Experiment: Should You Share Videos on Facebook?

We all know that sharing is good. (Kindergarten: maybe you heard about it?). But is it good to share videos with Facebook?

Facebook definitely wants you to think so. You’ve probably noticed the not-so-subtle tip to recommend your Instagram videos on FB ever since Facebook launched videos worldwide in the spring of 2022. And while it’s clear that Facebook craves your attention, it’s not clear if that will actually help. your reach — or harm your brand.

Hypothesis: Posting videos on Facebook is not worth it

Instagram Reels debuted in the summer of 2020, and the world politely ignored the fact that it looks a lot like TikTok.

However, the feature has developed its own loyal user base over the years – in India, Reels is actually more popular than TikTok – so it’s no surprise that Facebook decided to follow suit with their own short video format.

After beta testing in select markets, Facebook Reels is now available in 150 countries on iOS and Android phones. Facebook has even announced extensive creator support programs designed to encourage form acceptance.

But given the relatively low adoption rate of Facebook Stories compared to Instagram Stories (only 300 million users watch Facebook Stories compared to 500 million on Instagram), hopes for this new feature are, shall we say, low.

Our hypothesis is that sharing our Instagram videos with Facebook videos won’t bring much additional engagement, but why tarnish when we can provide evidence? It’s time to do a little experiment to see if social media marketers should share Instagram videos with Facebook.

Methodology

The methodology for this epic experiment almost writes itself: create a video, hit the “Recommend on Facebook”toggle, and see what happens.

Since the same content is posted on both channels using this method, the comparison should be fairly straightforward.

Some things to consider when recommending your Instagram videos to Facebook, according to Facebook itself:

• The videos you recommend on Facebook can be seen by all Facebook users, including people you’re not friends with and even people you’ve blocked on Instagram or Facebook.
• If someone plays or likes your video on both Instagram and Facebook, they are considered separate.
• Instagram videos with branded content tags will not be recommended on Facebook. Videos with product tags can be recommended on Facebook, but the tags will simply not be visible there.
• Anyone who watches your videos on Facebook can reuse your original sound.

While I have more Insta followers than Facebook friends (something of a boast but not really), Reels are primarily consumed by a new design audience. On both platforms, videos are served to potentially interested viewers according to an algorithm through the Research tab or a dedicated Videos tab. In other words, the playing field appears to be fairly level.

For this experiment, I created three videos right in the Instagram app and hit that cute Facebook toggle. I followed the best practices for Instagram Reels to please the almighty algorithm. I turned on the sound clip, used filters and tried to entertain. I also know it’s important that video clips are shot vertically and are of high quality, so you’d better trust that my footage looked good.

Looking at the list of Facebook best practices for Facebook Reels, the recommendations were nearly identical. Everything seemed to be going well.

My creative work is done. I then waited 24 hours to collect and analyze the data. How do likes, reposts and new subscribers add up?

Results

Out of the three videos I posted…none of them were actually played or liked on Facebook. Oh.

All of my likes and plays came from Instagram, even though I turned on “Recommend on Facebook”for each one.

To be honest, I was quite puzzled. While I didn’t expect anything to go viral (see our pessimistic hypothesis above), I thought I’d get at least a few eyeballs on my videos.

I mean, how can such a masterpiece not stop people?

It definitely doesn’t inspire me to flip the “Recommend on Facebook”switch again in the future, that’s for sure.

What do the results mean?

TLDR: It doesn’t hurt to try, but if you’re not already popular on Facebook, posting videos on Facebook probably won’t get you any extra reach or engagement.

Like every other moment of rejection in life, I began to blame myself. Was I penalized because I didn’t post at the right time? Or because I posted through Instagram and not directly on Facebook Reels? I didn’t use hashtags… maybe that would be the key to success?

But once I stopped crying, I moved on to the next stages of social media mourning: bargaining and acceptance. Facebook Reels is so new that people just don’t really watch it yet. In fact, as of right now, Facebook doesn’t release any data about Reels’ distribution to its audience at all, which is usually a sign that they have nothing to show off.

I also realized that if the Facebook Reels algorithm is anything like the Instagram Reels algorithm, it most likely prioritizes content from already popular creators. Facebook wants to make sure people who watch Facebook Reels will be thrilled with what they see, so sharing videos from creators with a reputation for great work is a safer bet than, say, promoting the content of a crazy comic writer with a modest 1. 7k followers who usually just post pictures of their baby.

In other words, if you are already creating successful content for a wide audience through Instagram and other Facebook formats (posts, stories), your videos will be more likely to be recommended on Facebook. If you’re just starting out or haven’t seen much engagement, it will be slower. It’s a catch-22: you have to be popular to be popular.

So: Should You Enable “Recommend on Facebook”? IMHO, it won’t hurt. It takes a fraction of a second for the potential to reach billions of new people – after all, while my hilarious wrestling video wasn’t deemed worthy, you never know when your big breakout moment will come. Also, the more consistently you post, the more likely Facebook will reward you with an impression.

If you’re a new creator or brand with a low following, try these tips to increase your presence and engagement – and hopefully impress that finicky Facebook algorithm in the process.

Use creative tools and filters

Take advantage of the Instagram and Facebook editing toolset when creating your video. Videos with music videos, filters and effects get an extra boost from the algorithm.

Fill your caption with hashtags

Hashtags help the algorithm understand what your video is about so it can show your content to users who have shown interest in the topic. Just like you neatly labeled everything in your pantry after a binge reading of Life-Changing Cleaning Magic, identify your drums clearly and correctly!

Make it look good

Facebook and Instagram prefer videos that look and sound good. Use the right lighting and shooting techniques, and be sure to shoot vertically and at high resolution. (PS: Both sites also don’t like watermarked videos – i.e. repost from TikTok – so create fresh content and share here.)

Of course, Facebook Reels is in its infancy. Will it follow the path of Facebook’s previous short video offerings? (Anyone remember the short-lived Slingshot? Anyone?) Or become a legitimate competitor in space? Time will show! In the meantime, we will follow its development. Stay tuned for more strategies and experimentation from Hootsuite HQ.

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