How to make your video content flourish – Increase distribution on Facebook
We all know video is king but getting your organic content to be shown to your visitor attraction audience is getting harder than ever.
Meta have recently revealed what you should be implementing on Facebook to increase the ranking of your video content and identified four key drivers. Quite simply, they want to see that your content fits with the interests of your audience.
We have summarised their findings in this blog to point out what you may be doing right (or wrong) when creating and publishing video content for your zoo, theme park or animal attraction.
The four key drivers to Facebook Rankings
- Originality – How unique the video content is across the platform.
- Capture and retain attention – Viewing behaviours and video attributes that keep attention.
- Loyalty and intent – How often people come back to view your content.
- Engagement – The ability your content has to spark a conversation amongst others.
What you should be doing or avoiding
Originality
What your visitor attraction should be doing:
Originality is key to a higher distribution when it comes to video content on Facebook. Posting original video content that you filmed, edited and published will perform much better in terms of distribution, rather than reposting other people’s work as this goes against the Facebook algorithm. Ideally, you should show others what you’re capable of creating yourself which will further increases engagement and distribution across your page.
What you Facebook videos should be avoiding:
Your originality signal will be negatively impacted if you are posting duplicated content that already exists elsewhere on Facebook, or has been taken from another page for your own posting purposes. This will limit your distribution and monetisation potential, so instead try and recreate the content posted on another page yourself in order to gain a better reach. This is also the case when posting video clips that have been repurposed or mass-produced. Avoid posting videos that have been unmeaningfully edited or stitched together with little enhancement.
It is important to note that reposting content that you have made yourself and previously posted is fine and should not affect distribution negatively.
Capture and retain attention
So, what does this mean for visitor attractions?
What you visitor attraction should be doing:
Retaining your viewer’s attention is just as important as capturing it in the first place. In order to keep your audience interested in the video content they are watching, it has been found effective to use storytelling as a basic video structure. By providing an introduction followed by a build up of tension, it will catch your viewer’s attention and keep them interested throughout, resulting in them being more likely to watch through to the end.
What your Facebook videos should be avoiding:
Leaving out crucial information or exaggerating details (otherwise known as clickbait) from your video content will lower its distribution. You should avoid fabricating the truth for dramatic effect, and instead stick to honesty as this will be recognised by Facebook. You should also avoid using static imagery within your video content, as it is not considered fit for the video format. Videos with a slideshow-like structure will receive a lower distribution than content made from actual video footage.
Loyalty and intent
What you visitor attraction should be doing:
One way to keep connected with your audience is to publish bonus content, such as sneak peaks and behind the scenes, to deepen engagement and result in them staying interested in your brand. Distribution is positively affected when your audience come back to your page for views, especially when they are actively searching for your content.
It’s important that your videos contain clear titles and captions, as this increases the number of people who see your post both by searching results and viewing recommended videos. Burned-in captions on video content maximises retention and makes content accessible, whilst also keeping the audience engaged.
What you Facebook videos should be avoiding:
If your messaging is unclear or you don’t come across confidently to your audience, the video will result in a low distribution score. Distribution can also be negatively impacted if your posts lack variety, as this could cause the audience to lose interest and therefore loyalty as they feel disengaged. If posts are not authentic, brand loyalty could be affected as fans may look elsewhere for a better brand connection.
Engagement
What your visitor attraction should be doing:
Ensuring your video is authentically shared will increase its video distribution, as sharing is one of Facebook’s most powerful tools for organic distribution. Video content that inspires its audience to spark a conversation in the comments is prioritised, meaning a better distribution. It’s just as important that your video receives a reaction or like as this will increase priority if they occur naturally.
What you Facebook Videos should be avoiding:
If your video content is asking people to engage with it, such as engaging to win a prize or voting on a topic, it will receive a reduced distribution as the engagement isn’t natural. This is known as engagement bait. If a video is artificially distributed, such as resharing into groups, distributed in exchange for compensation, or if the content does not directly connect with the theme of the page, overall distribution will be reduced by Facebook, as this is considered as employing a manufactured sharing behaviour.
By following these key findings when creating and publishing video content for Facebook, it will ensure that your posts maximise their distribution.
This blog was written by Drew Batten, Marketing Coordinator of Agility Marketing, a boutique marketing agency specialising in Digital Marketing for Visitor Attractions.
