YouTube Vs Facebook: Which one is the Best to Go Viral

13:04 30 April 2021

With the advent of social media, brands have been shifting to the digital platform and utilizing all the available social media platforms to boost their brand’s digital presence and revenue. Moreover, with the ever-increasing need of grasping customer’s attention, short graphic content and video content are popular. According to statistics, nearly 99% of marketers use video for promotion and nearly 40% of the users don’t have plans in place to start soon. The best strategy for your brand is to gain views on the videos you release. With a plethora of social media apps, Facebook and YouTube top the statistics for video content at 2.80 billion and 2.30 billion active users respectively. Now, you have planned your video content, developed and edited it, but the big question is: which platform to use? Well, this article will compare and present facts about both these social media platforms which will help you determine the best option for your brand. The various social media and digital marketing service providers also help you decide on the best strategy to be adopted. 

 

Audience Base and Viewers

 

According to the various statistics available, it is quite evident that Facebook has a larger audience base compared to YouTube. However, only 46% of the users use the “Facebook Watch” feature which is a stark contrast to YouTube’s viewer base as YouTube is a platform that completely revolves around video content. Thus, you might be able to get a larger viewer base on YouTube and the platform has also ranked as the second popular search engine after Google. This means that your video has a higher chance of being found when released on YouTube. You can even buy facebook followers for your page and get the best engagement rate on your profile. 

 

View Count Based on Timing

 

Another notable difference is that Facebook counts a view after the viewer has watched your video for 3 seconds or more, whereas YouTube counts the view after the user watches it for at least 30 seconds. Surveys and statistics reveal that the first 15 seconds of the video are important to keep the viewer hooked on Facebook and the recommended video length is 2 to 5 minutes for higher engagement. On the contrary, statistics reveal that the first 5 seconds of a YouTube video should contain the complete intro and the recommended duration is somewhere between 7 to 15 minutes. The average time spent on Facebook is 38 minutes (includes all the features like Facebook Watch, posts, groups, and shops), whereas on Youtube it is 42 minutes which makes YouTube’s viewers a bigger contributor and target audience.

 

Charge for Video Ads 

 

Do you think creating and posting your video is all? No! You need to market and promote your video in order to gain a larger audience and this is where video ads come in. Both the platforms provide the feature of video ads but there is a stark difference between the two. In the case of YouTube, you need to pay them on the basis of the view count or engagement. This means, if someone watches your video ad for more than 30 seconds, it is counted as a view and the engagement is based on things such as - clicking any call-to-action button or the companion banner (an image ad running simultaneously with your video advertisement). In the case of Facebook, you can choose where your video ad appears - in-stream (other videos the user is watching on Facebook Watch), feed, or in the form of stories, and you can select any call-to-action which ranges from starting a conversation on Messenger or even playable (for short demonstrations of apps). As for the advertising budget on Facebook, you need to select between a daily or lifetime plan. The Facebook ad could be set for a single campaign or collectively for a large number of campaigns, and the platform charges businesses based on the number of impressions (it sets a charge per 1000 impressions, also known as CPM).

 

Targeting Viewers

 

Facebook has a very developed algorithm that helps creators promote their content or suggests their content to users in a very controlled manner. You can set your target audience based on various factors such as demographics, preferences, and previous activity. In case your focus is on developing a global audience, YouTube would be a great place to start. If it is shares and likes that weigh for you, use Facebook as its share and like statistics is higher than Facebook, and if it is the view count that you prefer or your video content is longer, YouTube is the best option for you.

 

Conclusion

 

We have extensively discussed YouTube and Facebook on the basis of a few points and we recommend you try both of the platforms out and adopt various methods. The best solution: Hire a social media or digital marketing company for its expertise to help you get the best out of your budget. In case you do not want to invest in this, you can spend some money to employ a third-party service provider offering options to buy facebook followers, and buy Facebook likes, comments. You could weigh in on the benefits of both the platforms and make a decision or use them both!