In 2014 Facebook challenged YouTube for video views and this year we will see the world’s largest social network overtake the number of video views from YouTube. Brands will need to embrace several media channels to reach and engage with their audience while sharing videos. People watched Facebook videos around 1 billion times per day last year, making it a place that marketers can no longer ignore.
When looking at engagement, videos directly uploaded to Facebook received 40% higher engagement than YouTube links. Typically videos received more likes than they do shares on Facebook. YouTube videos are shared more across the entire internet and not just within the Facebook platform.
One of the benefits of posting YouTube links is that it is the most popular video-sharing website to show data concerning views and shares. With a YouTube link, you have the opportunity to share the link anywhere outside of the network, whereas Facebook videos can only be shared within the social network. YouTube videos can be easier to find a long time after being posted, whereas Facebook makes that a bit more difficult.
One of the benefits of Facebook videos is that you can tag users or fans in the video uploaded. You can gain more likes on your page with the Like button directly in the video. Facebook videos can be easier to view on mobile since you can play them directly from the newsfeed instead of being redirected to an external link.
So which one is better? Weigh out the pros and cons for your business and decide which one fits the strategy and goals of your video.