Marketing is not new, but it has achieved greater heights since social media, and the internet has become the key part of our lives and useful marketing channels for businesses. And it is not bound by geographical boundaries. When it comes to video marketing, the first name that comes to your mind is, of course, YouTube that helps you gain the highest possible reach. Marketers are also using Facebook watch to market their brand as Facebook has more than 2.6 billion users every month, and its impressive features help you nudge your products or services into the limelight. YouTube is a video-sharing giant, but Facebook’s share is also growing in the video market. So which one is best and more important for video marketing? If video marketing is on your to-do list, keep reading as in this Facebook Watch vs. YouTube guide, we will compare both platforms in terms of video marketing.
According to a source, every day 55% of people watch online videos every day, while 78% of people watch videos over the web every week. Even the word ‘video’ boosts the open rates in the email subject by 19%. Marketers are aware of the power of video marketing. But the question is where video content should publish, rather than whether you should make online videos or not. There is no doubt that YouTube is the top leading platform for video sharing with over 2 billion users and a growing group of video creators with a huge subscriber base. It is the second-largest search engine after its parent company Google. But we see a major power shift in 2014 when people started uploading their videos on Facebook instead of sharing them on YouTube. When the video market share of Facebook increased, it forced the marketers to reconsider where to publish their videos. However, they prefer YouTube over Facebook watch (87% vs. 68%).
Main difference between Facebook and YouTube
- YouTube is a video hosting platform while Facebook is a ‘video also’ sharing platform
- Search is YouTube’s DNA while Facebook’s DNA is virality
- On YouTube, you can search videos, but on Facebook, videos are not searchable
- Videos are created with a long-term strategy on YouTube, but Facebook videos are created with a short-term strategy.
- YouTube videos are not snackable, and you need to create videos constantly. However, Facebook videos can be consumed and shared promptly.
- On YouTube, a video view is counted after 30 seconds, while on YouTube, it is counted after 3 seconds.
- YouTube videos are informative or advertisement films, while on Facebook, you will see funny viral videos.
- You can do YouTube SEO and optimize your videos for search engines. On the other hand, Facebook doesn’t offer such a thing.
- The life span of YouTube videos is forever, but it is 2 to 3 days in the case of Facebook videos.
- YouTube doesn’t offer you buy video views, likes, and subscribers. However, you can buy Facebook page likes.
User’s behavior on YouTube vs. Facebook Watch
When you are on YouTube, you are mentally prepared to consume videos. It’s true that YouTube is a great place to watch more than 15 minutes of video content. When it comes to Facebook, this is not the case because when you log in on the biggest social media platform, you are mentally prepared to see the posts in your newsfeeds, rather watching video content with a catchy title and appealing thumbnails. People see the same content that their friends share on their timelines. If someone logs in to YouTube, he might not have much time to watch lengthy videos or might not at a place where he can’t turn on the sound. In this case, he may save the videos to watch them later or may watch the muted video. On YouTube, the video view is counted when someone watches the video for over 30 seconds. Even YouTube freeze the video views to check whether the views on this video are authentic or not. However, the video view is counted on Facebook after 3 seconds of consuming the video.
Marketing comparison: Facebook watch vs. YouTube
It is impossible to compare the features of YouTube and Facebook because both platforms are completely different entities. If you have not huge bucks and you are creative, YouTube is the best platform to make your videos popular and get some cash. Even you can earn a handsome amount of money for every new subscriber, like, and views on YouTube. Sounds fab, right? On the other hand, if you want to go live to an event or share detailed articles, then Facebook is the best option to go. When it comes to the scope of earning, YouTube is definitely the best place, especially for the education field. But you should opt for Facebook if you are a brand and sell physical products.
In terms of marketing, there is no clear winner between these two social media giants. It depends on the business and what your business goals are. For video streaming, there is no other substitute to YouTube as this is made for the purpose. But Facebook is a clear winner in the case of selling products. You can use both platforms to maximize the impact of your business.
Success metrics: YouTube vs. Facebook Watch
Number of views
How many people watch your videos? If we compare the number of views of both platforms, the winner is YouTube due to its sheer size of audience and number of views. There is no doubt that YouTube is the video hosting platform, and it has the largest slice of the pie. There are 2 billion active users who log in to YouTube each month, and over 1 billion hours of videos are watched each day on YouTube.
YouTube has also solidified its platform as the primary video search engine. You can search for any kind of video on YouTube. According to YouTube, about 80% of YouTube views come from outside of America that shows that it holds true globally. The year 2014 was the major power shift when Facebook managed to surpass the video views on YouTube with desktop views. In this battle of giants, it was the turning point.
Total time watching
Do people watch your entire video or move on to something else after watching it for a few seconds? YouTube has a clear advantage when it comes to staying power. According to Hootsuite, your video will be more successful on Facebook if its duration is no longer than 20 seconds to 40 seconds. However, 70% of video views on YouTube come from mobile devices, and the mobile session for YouTube is around 40 minutes on average. Facebook looks weak from the analytics perspective. As Facebook counts a view after 3 seconds, so it is possible that a person watches the video for a few seconds out of curiosity while scrolling through the newsfeeds. It means he can scroll past your videos without absorbing the video’s message. On the other hand, the percentage of videos watched will determine the YouTube video views.
Engagement and sharing
Are people reacting to your videos? Are they consuming your video content because they want to? If you consider engagement as a success factor as many other people do, the choice is unclear. The YouTube DNA is search means people search your video or any video category (for example, baby video) to watch it, making that video view intentional and leave comments or hit the like button. However, Facebook has auto-play features that mean the video is not watched intentionally. Moreover, their experience with your video can be passive. On YouTube, the YouTuber phenomenon increases authenticity and drives more engagement. There are young YouTubers on this video-sharing platform who have millions of subscribers. Such channels draw in enthusiastic and young audiences.
Conversions
Have your videos potential to generate leads and lead your audience to make a purchase decision? Whatever the platform you use, you can entertain your subscribers, but who will be the winner when it comes to converting.
There is no clear answer to this burning question. According to one study conducted by Aol in 2014, YouTube wins when it comes to introducing your new products and helping your customers to make the purchase or purchasing decision. It is because that YouTube has its own search volume and favored positioning on Google’s results. According to Shopify, Facebook is the primary social network for driving sales because YouTube relies on its video content only to convert, but Facebook offers other great features too that increase the conversion rate. These features include Facebook ads, links, and suggested pages.
Takeaways
So what platform is better than the other with all this information? The answer is, it depends on many factors, like if your goal is to focus on a global audience, then YouTube is the best choice. But if targeting is essential to your business, chances are Facebook has more options. If comments and video share are more important for your business than the number of views on videos, give Facebook a try. If you are producing longer videos and looking for an audience suited for such content, YouTube is the clear winner. If you want it all, consider uploading videos on both platforms.
Read more from Stealth Agents:
