Facebook Tips & Guides | Sprout Social

Creator Studio for Facebook and Instagram: A guide for marketers

Kiran Shahid — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:26:36 +0000

Is managing multiple social media accounts becoming too tedious? Is the pressure of crafting the perfect creator profile stressing you out?

Think about it: From personal brands run by individual creators to large-scale corporate marketing efforts, the competition is heating up. Without the right tools, you’re essentially navigating a stormy sea in a leaky boat.

Competition is high—you need the right tools at your disposal to streamline your efforts and compete with millions of creators in the same space.

Tools like Creator Studio for Facebook and Instagram can help. In this guide, we cover what it is, how you can access it and what features you can use to build a powerful creator profile.

What is Creator Studio?`

Creator Studio is a dashboard content creators and brands use to manage their content, audience engagement and data analysis of their Facebook and Instagram accounts.

You can schedule posts, interact with your community and even monetize your content. It’s a one-stop shop that’s excellent for beginner creators and brands.

It has recently been renamed Meta Business Suite and combines Facebook and Instagram Creator Studio features—like planning posts and sending messages—in one place. Plus, it includes more advanced tools for monetization, like billing and commerce.

What is the difference between Facebook and Instagram Creator Studio?

Facebook Creator Studio and Instagram Creator Studio were previously two separate dashboards, each with their own platform-specific features. Meta has streamlined the experience to create a comprehensive dashboard that houses both studios under one roof.

This unified approach makes it easier for marketers and content creators to manage, analyze and optimize their social media activities across Facebook and Instagram.

Getting started with Creator Studio

You can access Creator Studio from your desktop and mobile.

To access Meta Business Suite on your mobile, simply download the Meta Business Suite app on iOS and Android. Once you connect your accounts on mobile, you’ll be able to:

Create, schedule and manage posts and stories across Facebook and Instagram.
Respond to all of your messages and comments in one place.
View your notifications and to-do list.
See post and ad insights across Facebook and Instagram side-by-side.
Access and manage your published and scheduled posts within a calendar.

If you’re new to Meta Business Suite, here is a quick breakdown of how to connect your accounts to start using Creator Studio.

How to connect Facebook to Creator Studio

To log in from your desktop, you’ll need to first log into your Facebook account. You’ll also need access to a Facebook Page since the tool is specifically for content creators and brands.

Once you’re logged in, go to Pages from the main menu on your personal profile.

Within the Pages settings, click on Meta Business Suite.

You will now have access to Creator Studio.

Have multiple pages? You can easily switch between them. Just select the dropdown menu, and you’ll see a list that displays your different pages. Select each page to manage and monitor its content and analytics.

How to connect Instagram to Creator Studio

Connect your Instagram creator account to Meta Business Suite on your desktop with these steps.

In the Meta Business Suite desktop, select Settings from the left-hand sidebar.
Select Business assets.
Click Add Assets and select your Instagram account.
Then click Claim Instagram account after reviewing and agreeing to the terms.
Enter your Instagram username and password in the new window, and click Log In. If you’re already logged into Instagram, you can also choose Continue as [Instagram handle] if that’s the account you want to connect.
If your Two-Factor Authentication is turned on (which it should be), enter your security code.
Click Confirm.

Once you’ve linked your Instagram account, simply head over to the Meta Business Suite app or the website on desktop to access it.

Roles and permissions in Creator Studio

To secure your account, it’s a smart idea to provide only those permissions people need to do their work. For example, assigning access to your Business Account or your Instagram account. Limiting access organizes the workflow and secures your account against unintended changes or breaches.

Your Business Account allows you to assign partial access or full control to people. To do this, you need to:

Go to Settings.
Click People.
Select the name of the person whose access you want to change.
Under Business Account access, select Manage.
Make your changes.

Here’s what each level of access means:

Partial access:

Basic: Users with basic access only see tasks and assets assigned to them. This is the default permission when adding people to a Business Account.
Apps and integrations: App and integration owners create access tokens, monitor events, edit application files and set up the Conversions API.

Full control:

Everything: People with full control of a Business Account can manage everything—settings, permissions, tools and business assets. They can also delete the Business Account.

Key Creator Studio features

Creator Studio comes with multiple features that provide unparalleled control over your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Whether you’re a solo content creator or managing a larger team, Creator Studio offers the tools you need to refine and execute your Instagram and Facebook marketing strategy. Here are some key features:

Content

Within the Content section, view all the content you’ve previously posted: posts, reels, stories and collections.

Use the dropdown filters at the top to sort your posts by type, date or other categories like marketing channels. The search bar is also quite handy when you want to find a specific post.

Sort your posts using the tabs at the top by published, scheduled, drafts, expired and expiring.

Want in-depth insights on a specific post? Click on “View Insights” to get a snapshot of how it’s performing and see what it looks like in your feed.

The Content tab also makes it convenient to manage your posts. Click on these three dots to access options like edit, boost or delete. Action lists are different for photo posts and video posts.

Insights

The Insights feature provides granular data on various aspects of your content and audience. Deep-dive into metrics like reach, impressions and follower demographics.

This feature offers four categories of general insights:

The Overview section allows you to compare your current reach with a previous period and provides actionable tips for expanding your audience.

The Results section displays key performance indicators like the number of visits to your page or profile, new likes and follows, and trends.

The Audience section gives you data on your followers from Facebook and Instagram, along with geographical information like the cities and countries where your audience is most concentrated.

The Benchmarking section enables you to gauge your performance by comparing it with businesses operating in the same niche or category as you.

The four categories are just the tip of the iceberg. You can also dig deeper into the insights by going to the Content, Messaging and Video tabs.

Inbox

The Inbox feature puts all your chats and comments from Facebook and Instagram in one spot, eliminating the need to jump between apps.

Organize and classify messages to make sure you’re not missing anything urgent. Other features like creating orders directly from messages and inserting saved replies streamline administrative tasks so you can focus on more meaningful interactions.

These features work together to create a centralized hub for all your audience interactions.

Live Dashboard

The Live Dashboard in Creator Studio allows you to manage and monitor live videos on Facebook or Instagram. It gives you the controls to start, stop or manage various aspects of your live broadcast.

See real-time data while streaming live, such as how many people are watching, comments coming in and even reactions to your video.

Use the Resource Hub as your control room for live videos, where you can engage with audiences in real-time and track how well your content performs.

Planner

The Planner feature in Creator Studio brings together your content calendars from Facebook and Instagram.

It offers a unified view to make content management more seamless. Toggle between weekly and monthly views to get a broad or detailed look at your content calendar.

The calendar displays posts for Instagram and Facebook. A view on platform-specific content helps you plan your Instagram marketing strategy as well as Facebook marketing strategy separately.

The Planner tool’s filters help sort posts by content type, like posts, stories, reels and ads. Click on each post to view individually and see metrics like interactions and reach.

Sound Collection

The Sound Collection feature is a library of music tracks and sound effects you can freely use in your Facebook and Instagram videos.

It’s an easy way to elevate your videos, engage your audience and add a professional touch to your social media posts.

Monetization

The Monetization section in Creator Studio supports anyone looking to earn money from their Facebook and Instagram content.

You’ll find different monetization methods, like in-stream ads for your videos, fan subscriptions and branded content partnerships.

Some users also get access to Stars, a video monetization tool. Your audience can buy Stars and send them to you on your posts with Stars enabled.

The Ads tab is a centralized command center for all your Facebook and Instagram advertising needs. You can create new ads, oversee existing ones and monitor their performance.

The Ads section provides a quick snapshot of your campaign’s reach and engagement levels.

It offers audience insights, breaking down the demographics of the people your ads are reaching, which you can adjust for different time frames using the calendar.

For those wanting to dive deeper, the All Ads tab offers even more granular data on individual campaigns. Details such as the amount spent on each ad, its reach and overall progress are available here.

You can also view complete results for each campaign and boost an ad again if you’re satisfied with its performance using this tab.

Scale your social media presence with Creator Studio

Meta Business Suite is a powerful toolset that elevates your social media management by bringing together the best features of Creator Studio and other Meta services. It’s your go-to hub for all things Facebook and Instagram.

Of course, sometimes you need a bird’s eye view that goes beyond just these two platforms. That’s where Sprout Social comes in.

Sprout offers extensive features beyond what the native Creator Studio can provide. It’s a convenient way to scale your social strategy beyond Instagram and Facebook in one unified dashboard.

Learn about more social media marketing tools that optimize your social media management and help you build a strong presence at scale.

The post Creator Studio for Facebook and Instagram: A guide for marketers appeared first on Sprout Social.

A Facebook Marketing Template to Refresh Your Strategy and Grow Your Reach

Carly Hill — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 14:11:09 +0000

When was the last time you refreshed your Facebook marketing strategy? If you’re not giving the platform your time, you may be leaving your audience behind.

Facebook retains its crown as the world’s most popular social network by monthly active users—of which it has more than 2.9 billion. And Facebook has implications for teams beyond social. Messenger is a popular place for customers to turn for questions. Its unparalleled ad targeting enables you to reach new people. And from a selling standpoint, setting up shop with Facebook Shopping is a great way to land sales with customers.

If it’s been a minute since you’ve refreshed your strategy on this platform, this is your sign to start. Our Facebook marketing template will guide you through developing your strategy. Think critically and analyze these core areas of the platform (and your business):

Identify your goals and main objectives on Facebook
Get to know your Facebook audience
Optimize your business Page
Audit your content to design posts that resonate
Hone in on your competitors—and where you can stand out
Provide top-tier customer service and care
Create unique ads to accomplish your goals

Then, use the last two tabs of the template to pull it all together in a presentable strategy summary and measure success with the progress report.

Download the Facebook marketing template right now to start growing your reach, and your business.

The post A Facebook Marketing Template to Refresh Your Strategy and Grow Your Reach appeared first on Sprout Social.

The Rise and Fall Of New Platforms: What Threads Has Taught Us About Emerging Social Media

Cat Anderson — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 15:54:39 +0000

Threads burst onto the scene this summer and quickly became the fastest-growing social media platform of all time with 100+ million users in one week. As the heat of its entrance has died down, what does this new platform mean for your brand and social strategy? What have we learnt about Threads, where does it fit in in the social media sphere, and well, is it too late to be an early adopter?

As social media teams across the world figure out strategies to not only incorporate Threads but also excel at it, this webinar will examine what we’ve learnt so far and explore thoughts on what we think is in store.

Hear insights from social media consultant and industry analyst, Matt Navarra, and Senior Social Media Manager from financial favourite and industry disrupter, Monzo.

You will learn:

The current state of Threads and how early adopter brands leverage its capabilities
How businesses can use Threads for community building, customer care and more
Key distinctions and differentiations between Threads strategy vs. other social channels
Predictions for 2024 and beyond

Your speakers:

The post The Rise and Fall Of New Platforms: What Threads Has Taught Us About Emerging Social Media appeared first on Sprout Social.

Best times to post on Facebook in 2023

Mary Keutelian — Mon, 08 May 2023 22:15:55 +0000

As social marketers are looking to get more eyes on their content, one of the biggest questions at the forefront is: what is the best time to post on Facebook? Is there a definitive answer to that question? Well, it depends on several factors. Your business’s industry, your target audience, business goals and the content itself all play a role in the success of your social posts.

With the help of our Data Science team, we’ve been able to analyze nearly 2 billion social media engagements across 400,000 social profiles across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. And even more, we’re able to provide an analysis of the best times to post on Facebook.

As the most-used platform by marketers worldwide and boasting nearly 3 billion monthly active users, there’s no denying Facebook’s staying power. With a large opportunity for engagement, it’s important to understand how posting on Facebook at the right times will benefit your social media content strategy.

Learn how to identify your best times to post on Facebook with a free trial of Sprout Social and test our ViralPost® feature.

Start a free Sprout Social trial

Disclaimer: Data from Sprout Social include users from various plan types, industries and locations. All time frames are recorded globally, meaning you should be able to publish with the times provided in any timezone and see positive engagement results. Number of engagements represents total engagements a brand received on the specific channel during that hour time frame. Industry-specific data includes mid- to high-level engagement times. We recommend testing with your own accounts to find the most optimal send times.

What are the best times to post on Facebook?
What are the best times to post on Facebook by industry?
How to find your own best times to post on social media
How Sprout gathered the data
Find your best times to post with Sprout

Best Times to Post on Facebook

Best times to post on Facebook:
- Mondays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon
Best days to post on Facebook: Mondays through Thursdays
Worst days to post on Facebook: Sundays

Don’t look alarmed. Facebook is still the most used platform by marketers worldwide at 90%, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. We’ve seen an interesting shift in most engagement times matching general business hours versus very early morning hours in recent years. What does this mean for marketers?

Optimal send times for Facebook are Mondays through Thursdays starting at 8 a.m. until early afternoon, generally 1 p.m. The only “off” hours for posting on Facebook are very early hours on Fridays through Mondays, generally midnight until 4 a.m.

With a solid Facebook marketing strategy, businesses can target the right audiences at the right time with their content. Keep in mind, engagement also has to do with how often you post on social media and what you post. Not all social content translates well across every social media platform. Posting the right content on the right platform makes a difference.

Best Times to Post on Facebook by Industry

Remember, while we’d like to believe there’s a definitive answer to what the best times to post on Facebook are, we can only offer insight with the data we have. Industry is just one factor that plays into the success of your social posts.

Use this industry-level data to help inform your publishing calendar, and test your optimal send times with social experiments.

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Consumer Goods

Best times to post on Facebook for Consumer Goods:
- Mondays at 7 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Consumer Goods: Mondays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Consumer Goods: None, generally speaking

The consumer goods industry covers a large portfolio of products, ranging from packaged food and beverages to clothing and accessories and everything in between. While the US was facing inflation at nearly 8.5%, US consumers spent 18% more in March 2022 than they did two years prior. After two years into the pandemic, consumers were ready to spend similar to their pre-pandemic habits.

With the increase in spending habits, consumer goods’ social media engagements also grew. For consumer goods businesses on Facebook, every single day saw solid engagement after 7 a.m. That’s right: weekdays and weekends. For peak engagement, Mondays at 7 p.m. and Tuesdays and Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m. are optimal times for this industry.

Consumer goods social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Hospitals & Healthcare

Best times to post on Facebook for Hospitals & Healthcare:
- Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 8 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 8 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 6 to 8 p.m.
- Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 4 to 7 p.m.
- Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Hospitals & Healthcare: Mondays and Tuesdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Hospitals & Healthcare: Weekends, relatively

Hospitals, clinics and healthcare providers have been put to work on social media the last few years, due to the pandemic. But, social media for healthcare is more than navigating healthcare crises. It’s about educating the public, helping patients feel more comfortable with healthcare visits and doctors’ appointments, promoting their programs for aspiring physicians and establishing themselves as pillars in the community.

Best times to post on Facebook for healthcare and hospitals expands compared to last year. Every single day sees solid engagement around 7 a.m., both weekdays and weekends. Yet, peak posting times on Facebook for hospitals are weekdays from 9 a.m. through noon (through 1 p.m. on Fridays only), and Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 8 p.m. Evening hours are equally engaging Wednesdays through Fridays.

Hospital and healthcare social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Hospitality

Best times to post on Facebook for Hospitality:
- Mondays from noon to 9 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Fridays at 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Hospitality: Mondays through Thursdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Hospitality: Sundays, relatively

What an impressive jump in posting and engagement from the hospitality industry! Consumers see some semblance of pre-pandemic life and brands sense it. Compared to the year prior, the hospitality went full-force with posting on social media and they saw a return on their efforts throughout most of the day.

You can’t go wrong posting anytime after 10 a.m. on most weekdays and still find significant engagement. However, peak times last for several hours until about 8 or 9 p.m. While weekends are relatively light in engagement for hospitality businesses, there’s still moderate engagement where posts are still being noticed and interacted with.

Hospitality social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Media

Best times to post on Facebook for Media:
- Mondays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Thursdays at 11 a.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Media: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Media: Weekends, relatively

Engagement for the media and entertainment industry also see a resurgence on Facebook last year. Audiences could be checking into the app for longer sessions rather than quick visits throughout the day, or it could be multiple quick check-ins and algorithm newsfeed refreshes that are manipulating the higher engagements. Major global events, political upheavals and business news have had a relevant impact on media impressions on all networks.

As it goes, news travels quickly, and the best times to post on Facebook for the media and entertainment industry are Mondays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursdays at 11 a.m. However, there is still solid engagement in the early evenings in the first half of the week.

Media social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Nonprofit

Best times to post on Facebook for Nonprofit:
- Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Nonprofit: Mondays through Wednesdays, but especially on Tuesdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Nonprofit: Sundays

Compared to last year’s data, there’s been a significant increase in Facebook activity for nonprofits. Our data for the best times to post on Facebook for nonprofits shows solid Facebook engagement throughout the week during general business hours as well as midday on weekends. Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. are the best times to post on Facebook for nonprofits.

However, even with the consistent audience engagement seen in the heatmap above, all businesses need to test their own best times to post. Whether it’s through social testing or using Sprout’s Optimal Send Times feature, find what times work best for your organization on Facebook.

Nonprofit social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Restaurants

Best times to post on Facebook for Restaurants:
- Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon
- Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 11 a.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Restaurants: Mondays and Wednesdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Restaurants: Weekends, relatively

In 2022, everyone was ready to get back to their pre-pandemic routines, and restaurants were ready with open doors. While online orders and delivery services may have become new offerings for some locations, the desire to draw patrons has not. And restaurants saw nearly 2x more engagements on Facebook than last year’s analysis.

Those in the bar and restaurant industry see consistent engagement between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. almost every single day. The best times to post for restaurants on Facebook though are just before or around lunchtime: Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 11 a.m.

Different platforms offer a unique way for businesses to connect with their customers. Target audience and their social media platform preferences also play a factor in this. Offering unique promotions and updates suited for each platform will keep your restaurant in mind for potential customers.

Restaurant social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Schools & Education

Best times to post on Facebook for Schools & Education:
- Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon
- Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon
- Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Fridays at 10 a.m.
Best days to post on Facebook for Schools & Education: Mondays through Wednesdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Schools & Education: Weekends

There was no slowing down for universities, higher education institutions and schools on Facebook. Keep in mind that some schools manage multiple social profiles (per college, athletics, etc.) to meet these needs and effectively target distinct audiences at the right time. Research by BestColleges reports that 60% of remote learners expect to enroll in online courses even after campuses return to normal and 90% of online program graduates would recommend online learning to others.

High opportunities for engagement start midmorning and go throughout the day, but the best times to post on Facebook for education are Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Fridays at 10 a.m.

From highlighting student life to sharing school updates, a social media strategy for education needs to fulfill multiple functions. Are you looking to engage with students past, present and future? Are you looking to keep a pulse on sentiment and brand health?

Schools and education social media resources

Best Times to Post on Facebook for Travel & Tourism

Best times to post on Facebook for Travel & Tourism:
- Mondays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon
Best days to post on Facebook for Travel & Tourism: Mondays and Tuesdays
Worst days to post on Facebook for Travel & Tourism: Sundays

Travel and tourism industries nearly double their engagement on Facebook. As many travel restrictions continued to be lifted and the semblance of “normal” crept back into many peoples’ lives, travel and tourism businesses saw an opportunity to capitalize on the suppressed desires to travel.

The best times to post on Facebook for travel and tourism brands are earlier in the week: Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. until about 2 or 3 p.m., as well as on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon. In general, on Facebook, there is significant engagement midday and early in the week for travel and tourism, as people are preparing for their weekend destinations.

Travel and tourism social media resources

How to find your own best times to post on social media

Social marketers can plan content more effectively when they’re armed with data. And as platforms evolve, how brands and consumers use social will evolve with them, or vice versa. Staying aware of new content formats and trends might help you reach your audience in unexpected ways, or even find new segments and personas you weren’t focusing on before.

While you may be ready to jump in and post at these provided peak engagement times as part of your strategy, consider pairing this data with your own social media data analysis. You may discover that your specific target audience is active near the peak times we’ve outlined or hours earlier.

A social media management tool like Sprout Social can help you drill into your analytics and develop tailored findings for your brand accounts across all networks, holistically and individually. Gain competitive insights by comparing your performance to your competitors, to find new opportunities for engagement.

With features like post tagging and cross-network reporting, you can separate different factors like post author or types of content, and drill down into how your posting time influenced your social success.

Sprout’s patented ViralPost® technology uses the same data we’ve used to look at all our customer accounts to determine the best time to post tailored for your account. ViralPost® algorithmically determines the results for our Optimal Send Times feature, a publishing option available in all plans. Our proprietary machine learning feature isn’t new, but we’re constantly learning and improving our product to help brands surface insights faster. Our goal is to help people who use our product work more effectively.

With Optimal Send Times, the specific times offered are based on when your audience engages the most using your publishing history. ViralPost® also continually updates and refines to save you time from doing the repeated analysis and allowing you more time to craft great content.

Want to see it in action? Sign up for a free 30-day trial of Sprout Social or request a personalized demo and try it for yourself.

Start a free Sprout Social trial

If you’re looking for more of our findings from this year’s study of our customer data, see what we learned about the best times to post across eight industries on these networks:

How Sprout gathered the data

We understand that these reports can raise questions about just where the data is coming from. That’s why we want to be clear about the data we pulled and how we got here.

Sprout Social’s Data Science team gathers this information by analyzing nearly 2 billion engagements across 400,000 social profiles across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

Find your best time to post with Sprout

Now’s the time to test your content calendar. Are you posting when your followers are most active? Start your free trial of Sprout Social and discover the best times to post on social media today.

The post Best times to post on Facebook in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

How to use Facebook audience insights for more effective targeting

Aubree Smith — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 14:30:07 +0000

Just because emerging platforms are coming onto the scene doesn’t mean you should count Facebook out of your social media strategy. With 2.96 billion active users, Facebook is still the third most visited website in the world and boasts a long-time reign as the most used social media platform.

By digging into Facebook audience insights and analytics tools, you are empowered to effectively reach your ideal audience and filter through the billions of active users on the app. With these powerful insights, you can validate assumptions about your audience, start creating more targeted a/b testing, refine your current audience profiles and aggregate audience data across profiles.

Keep reading for an overview of how to use Facebook’s audience insights tool and actionable steps you can take to maximize your paid and organic strategy.

Why understanding your Facebook audience is important
Where to find Facebook audience insights
The different Facebook audience types
How to use Facebook audience insights
How Sprout Social helps you define your Facebook audience

Why is understanding your Facebook audience important?

Defining your target audience and learning how they use Facebook will enable you to:

Spend your ad budget more effectively.
Determine if the platform should be a high priority for your brand.
Develop messaging that truly resonates with your audience.
Optimize your posting strategy.

To understand your audience’s relationship with Facebook, start by researching the latest platform demographic data. Learn who uses Facebook, how often they use it, what they use it for and if users fit within your target audience.

For example, according to Statista, 23.7% of Facebook users are between the ages of 25 and 34, and the majority of them are younger than 44. The app skews male, with 57% of users identifying as such. Statista also discovered that 97.4% of Facebook users access the platform from a mobile device.

Tapping into the Facebook audience insights tool takes it a step further by showing your current audience and zeroing in on your target consumers. With this data on-hand, your decisions will be more informed and customer-centric, translating to more impactful campaigns, advertising efforts and creator partnerships.

To get a head start engaging your audience, complete this free worksheet that will set you up to build authentic connections with your community.

Where to find Facebook audience insights

On Facebook, there are two ways to discover audience insights from your business profile. First, you can see organic audience data including:

People who like your page broken down by gender and location
Number of total followers
Reach and engagement metrics

You can access this data from the Professional dashboard of your Meta Business Suite.

Second, when you run an ad campaign, you can access all the data from your organic view and additional in-depth audience info like:

Age
Content preferences (top-performing posts and videos)
Device usage

Find these metrics in your Meta Ads Manager Ads Reporting and Audience tabs.

You can also explore how your Facebook ad campaign performed with your different audience types, which we will explain in the next section.

What are the different types of Facebook audience types?

When you run a Facebook ad campaign, you have four audience targeting options to ensure you reach your ideal audience.

1. New audiences

New audiences is the default setting option, and refers to new customers who haven’t previously interacted with your brand. You can refine this audience by selecting categories like location, demographics, interests and behaviors.

2. Custom audiences

Custom audiences enable you to connect with people who already show an interest in your business. They might have engaged with your content, visited your site, used your app, completed a recent purchase, or they might be on your customer list.

3. Lookalike audiences

Lookalike audiences are made up of people who share interests with your custom audiences, but haven’t interacted with your business yet. Typically, lookalike audiences are generated using your custom audiences as a source.

These audiences save you time because, rather than starting from scratch to create a new audience, you can rinse and repeat the success of your most successful content and campaigns.

4. Saved audiences

Whenever you create a new custom audience, you can save that audience for future use. Note: you must reselect your ideal location every time you use the audience.

How to use Facebook audience insights

To get started with the Facebook audience insights tool, follow these steps.

1. Upload a custom audience source

Get started by selecting Create a Custom Audience from the Audiences tab of your Ads Manager. From there, choose a custom audience source, including your owned sources like data from your website, app activity, a CRM customer list and more.

You can also use Meta sources, like video engagement, your Instagram account followers, lead forms, event participants and Shopping users.

2. Customize your audience with filters

After selecting your source, indicate additional rule inclusions or exclusions to better refine your audience. The Facebook audience meter will let you know whether your audience is too specific or too broad. Continue iterating until your reach is just right (the ideal audience size is between 2–10 million people). Further customize your audience by age, location, language and gender.

3. Zone-in on interest-based audiences

If you have a relatively large audience (at least larger than 2 million), use additional interest-based targeting to pinpoint a specific audience. Examples of shared audience interests include:

Business and industry
Entertainment
Family and relationships
Fitness and wellness
Food and drink
Hobbies and activities

Then, add the name and description of your audience list and how long you will retain it. Now you’re ready to tap Create New List.

4. Review your audience metrics

After launching your ad campaign, review how your audience list is performing. Are you reaching your campaign goals? If not, make the necessary adjustments to your list. Experiment with narrowing or broadening your audience and redefining your inclusions and exclusions.

5. Save and replicate your best-performing audiences

If your audience performs well, save it for future use. To reach and engage new consumers with similar demographics and behavior patterns, create a lookalike audience.

By tapping the Create a Lookalike Audience button from the Audiences tab, you will be prompted to select an existing audience or data source, select the audience location and size and determine how similar your audience should be to the original (1% lookalike means the audience is as similar to the original as possible). Once you create this audience, you can rerun your ad campaign or continue tailoring the list.

How Sprout Social helps define your Facebook audience

With a platform like Sprout Social, you will master your Facebook strategy by clearly defining your target audience and amplifying the impact of your audience insights.

Our tools will better equip you to leverage Facebook’s native tools, enhance your data-driven decisions and create content that resonates with ideal customers. By doing so, you will increase your audience size and engagements, which are key to increasing demand for your products. Here are a few platform highlights that give you deeper understanding of your target audience.

Social listening

With Sprout’s Social Listening solution, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation technology do the heavy lifting for you at scale—sifting through millions of data points to deliver the trends, insights and key audience learnings you need in seconds.

As the Profile Overview demonstrates, the tools enables you to compare followers, volume, potential impressions, likes and engagements from various Facebook profiles to help you level-set your strategy and prove your impact.

Using the Performance Summary tool, you can investigate topics that are most relevant to your audience. Uncover which keywords are driving conversations and use them to refine your interest-based filters when creating Facebook custom audiences.

Network-specific and aggregate metrics

Sprout’s Analytics tools speed up data collection and distribution so your brand can focus on the KPIs that matter, inform strategy and prove ROI. The tools enable you to maintain complete oversight of all connected social profiles from one location.

Use reports like the Facebook Pages report to dig into audience growth trends, impressions, engagements and post link clicks. Compare these findings with other network results to determine overall audience trends.

Paid reporting

To test the efficacy of your Facebook ad audiences, use Sprout’s Paid Performance reports. The Facebook and Instagram report highlights campaign-level data for ad campaigns across Meta platforms. Trends appear against your key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you identify top-performing channels and campaigns.

Maximize Facebook audience insights to up-level your strategy

Making the most of your Facebook strategy starts with having the intel you need to target your ideal audience. By using the native Facebook audience insights tools and a powerful social media management platform like Sprout Social, you will be enabled to refine and grow your audience, which will grow your bottom line.

Ready to gain deeper insights into your Facebook target audience? Start your free 30-day Sprout Social trial today.

The post How to use Facebook audience insights for more effective targeting appeared first on Sprout Social.

26 Facebook statistics marketers should know in 2023

Jacqueline Zote — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 16:10:23 +0000

Know whether your target audience is still on Facebook? Or if you should keep investing in Facebook ads? Staying on top of the latest Facebook statistics will give you the insights you need to update your Facebook marketing strategy.

Even after all this time, Facebook continues to be the most popular social media platform. In fact, the Sprout Social Index found that it’s the top platform for both consumers and marketers. It’s the platform that 71% of consumers and 65% of marketers plan to use the most in 2023.

With that said, let’s find out some vital Facebook stats that can inform your marketing strategy.

Table of contents

General Facebook stats every marketer should know
Facebook usage statistics
Facebook user statistics
Facebook advertising and marketing statistics
Facebook engagement statistics
Facebook video statistics
Facebook device statistics
Facebook feature stats (Reels, Stories, Messenger)
Facebook audience and demographic statistics
Facebook consumer behavior statistics

General Facebook stats every marketer should know

Facebook is the third most visited website following Google and YouTube. This puts it ahead of other leading platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
The platform boasts 2.96 billion active users on a monthly basis. This makes it the most used social media platform worldwide.
In 2022, Facebook’s total ad revenue amounted to $113 billion. Additional fees and payments contributed to $2 billion worth of revenue.

Facebook usage statistics

Over the years, Facebook has become almost synonymous with social media. It continues to be the biggest social media platform and is widely popular on a global scale. Here are some of the key Facebook usage statistics to understand its popularity:

1. Facebook has nearly 3 billion monthly active users

By Q3 of 2022, monthly active users on the platform had grown to 2.96 billion. Although adoption has slowed down, usage is still seeing an upward trend. This puts Facebook on track to hit the 3 billion monthly user mark. So if your brand doesn’t have a presence on the platform, you’re missing out on the chance to reach billions of people.

2. Americans spend about 33 minutes on the platform daily

On average, American users spend about 33 minutes on Facebook daily. This puts it ahead of other leading platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and even TikTok. These numbers suggest that the platform is still seeing a high level of engagement from its user base.

Source

Facebook user statistics

Facebook may have billions of users, but how are these people using the platform? Let’s look at a few vital Facebook user statistics to find out:

3. 67.5% of monthly users are active daily

Out of the 2.96 billion monthly active users, 2 billion people use the platform daily. That’s 67.5% of users who spend at least some amount of time daily on the platform.

In other words, there are billions of people your brand could potentially reach every day. The key is to get ahead of the Facebook algorithm so you can get more organic visibility.

4. Only 18% of American users feel that Facebook protects their data and privacy

Even though Facebook is highly popular, trust in the platform has dropped drastically over the past couple of years. Only 18% of American social media users trust Facebook to protect their data and privacy. This puts it at the bottom of the list, making it the least trusted social media platform.

Source

5. Messaging friends and family is still the top activity on Facebook

Seventy-one percent of users say they use Facebook to message friends and family. This suggests that the platform’s “social” factor is still alive and kicking. Other popular activities on the platform are posting/sharing photos and videos (62.9%) and keeping up to date with news and events (59.5%).

A significant number of users (55.2%) follow and research brands and products on Facebook. So although it’s mostly for social, your brand can still use the platform to build authentic connections.

6. It’s the most used platform for customer service

As the use of social media for customer service becomes increasingly popular, Facebook has become the go-to platform. The 2022 Sprout Social Index found that 60% of consumers use Facebook to get customer service. And 69% of marketers provide customer service through the platform.

This makes it the most used social media platform for providing and receiving customer service. In other words, you need to ramp up your customer service efforts on the platform.

Facebook advertising and marketing statistics

Is Facebook marketing still worth it? And are you getting the most out of your Facebook advertising strategy? Check out these Facebook ads statistics to understand advertising impact on the platform.

7. Facebook ads see an average click-through rate (CTR) of 0.90%

According to a WordStream study, Facebook ads get an average CTR of 0.90% across all industries. That said, click-throughs vary for industries, with retail, legal, apparel, beauty and fitness sectors seeing a CTR of at least 1%.

8. Advertising on Facebook costs $1.72 per click

The same study found that the average cost per click (CPC) is $1.72 across all industries. However, you can expect to pay much more in certain industries. For example, the average CPC for finance and insurance and customer service sectors is at least $3.

9. The average conversion rate is 9.21% across industries

Facebook sees a fairly high conversion rate for ads on the platform. On average, you can expect a conversion rate of about 9.21% for your Facebook ad. However, the specifics may vary depending on your industry. Fitness, education and healthcare sectors see a significantly higher conversion rate.

Source

10. Facebook generates the highest ROI

Needless to say, with such high conversion rates and low CPC, marketing on Facebook yields high returns. In fact, Facebook generates the highest return on investment among all other social media platforms.

Facebook engagement statistics

With organic visibility on Facebook on the decline, it’s only natural to see a drop in engagement levels as well. But does this put Facebook at a disadvantage over other social media platforms? Here’s a quick look at some vital stats to understand where Facebook stands in terms of engagement:

11. The median engagement rate on Facebook is 0.064%

According to a RivalIQ study, brands see a median engagement rate of 0.064% across all industries. This is about the same as the median Instagram engagement of 0.067%. In other words, Instagram isn’t inherently better for engagement than Facebook.

Source

12. Photo posts and status posts have the highest engagement

The power of visuals is still evident on Facebook, with photo posts getting the highest engagement at 0.12%. Status posts come next with an average engagement rate of 0.11%. Video posts perform fairly well with an average engagement rate of 0.08%. Link posts, on the other hand, are the worst for driving engagement. They see an average engagement rate of only 0.04%.

13. Frequent posting doesn’t result in higher engagement

Contrary to popular belief, posting frequently doesn’t necessarily result in higher engagement. As the RivalIQ study points out, influencers and sports teams see the highest level of engagement across all verticals.

However, influencers are infrequent posters, publishing fewer than 10 posts per week. Meanwhile, media companies publish almost 90 posts a week and only see an average engagement rate of 0.05%.

Rather than frequency, post timing should be your main focus. Know the best time to post on Facebook so you stand a better chance of driving engagement.

Facebook video statistics

As video marketing continues to gain popularity, it’s important to be aware of how video performs on Facebook. Here are some key Facebook video statistics to inform your strategy:

14. Live videos see higher engagement than pre-recorded videos

Compared to pre-recorded videos, live videos see a much higher engagement rate. The specific number varies depending on account size, with the gap decreasing as fan size increases. However, for accounts with at least 50,000 fans, pre-recorded videos perform slightly better than live videos.

15. People prefer to watch videos with the sound off

ChatterBlast Media found that sound-off videos tend to perform much better than sound-on videos. People are much more likely to watch a video to completion with the sound off. This stays true regardless of the advertising objective.

Source

Facebook device statistics

Are you designing your Facebook ads to look great on any device?

Check out these Facebook device statistics to understand how people are accessing the platform.

16. Most people access Facebook from any mobile phone

Almost all Facebook users (97.4%) access Facebook from any type of mobile device. Moreover, 68.7% of users exclusively use their mobile phones to access Facebook. This indicates how there’s an overwhelming preference for mobile phones to access the platform.

Brands will need to keep the mobile experience in mind when developing their content strategy and ad creative for Facebook.

17. Only 2.6% of users exclusively use computers to access Facebook

While 28.7% of users use both their phones and computers to access the platform, only 2.6% of users prefer to use only their laptops and desktops.

Facebook feature stats (Reels, Stories, Messenger)

So, what sort of content should you post? What features are growing and what’s stagnant? Let’s review some Facebook stats that break down some of the platform’s key features:

18. More than 500 million people use Stories every day

According to internal Facebook data, half a billion people use Facebook Stories each day. This speaks to the popularity of the platform’s feature, making it a useful tool for brands to engage their audience.

19. Facebook Messenger has over 1 billion users

Meanwhile, there are at least 1 billion people using Facebook Messenger. That’s a billion people you could potentially reach through ads on Messenger.

20. Reels hit 140 billion Plays per day across Facebook apps

The popularity of Reels isn’t dying out anytime soon. In fact, Reels see about 140 billion plays on a daily basis across the Facebook family of apps.

With algorithms further pushing this format, Reels could help you gain visibility and engagement. In short, brands can’t afford to put this short-form video format on the back burner.

Facebook audience and demographics statistics

Wondering if you’re reaching the right audience on Facebook? What if your target demographic isn’t even on the platform? Here are a few Facebook stats highlighting the platform’s audience and demographics:

21. Users ages 25-34 years represent Facebook’s largest audience

Despite the platform’s reputation as a seemingly “older” network, 23.7% of Facebook users in the United States are between the ages of 25 and 34. Moreover, the platform sees higher usage among people below the age of 44.

Source

22. Usage among teens has dropped sharply

That said, the platform’s popularity among teens has seen a significant drop. Only 32% of teens were using Facebook as of 2022. This is a sharp decline compared to the 71% who were using the platform between 2014 and 2015.

Source

23. Facebook has more male users than female

Facebook currently limits its reporting to male and female. And based on the data, the platform has a higher percentage of male users (56.6%) than female users (43.4%).

24. India has the largest Facebook audience size

While Facebook sees significant usage across various countries, India has the greatest number of users. Latest reports show that there are 329.65 million Facebook users in India. The United States comes next, with 179.65 million users.

Facebook consumer behavior statistics

Finally, are people even buying stuff through Facebook? Here are some stats on how consumers are behaving on the platform:

25. Facebook has the highest number of social commerce buyers

According to eMarketer, Facebook boasts the highest number of social commerce buyers. Here, social commerce buyers refer to users over the age of 14 who have made at least one purchase on the platform. By 2023, the platform will see 65.7% of U.S. social commerce buyers.

26. When shopping online, 19% of U.S. consumers start their search on Facebook

The same report found that some U.S. consumers begin their online buying journey by searching on social media. Besides YouTube, Facebook is the second most popular social media platform to start their search when shopping online. So the right Facebook tools and marketing strategy could help you drive purchases through the platform.

Want to know more?

Discover the latest social media marketing statistics for 2023.

How do these Facebook stats inform your social media strategy?

These key Facebook statistics should give you some idea of where the platform currently stands in the social media landscape. As such, you can use these to guide your strategy and understand what to prioritize. Don’t forget to look at your Facebook analytics for brand-specific performance data to further inform your decisions.

The post 26 Facebook statistics marketers should know in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

How to schedule Facebook posts

Mandy Patterson — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 15:34:49 +0000

It’s fair to say content is still king on Facebook. In fact, without continuously engaging your Facebook audience, you may lose credibility, authority and brand loyalty. If the concept of maintaining a steady stream of content seems daunting, don’t worry—we’ll explain how social media scheduling tools can help you schedule Facebook posts in advance and automate the publishing process.

Automating your Facebook posts will create a streamlined process for you to focus on your overall Facebook marketing strategy. Your audience never sleeps and neither should your Facebook content stream.

Want to get started right now? Easily schedule your Facebook posts with a free 30-day trial from Sprout Social.

Why you should schedule Facebook posts

Even if you have time to manually publish Facebook posts, here are three compelling reasons to use scheduled posts:

Life happens. If your internet is down or you just can’t get to your computer, a scheduled Facebook post will still publish at the right time.
You can be more methodical. When you’re scheduling social media posts for a full month (or longer), you can make sure they support the narrative you want to convey. For example, if you’re running a limited-time offer, you could craft and schedule each Facebook post to build a sense of urgency throughout the month.
You can accelerate approvals. If a stakeholder or client needs to review posts before publication, you might find approvals happen faster when you present a large batch of posts for review.
Easier time-tracking. If your job requires time-tracking, you may find that setting aside a block of time for scheduling Facebook posts is easier than tracking your time for each individual post.

How to schedule Facebook posts

You can schedule posts for your Facebook page using either the Meta Business Suite (formerly known as Creator Studio) or a third-party scheduling platform (like Sprout Social).

Schedule posts with Meta Business Suite

Log into your Facebook account, select Pages in the left menu then click on Meta Business Suite.
Click Create post, then write the copy for the Facebook post and attach any images or video. Click on the icons in the upper right corner to preview your post for desktop and mobile.
Scroll down to Scheduling and click Schedule. Then choose the publication date and time.

That’s it! You now have a scheduled post. Repeat the steps above to schedule additional posts.

How to schedule Facebook posts with Sprout Social

Here’s how to create scheduled Facebook posts with Sprout:

Click the Compose icon to open the Compose window.
Click the Profile Picker to select the Facebook pages for your post.
Create your post.
Select Specific Days & Times from the When to post dropdown, then choose.
The date and times for your post.
Optionally add more scheduled times.
Click Schedule.

Schedule Facebook posts with the Sprout Queue

What do you do when you have meaningful Facebook content, but don’t need to publish at any specific date or time? Use the Sprout Queue.

You can build your Sprout Queue to fill engagement gaps throughout the day with content around product tips, links to thought leadership articles or industry news.

Choose the number of posts per day, your date and times and Sprout will do the rest. To set up your Sprout Queue setup, follow these steps:

Navigate to the Publishing tab.
Click Sprout Queue.
Click Compose and create your post.
Choose Auto-schedule with Sprout Queue from the When to post dropdown.
Select Queue Next at the first possible time slot or Queue Last to move the post to the end of the queue.
Click Queue or Submit for Approval to schedule your content.

Configuring your queue timeline

Sprout’s suite of social media publishing tools places the content in the Queue Timeline for you to choose a specific time or date. There you can identify your publishing time gaps and plan your content.

You can configure this feature to run during specific times or dates. This makes it simple for social media managers to post during the best times to post on Facebook. Select various post times for each Facebook Page.

Sprout’s Queue even makes it simple to see your daily post times throughout all your different social media profiles.

Take advantage of ViralPost

ViralPost is Sprout’s tool for publishing at the most optimal times. Configure ViralPost in your Sprout Queue to publish your queued content at optimal times for audience engagement (only available in Standard Plans and above).

When you use ViralPost, it analyzes your audience’s usage and engagement patterns to determine the optimal times to publish content on your Facebook page.

To configure your ViralPost settings, follow these steps:

Navigate to your Publishing settings.
Click Sprout Queue.
Click Edit for the profile you want to configure ViralPost for. The Configure Queue Settings popup opens.
Select ViralPost for the Scheduling Method.
Choose whether you want to set your schedule by Individual Day or Weekdays/Weekends.
Select the number of times you want to post for each day of the week.
Select the time range for your post.
Click Save.

Adding Facebook content to the Sprout Queue

It’s always best practice to queue content when it’s top of mind. Draft a message directly from Compose, share content you found on the web with Sprout’s Chrome Extension or add content to the queue directly from the RSS Reader. Whichever type of content you wish to publish on your Facebook page, our tools will suit your needs.

Pro Tip: Add content anytime, from anywhere by queueing content from Sprout Social’s web, mobile or browser extension apps.

Share your calendar

Last but not least, once you have your content in order, easily view, share and collaborate on your content calendar. Sprout’s Publishing Calendar gives you insight into your publishing schedule and more.

Here’s how to view and share your calendar as a PDF:

Navigate to the Publishing tab.
Click Calendar.
Choose List, Week or Month.
Select your Date Range, Profiles and Content Types.
Click Share.
Click Download PDF.

Simplify your Facebook management

Scheduling your Facebook posts makes it simple to manage your content and simplifies the overall Facebook management process.

It allows you to stay one step ahead of the game, reach your target audience at the right times, and reduce the amount of time and effort that goes into manually scheduling content.

Want to improve your organic Facebook reach? Sprout Social’s Publishing features make it easy to schedule posts for Facebook. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and get started!

The post How to schedule Facebook posts appeared first on Sprout Social.

How to build a Facebook business Page that attracts customers

Jacqueline Zote — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:52:09 +0000

Facebook commands a massive user base and is still the largest social network. The latest Facebook stats show that the platform currently boasts 2.89 billion monthly active users. That’s 2.89 billion users you could miss out on reaching if you failed to maintain a proper Facebook business Page.

A Facebook business Page is central to any Facebook marketing strategy. It’s where you can share information about your business and promote your new products. Moreover, your Page serves as a channel to provide your customers with assistance. In this guide, we show you the step-by-step process of building a Facebook business Page that attracts your audience.

Table of contents:

What is a Facebook business Page
How to create the perfect Facebook business Page
Tips to maintain an engaging Facebook business Page

What is a Facebook business Page

A Facebook business Page is a public Facebook account that represents a commercial organization. You can use the Page to share information about your business such as your address, contact details and hours of operation. Additionally, it’s the perfect place to share updates about your business and promote products, services and events.

As such, a Facebook business Page allows you to create a space to connect with your audience. Additionally, by setting up a business Page, you’ll gain access to Facebook Shops and advertising tools. This allows you to list your products for sale on the platform and even create paid advertisements to grow your reach.

Meanwhile, a personal Facebook account represents the individual. It can either be private or public depending on your settings. While people can Like and follow a business Page, they can only add a personal profile as a friend. Moreover, a personal profile doesn’t come with marketing and advertising tools that are available on business Pages.

How to create the perfect Facebook business Page

Ready to create your very own Facebook business Page? Follow the steps below to get started.

Step 1: Create a new Page from the “Pages” section

From your Facebook homepage, click on “Pages” in the left-hand panel. This will open up a dashboard to manage all your Pages and profiles. Click on the “Create New Page” button under “Your Pages and profiles.”

Step 2: Enter your Page name and category

Next, enter the name of your Page. This should be similar to your official business or brand name so your audience can instantly recognize it. In other words, choose a name your customers will use when searching for your brand.

After this, you’ll need to include a business category. Type in a keyword or two in the given field and Facebook will offer a few relevant suggestions. You can select up to three options to categorize your Page. This is essential to help people understand what your business is all about.

Step 3: Add your Page bio

While the bio is an optional section, including a short description of your business can be helpful. This is where you can provide more information about what your brand does and what it stands for. Your bio can only be about 100 characters so be sure to keep it clear and succinct.

The bio will show up prominently below your Page name, so it needs to be catchy and relevant. Consider using your brand slogan here instead of coming up with a new bio. Once you’re done, click on “Create Page.”

Step 4: Include your business details

Now that you’ve created the Page, it’s time to make it more complete by including additional details about your business. To finish your setup, you’ll need to include the following information about your business:

Website
Phone number
Email address
Physical address
Hours of operation

After you’ve filled out the details, click on “Next” to get to the next step of your Page setup. Optionally, you can skip this step for now and add those details later.

Step 5: Put together your profile imagery

One of the most crucial steps is customizing your Page with high-quality imagery. Your Page’s visuals are what will help you make an impression on your audience. So it’s important that you carefully choose images that truly represent your brand and are instantly recognizable.

The first thing you’ll need is a profile picture. As highlighted in our social media image size guide, this should be at least 180 x 180 pixels. Remember that this picture will come out as a circle, so avoid including any important details in the corners.

Ideally, businesses should be using their brand logo as a profile picture. This helps the audience to instantly associate the Page with the brand they already know. Alternatively, local businesses may consider including a picture of the storefront or the owners. Some may even use a picture of their best offering instead.

As for your Facebook cover photo, the recommended size is 820 x 312 pixels. Any photo smaller than this will appear stretched and distorted. Consider using existing templates from photo editing tools like Canva to ensure that your cover photo is perfectly sized.

You can also choose to include an action button to show up at the top of your Page. This will help direct Page visitors toward the action that you want them to take. Perhaps you want them to book an appointment, view your shop, call your business, send a message or even get tickets. Choose the most relevant option, click on “Next” and hit “Save.”

Other optional steps include connecting WhatsApp to your Page and inviting your friends to Like the Page. You can choose to skip these steps for now and hit “Done.” But keep in mind that you’ll still need to complete those steps later on to improve your Page health.

Improving your Page health is essential to create a business Page that people would want to engage with. At the top of your Page, Facebook will provide you with suggestions on what actions you can take to make improvements. Your Page health will improve as you complete these actions.

Now your Page is all set up so you can start creating posts or even run ads to promote it.

Tips to maintain an engaging Facebook business Page

Setting up your Facebook business Page is the easy part. What’s challenging is getting your Page off the ground and sustaining that growth to build an engaging business Page. Here are some social media management tips to help you out.

Keep your business info updated

Remember that people use your Facebook Page to learn about your business. They may use it to find out where you’re located or when you’re open. Make sure to include the most updated info about your business so your Page becomes a reliable source of information. If you’re changing your operating hours for the holidays, for example, make sure to add that detail.

Set specific goals

Working towards something specific can give you a sense of direction with your Facebook marketing. Start by thinking about the purpose of your Facebook page and who your target audience is. Are you looking to support a community of current customers? What about attracting new ones?

Decide on specific goals that are achievable and can contribute to your Page growth. These goals will ultimately inform every aspect of your Facebook strategy. This includes the resources you put behind your Facebook business Page to your overall content strategies.

Create a Facebook content strategy

Knowing when and how often to post on Facebook is critical. Based on our research on how often to post on social media, most brands post at least a few times per week.

Moreover, it’s not enough to just keep creating content that you want to create. Think of what your audience wants to see from you so you can come up with a content strategy that delivers results.

According to The 2023 Sprout Social Index™, 68% of US consumers follow a brand to learn more about their products and services, and another 46% do so to access exclusive deals and promotions. Your Facebook Page is like a store in a mall. Consumers will follow you to stay up to date on what’s new, so don’t be afraid of a hard sell.

Engage with your customers

It’s important to realize that your Facebook page is not something that you can “set and forget.”

You may get customers commenting on your posts and asking you questions via Messenger. Failing to respond to customers promptly could result in lost sales or followers.

So you have to be present on social media and be ready and willing to engage. This doesn’t mean you have to answer every single question posted to your timeline or in your inbox immediately. It does mean you need to keep a close eye on notifications and conversations.

This would involve identifying the best social media management tool for your business to help you stay on top of those messages. For example, Sprout offers a Smart Inbox where you can keep track of all your incoming messages, comments and social media mentions in one place. From here, you can quickly see and respond to your Facebook messages and comments.

Use analytics to chart your path forward

Your Facebook Page Insights can tell you a lot about how your current Facebook strategy is working. It can show you how people are engaging with your posts and how your Page is growing. Use these insights to inform your decisions and make improvements to your existing strategy. For example, you may want to share more videos because your analytics tell you that people are engaging a lot with your video posts.

Once you start running ads from your Page, you’ll be able to see how your promoted posts are performing. Experiment with different variations of your ad copy, placement and creative to see what has the biggest impact. This will allow you to build a Facebook advertising strategy that keeps evolving.

Start growing your Facebook Page

The tips highlighted above can help you get the ball rolling and build an engaging Facebook business Page. Make sure you use them alongside a solid marketing strategy to grow your audience. Check out our guide on how to use Facebook business manager for more tips and tricks to help you out.

The post How to build a Facebook business Page that attracts customers appeared first on Sprout Social.

Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Video Specs

Alex York — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 21:52:41 +0000

Last Updated: August 30, 2023

Staying relevant and capturing your audience’s attention is a constant challenge for marketers. And now that brands rely on video content more than ever, it’s critical to use the correct social media video specs and advertising video sizes.

However, we couldn’t find all the correct social video sizes in one place. So we decided to create a complete guide of every single social media video spec and advertising video dimension.

Before we start, here are some additional resources to help you keep the information in once place:

Easily reference our social media video specs in our always up-to-date Google Doc.
Looking for image sizes? Check out our social media image sizes guide for help.
Want to get better results with video? Download our social media video content workbook.

Instagram for brands

Learn how to develop and implement your Instagram marketing strategy today.

Get the Guide

Social Media Video Specs & Ad Sizes Per Network

We’ve gathered a plethora of information on each social network’s specific video sizes and specs. Simply click the links below to jump to your desired network:

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
TikTok
Snapchat
YouTube
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Collaborative Publishing Made Easy with Sprout

Visually appealing content can often be found at the heart of successful social posts.

Whether it’s a video, image or text, Sprout’s Asset Library serves as the central hub, making accessibility, organization and collaboration easier than ever.

Experience how easy asset management can be when you get started with a free trial today.

Facebook Video Specs

Facebook video is consumed at higher rates each year, so it’s no wonder why so many marketers search for the correct Facebook video specs.

The challenge for marketers is that there are simply so many types of videos you can share on Facebook and the platform updates its design frequently. Each video format has different dimensions and specs, which can make it confusing to know whether or not you’re uploading the correct format for organic or paid posts. Follow the specs below to optimize your posts.

Shared Post Video (Landscape & Portrait)

Easily the most common type of video on Facebook comes from shared posts. This type of video lives in your Facebook feed, and can be shared by brands or your friends. While it’s not as easy to get organic reach on Facebook, it’s still a viable way to share video. You can choose between two video orientations: Landscape and Portrait. Here’s a look at the video specs for both.

Video Guidelines

Recommended video dimensions 1280 x 720 for Landscape and Portrait.
Minimum width is 1200 pixels (length depends on aspect ratio) for Landscape and Portrait.
Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9.
Portrait aspect ratio is 9:16 (if video includes link, aspect ratio is 16:9).
Mobile renders both video types to aspect ratio 2:3.
Max file size is 4GB (3 GB maximum in Sprout).
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length max is 240 minutes (45 minutes if uploading in Sprout).
Video max frames 30fps.

360 Video

Facebook’s 360 Video allows users to get a complete 360-degree view by scrolling with a cursor on web, by touch or turning the device on mobile.

Video Guidelines

The resolution and aspect ratio depends on the type of content:
- Monoscopic: 5120 x 2560 maximum, aspect ratio 2:1
- Stereoscopic: 5120 x 5120 maximum, aspect ratio 1:1
Recommended max file size is 10GB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length maximum is 30 minutes.
Recommended framerate is 30 fps.

Facebook Reels

The convenience of cross-posting your Instagram Reels to Facebook expands the viewership and reach of your videos. This format appears organically in feeds, but often gets “priority” on Facebook feeds.

Recommended video formats are MP4 and MOV
Allowed Frame Rate: 23 FPS minimum
Allowed Duration: 4 seconds – 90 seconds
Allowed File Size: No file size limit
Resolution: 540 x 960 (540p) minimum (1080×1920 or greater recommended)
Allowed Aspect Ratio: 9:16

Facebook Video Ad Specs

In-Feed Video Ads

These ads are the sponsored equivalent of in-feed posts and follow similar guidelines.

Video guidelines

Recommended to upload the highest resolution video possible.
Recommended resolution: 1080×1080.
Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9 (Horizontal: 16:9, Square: 1:1, Vertical: 4:5 or 2:3 and Full Portrait: 9:16).
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV (see full list here).
Max video file size is 4GB.
Video length max is 240 minutes.

Character limits

Primary text: 125 characters.
Link description: 30 characters.
Headline: 40 characters.

There are more than 5 million advertisers now on Facebook and having the right specs for your ads can be tricky. Each type of Facebook video ad is different, so let’s go ahead and break down the specs for each type of video you can produce.

Carousel Video Ads

Facebook Carousel Video ads allow brands to showcase multiple videos (or images) and a link within a user’s Facebook feed. It has grown in popularity because its unique scrolling feature allows users to see more content before clicking a link. In fact, Digiday estimated Carousel Ads to be 10 times more effective than standard social media ads.

Video Guidelines

Recommended video resolution 1080 x 1080.
Aspect ratio is 1:1.
Max video file size is 4 GB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video duration range is 1 second to 240 minutes.
Video max frames 30fps.

Collection Video Ads (Mobile)

The Facebook Collection ads showcases multiple images and a main video above it. This is perfect for displaying multiple products (or various colors of a single product) and a video as well. The ad type has been popular so far with retailers and clothing companies.

Video Guidelines

Recommended video resolution 1080×1080.
Square aspect ratio is 1:1.
Max video file size is 4GB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length max is 120 minutes.
Video max frames 30 fps.

Character Limits

Primary text: 125 characters.
Headline max: 40 characters.
Landing page URL required.

Instant Experience Video Ads

Facebook Instant Experience ads open up a full-screen experience after the first click, which can be further customized with a variety of interactive features. This can include multiple video experiences, including features to auto-play on loop.

Video Guidelines

Minimum resolution: 720p
Portrait aspect ratio of 9:16 with pillarboxing for all others uploaded.
Max video file size is 4GB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Maximum length of all video content must be 2 minutes combined.
Video max frames 30fps.

Slideshow Video Ad

Facebook’s Slideshow videos were built for advertisers wanting to reach audiences with slower internet connections. Instead of a regular video, slideshows are just that–a slideshow of images or video in an ad display.

Video Guidelines

Recommended video resolution 1200 x 720.
Aspect ratios available are landscape (16:9), vertical (4:5) and square (1:1)
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Slideshow duration max is 15 seconds.

Facebook Stories (Ads & Organic Posts)

Facebook has also added the Stories feature, disappearing short photo or video updates that are only available for 24 hours. In addition to user-generated organic posts, Stories ads that run in between sets of user stories are also available. While most users will be sharing immediate & organic updates from their phone’s camera without worrying too much about their video specs, the guidelines for this format are similar for paid & organic posts.

Video Guidelines

Recommended resolution 1080×1080
Aspect ratios: 1.91 to 9:16, with colored gradient bars rendered above and below videos under 9:16. The text field will also be placed under below videos smaller than this aspect ratio.
Max video file size is 4GB
Duration is 1 second to 2 minutes
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.

Character Limits

Primary text: 125 characters
Headline: 40 characters

For more information on the video specs for Facebook, visit the Facebook Help Center.

Instagram Video Specs

Instagram launched video capabilities in 2013 and quickly saw enough success to start advertising on the platform in 2015. Since then, video only continues to grow as an engaging social format. So needless to say, Instagram videos are absolutely worth the investment.

In-Feed Video (Landscape, Square & Vertical)

Since 2015, Instagram crafted its videos formats to allow three different styles: landscape, square and vertical. The predominantly-mobile social network is perfect to share videos of any size organically to reach your audience.

Video Guidelines

Minimum resolution for all formats is 1080 x 1080
Recommended horizontal pixel resolution is 1920
Multiple aspect ratios are supported: Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9, square aspect ratio is 1:1, vertical aspect ratio is 4:5.
Max file size for all formats is 4GB (*100MB maximum for Sprout Direct Publishing and 512MB maximum for Sprout Mobile App Flow Publishing).
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length is 3 seconds to 60 minutes.
Recommended frame rate is 23 to 60 FPS.
Recommended data rate/bitrate: 25 Mbps (megabits per second)

Character Limits

Primary text recommendation: 125 characters.
Maximum number of hashtags: 30

Instagram Reels

Introduced in 2020, Instagram Reels are another option for your video strategy on Instagram. These short-form, easily digestible videos are becoming the preferred type of content in Instagram feeds.

Fortunately for social content creators looking to easily generate a lot of content for Instagram, most of the video specs for Instagram Reels are fairly similar to other formats on the platform, with the main differences being the short length and the ease of editing in-app to add effects and sound.

As Instagram has started to add separate tabs for different content types, thumbnails will be cropped differently on each view. If the viewer is on the first tab that has all content types, the thumbnail will be cropped to the traditional square post size of 1:1–center your subjects and plan to avoid undesirable vertical cropping.

Allowed file extensions: .MP4 or .MOV
Allowed Frame Rate: 23-60 FPS
Allowed Duration: 3 seconds – 15 minutes
Allowed File Size: 4 GB max (1 GB or less in Sprout)
Allowed horizontal pixels: 1920
Allowed maximum bitrate: 25 Mbps
Allowed aspect ratio: 0.01:1-10:1 (9:16 recommended)

Instagram Video Ad Specs

Instagram’s advertising revenue has significantly increased over the last year. In fact, Instagram predicts to earn $4 billion in mobile ad revenue in 2017 alone. The push for Instagram advertising is real and marketers have to be ready to take advantage with engaging videos.

In-Feed Video Ad (Landscape, Square & Vertical)

Much like the in-feed organic Instagram video options, the network provides similar options for advertising. These video ads appear nearly identical to organic posts to blend in with users’ feeds. In fact, the Instagram video specs are the same for organic and paid content.

Video Guidelines

Same as In-Feed Video.

Video Character Guidelines (Mobile)

Same as In-Feed Video.

Carousel Video Ad

Much like Facebook’s Carousel Ads, Instagram offers a similar feature. Carousel ads allow users to see more of a product or feature than a single image or video. With Instagram, your carousel video ads can have 2-10 cards with a full-width call to action below the ad.

Video Guidelines

Minimum resolution is 600 x 600.
Max resolution is 1080 x 1080.
Aspect ratio is 1:1.
Max file size is 4GB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Max video length is 60 seconds.
Instagram allows 2-10 videos/cards per ad.

Instagram Stories (Ads & Organic Posts)

It didn’t take long for Instagram Stories to feature ads within users’ story feeds. Brands can seamlessly integrate their video content between other Instagram users. Much like Snapchat, it’s smart to make these videos more raw and in-the-moment to avoid drastically standing out as an ad, especially since users can immediately swipe to leave.

Video Guidelines

Recommended resolution is 1080 x 1080.
Aspect ratio is 9:16.
Max file size is 4GB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length max is 2 minutes for ads and 15 seconds for organic. If you upload a longer video on organic, it will be clipped into multiple Stories slides.

If you’re looking for further information including images, check out our complete guide to all the Instagram ad sizes!

For more information on the video specs for Instagram, visit the Facebook Help Center.

TikTok Video Specs

TikTok has quickly gained attention in the social space, and some social marketers might be feeling caught off guard by the rush to understand what works and what doesn’t on the platform. Fortunately, TikTok’s focus on easy to create and share videos means it’s not hard to start producing video content for the platform, and there are plenty of trends to inspire TikTok content creation. Read on for the specs.

TikTok Organic Videos

TikTok videos are all about the ease of creation, editing and sharing, so it makes sense that specs are more or less oriented around typical mobile phone dimensions. One key trait to keep in mind if you’re trying to repurpose video content across platforms is that videos uploaded from another file source, rather than recorded on the app, can be longer than 60 seconds.

Video Guidelines

Recommended resolution: 1080×1920
Aspect ratio: 9:16 recommended to fill a standard mobile phone screen (1:1 with letterboxing)
Length: 3 minutes recorded in-app or 10 minutes when uploaded from another source (10 minutes if uploading in Sprout)
Maximum file size: 287.6MB
Video formats: MP4 or MOV recommended

TikTok Feed Ads

TikTok ads are a rapidly evolving opportunity for brands. The in-feed option for paid TikTok content is fairly similar to the formatting for existing organic content. To fine-tune paid content for the best performance, be sure to consult TikTok’s business center for the latest tips.

Video Guidelines

Resolutions must be at least: 540×960, 640×64 or 960×540
Aspect ratio options: 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9
Length: 5–60 seconds, but 9–15 seconds is recommended
Maximum file size: 500MB
Bitrate minimum: 516 kbps
Ad description character limits: 1-1000 Latin characters or 1-50 Asian characters
Video formats: .MP4, .MOV, .MPEG .3GP, .AVI

Twitter Video Specs

Twitter is a popular space to share and interact with different social media videos. For marketers, it’s all about keeping a user’s attention with enthralling and click-worthy video content. In the sports and entertainment industry, Twitter is often the go-to for sharing video content, so it’s critical to learn the correct Twitter video specs.

Twitter Landscape & Portrait Videos

Twitter provides two formats of in-feed video content to share with your followers: landscape and portrait. These specific formats are only available for uploading video directly to Twitter, rather than sharing YouTube or Vimeo links. Luckily, Twitter makes it easy to share organic content, but the dimensions do change as the video bitrate alters.

Video Guidelines

Recommended resolutions are 1280×720 (landscape), 720×1280 (portrait), 720×720 (square).
Aspect ratios recommended at 16:9 (landscape or portrait), 1:1 (square). 1:1 is recommended as the best route for rendering across devices with the best output.
Max file size is 512MB.
Recommended video formats are .MP4 for web and .MOV for mobile.
Video length max is 140 seconds.
Recommended frame rates are 30 or 60 fps.

Character Limits

Maximum count: 280 characters.

Twitter Videos Ad Specs

Looking to promote your video through paid ads on Twitter? Luckily, you can use the same exact formats from Twitter organic videos. Stick to the same specs for both organic and paid video to ensure maximum visibility.

For more information on the video specs for Twitter, visit the Twitter Help Center.

Snapchat Video Specs

Snapchat is still an active network for younger generations to share video content. Whether it’s through FOMO-inducing disapppfilters, Snapchat is a hotbed for video sharing. And for your brand, it’s important to know the correct video dimensions for Snapchat.

Single video ad

This video format is the most common across the channel and is the main way users communicate back and forth through the app. However, your business can post videos to its story so others can see what your business is up to. Just follow these specs:

Video Guidelines

Recommended dimension is 1080 x 1920.
Aspect ratio is 9:16.
Max file size is 32MB.
Accept video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length is between 3 and 10 seconds.

Long-Form Video Ad

Snapchat currently offers one main video format for ads, which is known as the long-form video. While there are partner opportunities to put video within Snapchat’s discovery option, most dimensions are the same, but require your business to reach out to the social network for more details on advertising. However, the Snapchat Long-Form Video Ad is what users see in between viewing users’ Stories.

Video Guidelines

Recommended dimension is 1080 x 1920.
Aspect ratio is 9:16 or 16:9.
Max file size is 1GB.
Accept video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video length is 3 to 180 seconds.

For more information on the video specs for Snapchat, visit the Snapchat Ads Help Center.

YouTube Video Specs

Known as the second-largest search engine behind Google, YouTube is an essential network for video content. For marketers, YouTube is a great space to promote, educate and share video content around your brand.

As YouTube continues to grow as a destination for video content, it hosts everything from short form promotional videos to full-length movies and TV. This means users are streaming content on all sorts of devices, which could have different levels of zoom or overscan.

While there’s no hard and fast rules from the platform on how to approach the video editing concept of ‘title safe’ areas where text like titles and subtitles aren’t cut off, you do want to avoid placing these types of visual elements right at the edges of your video area. Read on for more specifics on each format available on YouTube.

Video Player (Standard YouTube Video)

While YouTube allows users to upload various types of media formats and use plenty of different dimensions, organically, there’s truly only one format for the video player. Organic videos should all follow 16:9 ratio, but can be uploaded 4:3. However, the smaller ratio will automatically pillarbox the sides to still make it fit in the player. YouTube has seven recommended dimensions and ratios for standard YouTube videos:

Video Guidelines

Recommended dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
Aspect ratio is 16:9 (auto adds pillarboxing if 4:3).
Max file size is 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
Video length max is 12 hours.

YouTube Video Ad Specs

Standard YouTube videos are pretty straightforward, but there are a few video ad formats to learn if you want to advertise on the network. According to data from Google, Brands advertising on YouTube often receive a 20% increase in traffic.

Skippable, Non-Skippable, Mid-roll & Bumper Video Ads

We’ve put these four YouTube video ads specs together because in the end, they all play through the standard YouTube video player. That means all of these ad types follow the same dimensions as the non-ad videos, but only differ in video length. Let’s look at each ad type:

Skippable Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played before, during or after the content and becomes skippable after 5 seconds. This ad format is the only one allowing advertisers to monetize views from any viewing device.
Non-Skippable Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played before the content and users must watch the full 15 seconds (can also be added during or after video). However, views from TVs or game consoles don’t count toward a monetizable view.
Mid-roll Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played mid-view (like TV commercials) and is only available for content longer than 8 minutes. Ads are added either manually or automatically and again, views from TV or game consoles don’t count toward a monetizable view. Mid-rolls can be skippable, but users must watch 30 seconds or entire ad (whichever is shorter).
Bumper Video Ads: This YouTube ad type is played before the content.It’s a small 6-second video ad that cannot be skipped, which is usually optimized for mobile views.

Video Guidelines

Recommended dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
Minimum dimension is 426 x 240.
Max dimension is 3840 x 2160.
Aspect ratio is 16:9 (auto adds pillarboxing if 4:3).
Max file size is 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
Skippable video length max is 6 minutes (skippable after 5 seconds).
Non-skippable video length max is 15 or 20 seconds (30 seconds in some regions).
Mid-roll video length minimum is 30 seconds.
Bumper video length max is 6 seconds.

Display Ad

YouTube display ads are shown in users’ search queries and sometimes appear in the right video column when watching a video. These ads are static, which means they don’t automatically play. However, once the video is clicked, the type of content displayed can simply follow the standard video player guidelines mentioned above.

Video Guidelines

Recommended dimensions for the static image is 300 x 250 for the larger side view or 300 x 60 for the smaller side view.
Actual recommended video dimensions are: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
Aspect ratio is 16:9 (auto adds pillarboxing if 4:3)
Max file size is 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, .MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.

For more information on the video specs for YouTube, visit the Google Help Center.

YouTube Shorts

Introduced late 2020, YouTube Shorts have recently made its debut as another short-form video feature. These videos are a new way to watch, create and discover short-form content. Shorts can be captured and edited from a smartphone or uploaded through the standard upload workflow from desktop or mobile. Because people are watching more short-form videos globally, using Shorts is a new way to reach wider audiences to entertain, education or make them feel good.

Video Guidelines

Recommended dimensions: 240×426 (240p), 360×640 (360p), 480×854 (480p), 720×1280 (720p), 1080×1920 (1080p), 1440×2560 (1440p), and 2160×3840 (2160p),
Aspect ratio is 9:16.
Video length is 60 seconds max.
Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
Music from the YouTube music library is limited to 15 seconds.
Title character limit: 100 characters max.

For more information on the video specs for YouTube, visit the Google Help Center.

LinkedIn Video Specs

Even though LinkedIn is still in the early stages of video content adoption, the network is still a go-to source for sharing. In fact, nearly 75% of business executives say they watch online videos every week. With that number only likely to grow, it’s safe to say LinkedIn will continue to put video content at its forefront.

Shared Video

The only video format you can upload is through a shared video. While there are options to share YouTube links in shared posts and in LinkedIn Pulse articles, there’s still just one way to upload your own video.

Video Guidelines

Aspect ratio is 1:2.4 to 2.4:1.
Max file size is 5GB.
Accepted video formats are .ASF, .AVI, .FLV, .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-4, .MP4, .MKV, and .WebM.
Video length minimum is 3 seconds, max is 10 minutes.
Video max frames 60fps.

For more information on the video specs for LinkedIn, visit the LinkedIn Help Center.

Video Ads

As of 2018, LinkedIn now offers video ads. The requirements are a little bit different than shared video, so be sure to consider them when developing ads for your paid campaign.

Video Guidelines

Required dimensions are:
- Landscape video: Minimum: 640 x 360, maximum: 1920 x 1080.
- Square video: Minimum: 360 x 360, maximum: 1920 x 1920.
- Vertical video: Minimum: 360 x 640, maximum: 1080 x 1920.
Aspect ratios are:
- Landscape: 16:9
- Square: 1:1
- Vertical: 9:16
Maximum file size is 200 MB
The accepted video format is .MP4
Video length max is 30 minutes, although LinkedIn’s guidelines state most ads perform best at around 15 seconds
Frame rate must be less than 30fps.

For more information on the video specs for LinkedIn ads, visit LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help.

Pinterest Promoted Video Specs

Pinterest allows video upload for business accounts only, so they have specs designed for brands to get the most out of the highly visual and inspirational lifestyle content frequently shared on the platform.

Shared Video

In addition to ads, business accounts can upload organic video content. There are two formats: standard and max width video.

Video Guidelines

Standard video recommended aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 (vertical)
Max width video required aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 16.9 (widescreen)
Max file size is 2GB.
Acceptable video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
Video duration is 4 seconds to 15 minutes (for ads, the platform notes that 6-15 seconds are optimal).

Character Limits

Title: Up to 100 characters.
Description: Up to 500 characters.

Promoted Pinterest Video

There are two formats for Pinterest Promoted Video: standard and max width. Both versions have the same specs as the options for organic uploads. These video ads appear in users’ boards, but advertisers can select the style in the ads manager.

Video Guidelines

Same as shared video

The post Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Video Specs appeared first on Sprout Social.

How the Facebook algorithm works and ways your brand can outsmart it

Jacqueline Zote — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 14:50:50 +0000

Is the Facebook algorithm leaving you confused and frustrated?

You’re not alone. With the algorithm constantly going through updates, brands have a lot of anxiety about how these changes impact their organic reach.

And marketers on Facebook have a right to be concerned, considering Facebook remains the most popular social media platform for consumers and brands. According to the 2022 Sprout Social Index, 71% of consumers and 65% of marketers plan on using Facebook the most over the next 12 months.

Fortunately, beating the Facebook algorithm could be as simple as understanding how it works. That’s exactly what we aim to address in this guide. Let’s find out how the Facebook algorithm works and how you can use it to boost your Facebook marketing strategy.

What is the Facebook algorithm
How the Facebook algorithm works
Facebook algorithm update timeline
Tips for beating the Facebook algorithm

What is the Facebook algorithm

The Facebook algorithm is a set of rules that decides what posts people see in their Feeds. Essentially, it decides which content is most relevant to show to each user based on several factors. Each user’s Feed will look very different since it’s personalized just for them.

The Facebook algorithm has gone through many updates and improvements over the years. One of the most recent updates focused on assessing the credibility of news articles. The goal of this update was to curb misinformation by promoting reliable and high-quality news sources.

How the Facebook algorithm works

While the earliest algorithm prioritized posts that got the most Likes, the algorithm we see today is a lot more sophisticated. Specifically, it considers four factors to decide which posts to show to which user.

1. Inventory

First, Facebook takes inventory of all the content that could show up on your Feed. This includes posts coming from people you’re friends with. It also includes content from the Pages you follow and the groups you’ve joined.

2. Signals

The algorithm then assesses the relevance of each piece of content based on thousands of signals. This includes signals such as who posted it and how often you interact with them. It also looks at when they published the post and what time it is for you.

Facebook also considers signals such as the type of content and how you’ve interacted with similar posts. In other words, it tries to assess relevance by understanding the nature of the content and your behavior.

3. Predictions

Next, it uses the signals above to make predictions about what you want to see. The algorithm will analyze past behavior to try and understand how likely you are to engage with a piece of content.

Let’s say you regularly interact with a certain friend’s post. The Facebook algorithm will take that as a sign that you like seeing content coming from that friend.

Similarly, let’s say you regularly watch and engage with videos from a Page about eco-friendly living. It will understand that you like to watch videos from that Page and you’re interested in this topic.

4. Relevancy scoring

Finally, the algorithm will score each content depending on how relevant it is to you. The higher the score is, the more likely it is to show up in your Feed.

Facebook algorithm update timeline

Fast forward to the present day and the Facebook algorithm is still evolving. Below is a quick snapshot of some of the changes Facebook has made recently.

March 2019 – “Why am I seeing this post?” update

Facebook started giving context to why users are seeing certain organic posts and Facebook ads. Users could now see a list of reasons why they fit the target audience for a certain Facebook ad. So brands needed to fine-tune their audience targeting to reach the most relevant users.

April 2019 – The ongoing fight against misinformation

Facebook’s fight against “fake news” and misleading content is well-documented. In April 2019, Facebook elaborated on its manual efforts to fact-check content to fight misinformation. This involved the use of a metric called “Click-Gap.” This analyzes the clicks and links on the platform and compares them with other parts of the internet. Using this metric, it started to limit the reach of posts that only seem to be popular on Facebook.

This may not seem to impact brands directly but does highlight the importance of trust and transparency on the platform. Anything that comes across as needlessly controversial or spammy could quickly earn you a strike, so to speak.

May 2019 – More personalized experiences

Personalization and relevant content remain a top priority of the Facebook algorithm. In May 2019, Facebook announced the widespread use of surveys. This helped to gather feedback from users to ensure they were seeing relevant content.

The update evolved Facebook’s algorithm to become more of what we see today. It began to prioritize relevancy when deciding what posts to show to users. Combined with the surveys and the relevancy signals, this helped to better connect users with the posts, Pages and people they cared about.

May 2019 – Increased focus on video originality and quality

Around the same time, Facebook also developed updates to promote original and high-quality videos. It began to reduce the distribution of videos that used engagement baiting. Videos that employed manufactured sharing tactics also had limited reach.

March 2021 – Users get more control over their Feed

Facebook launched the “Favorites” tool to give users more control over what they see. This would allow them to add up to 30 friends and Pages to their Favorites. Posts from your Favorites will show up more prominently in your Feed.

Additionally, you can also choose the “Favorites” filter from the Feed Filter Bar. This will show you only the posts coming from people and Pages you’ve favorited.

3 tips for beating the Facebook algorithm

These ongoing changes all point to how the Facebook algorithm forces brands to adapt.

But it doesn’t have to be so daunting if you can identify the pattern behind these changes and arm yourself with the right Facebook tools. From what we can see so far, Facebook seems to be prioritizing quality and authenticity above all else. As such, brands mainly need to focus on creating quality content that drives real interactions.

Here are a few best practices to help you adapt and get ahead of the Facebook algorithm.

1. Time your posts to perfection

Timing is one of the key signals that influence the algorithm. Moreover, it also looks at how much engagement a post receives. As such, it’s important to send out your posts at just the right time. This would mean timing your posts to go out when people are most likely to engage with them.

According to data from Sprout, the best times to post on Facebook are Mondays through Thursdays between 8 a.m. and noon, generally.

But keep in mind that these times may not necessarily be ideal for everyone. The best thing you can do is use Sprout’s Social Media Publishing suite to analyze optimal send times for your brand. You can then use the scheduling tool to automatically send out your posts at the perfect time.

2. Focus on creating original videos

Beating the Facebook algorithm involves creating content that the algorithm loves. This would mean more high-quality and original videos.

Ideally, you should share videos that you made and recorded yourself. But this doesn’t necessarily call for big-budget commercials. Short clips from a longer YouTube video would do just fine. Similarly, short videos that you shot on your phone would also do the trick.

The main focus should be on the originality and the quality of the content itself. In other words, the video should benefit your audience in some way. It can be informative, educational or entertaining depending on what your brand does.

The Milwaukee Country Zoo regularly shares short clips of its animals. These are entertaining to the audience, often garnering hundreds of thousands of views. The following video, for instance, had 11k shares.

Annual smash and squash

It's the elephant's annual smash and squash!

Posted by Milwaukee County Zoo on Wednesday, October 26, 2022

You can use Sprout’s Facebook Analytics tool to see which videos resonate with your audience. This tool gives you a breakdown of engagements for each post to see which ones your audience interacted with the most. You can then get a sense of what types of videos they want to see from you.

3. Rope in employees and brand advocates

The key to overcoming the Facebook algorithm has been under your nose since the day you started marketing on the platform. Yet so many brands overlook it—your employees.

Employee advocacy has never been more relevant than it is today. Facebook is prioritizing content from friends and family over businesses. As such, it’s the perfect time to start your employee advocacy program or rev it up if you already have one.

Your Facebook Page’s reach is already somewhat limited by the number of fans/followers you have. And when you tack on these new changes to the algorithm, the number of people that see your content is going to drop even more.

Encouraging your team to share your content with their networks on Facebook instantly amplifies your reach. The challenge is getting employees to share your content. Oftentimes, just sending an email asking people to share an article from your company isn’t enough. It requires too much time and effort on their end to go to Facebook, type up a message and share it. Plus, some employees will just flat-out forget to share and never check the email again.

Sprout makes it easy for your employees to quickly find and share relevant brand content. The Employee Advocacy platform lets you keep all your shareable content in one place. Your employees can then easily share these approved posts. You can even include pre-approved message ideas to give them an example.

Time to beat the algorithm

The constant changes to the Facebook algorithm can put brands at a disadvantage. Having a strong Facebook marketing strategy will help you stay on top of these updates and ensure that you’re always two steps ahead.

Additionally, start using a powerful social media management platform to execute your strategy. This could help with scheduling, management and analytics. Sign up for a free 30-day trial with Sprout Social to see how it can help you beat the Facebook algorithm.

The post How the Facebook algorithm works and ways your brand can outsmart it appeared first on Sprout Social.