedule and where video livestreaming best fits in.

You’ll want to keep talking points on hand so you can keep the conversation on track. If you have another team member on hand to help you, have them moderate questions and comments as you go so you can stay on topic.

8. Don’t bait your audience to engage.

Facebook discourages creators from using tactics that encourage viewers to engage in specific ways. The platform calls this “engagement bait.”

Asking your audience for likes, reactions, shares, specific comments, tags, or votes on videos is a common practice in the online marketing world, but Facebook actually frowns on it. The platform demotes Pages and posts that engage in these practices.

Ultimately, Facebook wants to see genuine interaction on your posts. You can ask open-ended questions of your audience and let them respond organically.

Invite viewers to share their expertise, recommendations, experiences, or advice in your videos. That’s a more genuine way to start and continue meaningful conversations.

9. Follow Facebook’s video length recommendations.

Depending on the types of video content you’re planning to create, Facebook has varying recommendations you should pay attention to.

If you’re concentrating on short-form video, you’ll need to keep your videos under one minute long. Stories are capped at a 15-second maximum.

Short videos are best for:

Reels
Stories
Behind-the-scenes glimpses
Brief teaser content
Announcements
Facebook Video Ads
Polls

For long-form videos, such as episodic series, video podcasts, and livestreams, Facebook recommends videos that exceed three minutes. Shorter videos that range from one to three minutes are good, but it’s best to go longer if your content supports that.

10. Use the appropriate specs.

Every social platform has video and image specifications users need to follow for the best results. Here are the Facebook video dimensions and specs you’ll need to use if you want your videos to be as strong as possible.

1280 x 720 pixels for portrait and landscape videos (minimum 1200 px width)
16:9 aspect ratio for landscape
9:16 aspect ratio for portrait
16:9 aspect ratio for portrait videos with a link
1:1 aspect ratio for square videos
4GB maximum file size
45 minute max length
30fps maximum video frames
Facebook supports both .MP4 and .MOV video formats

According to Sprout Social, Facebook mobile videos are rendered at a 2:3 aspect ratio when originally uploaded in landscape or portrait mode.

11. Make your videos searchable.

To help more viewers find your videos, you’ll need to make them searchable.

Concentrate on making sure your title and description are accurate so your viewers know exactly what they’re going to get when they click Play. This is where great copywriting can come in handy.

Next, your thumbnail needs to be as visually strong as your video. If you’re going to put effort into creating solid video content, don’t skip this important step. Make sure you display an eye-catching image and text your viewers can easily read.

Finally, tag your videos accurately so Facebook can help viewers find you. While users won’t see the tags themselves, you’ll be putting the platform to work to get your content in front of the people who are looking for it.

12. Respect others’ copyrights.

When you create video content for Facebook, make sure you’re legally allowed to post everything you’re including in your videos.

From ideas to visuals to sounds, your content should either belong to you or be properly licensed for commercial use. If you’re using stock video clips, make sure those are licensed, too.

Facebook provides a library of free music you can download and use for commercial purposes in Creator Studio’s Sound Collection. That way, you won’t have to worry about the legality of the sounds you’re choosing for Reels, Stories, or long-form videos.

13. Concentrate on being authentic.

Finally, your video content on Facebook should be authentic to you and your brand. While it’s perfectly fine to look to other brands and creators for inspiration, you’ll ultimately form the most meaningful connections with your audience when you’re true to you.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know what it takes to create strong video content on Facebook, it’s time to get started. While it might be easy to get overwhelmed with the process, take your time.

It’s a common misconception that quantity wins over quality, but that’s not the case. Rather than churning out video content, focus on one meaningful video at a time, sticking to your brand values and culture as you go.

If you’re ready to learn more skills to maximise your Facebook marketing, take a look at our Facebook Marketing Short Course. You’ll be learning actionable tips from expert social media marketers in the space, and you’ll plug in to a community of like-minded professionals along the way. Learn more and enrol here.

Ana Gotter

Social Media Marketing Specialist

Ana is a strategic content marketer specialising in business, finance, and marketing writing, though she's worked across a range of industries. She works from her home in Orlando with her three dogs.