The Future of Facebook and Video

The Future of Facebook and Video

If you haven’t already noticed, video is everywhere in social media and whether you know it or not, the future of Facebook and video go hand-in-hand. It used to be the case that Facebook was a great place to post your thoughts — in just simple, black and white words. Then, it was the case that the more you posted pictures with your business page posts, the higher your organic reach. How Facebook chooses to “reward” your page and boost your organic reach can sometimes be elusive. However, now it is very clear that Facebook is going the way of video and not looking back anytime soon.

But, it’s not just any video that Facebook will reward you for, it’s Facebook video specifically. Facebook actually penalizes your business page’s organic reach if you post YouTube videos in your posts. Why? Facebook’s goal is to keep users on their platform and not direct them anywhere else. YouTube is not their platform.

Here comes the future of Facebook and video. As time moves on, the ways to incorporate and use video on your Facebook page are increasing. If you haven’t already begun to take advantage of video for your business page on Facebook, now is the time to start.

As a healthcare provider, most of your focus is probably placed on patient education and care. So if social media marketing is the last thing on your mind, where are some quick and easy places you can start to improve your marketing on Facebook using video?

Video Quick Tips

Here is a great place to start. Your patients relate to YOU as your business. So the more you can show them your face on social media, the better. You are also more likely to receive increased interaction, likes, comments and shares. Taking one minute out of your week to shoot a brief video (60 seconds or less) and post it to your Facebook page, is a quick and easy way to get started incorporating video into your social media.

Don’t know what to talk about in your videos? Talk about health tips your patients can begin practicing at home, introduce a new staff member, announce a special offer, a new service or demonstrate a new procedure. Anything that you think would be unique to offer or interesting to your patient or client would make a great topic for a video. You can use equipment you already have – most cell phones have high enough video quality to get you started.

Facebook Video Cover

While this feature isn’t rolled out yet to every business page, we have seen it currently available to many of our clients. A Facebook video can replace your Facebook cover photo. Cover videos can range from 20 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds and can include graphics and sound.

To upload a video in place of your cover photo, hover over the camera icon on your Facebook cover photo and select “upload video.” Voila! Now, every time a follower visits your page, the video will automatically start, attracting more attention to your message, what you do and ultimately your business.

Facebook Profile Video

As is the case with Facebook video covers, some pages also have the option of uploading a short video in place of their profile picture. These can be up to 7 seconds long and loop – just like a GIF. To upload, hover over your profile picture and choose “select profile video” or “take a new profile video.” If no option appears to do so, your page may not yet have this capability.

Facebook Sponsored Ads

Facebook is now a “pay to play” space. So you better believe if your business wants facetime with fans and followers, it might have to pay to get it. While sponsored ads are gaining popularity, sponsored ads that include video instead of a static photo may perform better. Take this opportunity to introduce the face of your business (yours) to potential patients, clients or prospects by including a short video in your next ad.

Some say that the healthcare industry has some catching up to do when it comes to marketing. Your practice can be ahead of the curve by implementing these few Facebook video tips into your social media strategy today.

For more ways to grow your online presence and put the future of Facebook and video to work for you, schedule a strategy session with us today.