The difference between making videos for YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo

Both YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook are extremely valuable platforms which should be utilized for Association growth. However, there are differences between them, which sometimes means one should make different videos for each platform for optimization.

Vimeo

By some, Vimeo is considered more prestigious and arthouse rather than its nearest competitor, the very mainstream YouTube. It does not however have a very good reputation as a search and discovery platform, meaning people generally go to Google or YouTube when looking to discover new things.

However, Vimeo does have one major advantage as a video host platform; which is that your video can be updated.

This is extremely helpful if you upload a video and then need to make changes; for example, your Association moves address and you have that address listed within the video. Vimeo enables you to upload a revised video with changed content and keep the original URL.

On YouTube, every time you upload a new video, it generates a unique URL. Therefore, if you need to delete a video on YouTube it is gone forever, as well as all the comments that video has received.

If you make videos to embed on your Association website, then allowing you to make changes without having to send out a new link to your Association members, can save a great deal of time and frustration.

Vimeo also will not play ads, or recommend videos before or after yours, and touts “your brand is never associated with another random video.” Vimeo now allows you to have end screens, create custom cards and capture emails right from the player.

Vimeo also allows you to have people pay to watch certain videos, also enabling you to launch a branded subscription service on the web.

Whereas YouTube and Facebook are free, one has to pay for Vimeo services.

YouTube VS. Facebook; Search vs. Shareable

Facebook has shareability, YouTube has searchability.

Once you upload to YouTube, your video can be found easily, as it’s on your Association’s channel. Your audience knows where they can find it.

YouTube, as a search engine, may also promote your video with its search and discoverability algorithm, as well as potentially make it a related video for others to watch, after they view a similar-subject video.

On YouTube, you can also direct people from one video to another, via the End Screens feature; a funnel marketing tool Facebook doesn’t have.

Facebook acts more like a news feed, so your video may be visible to your audience initially when you post, but will then get lost to your audience, unless it’s shared, liked or commented upon. A Facebook post will gain traction and appear in people’s feeds once it is interacted with.

Subscribers vs. Liked Pages

In YouTube, your aim is to get subscribers, as this is the first audience YouTube will present your video to. The equivalent in Facebook, is when people “like” your page.

However, both platforms do not present your video to everyone who is a subscriber, or everyone who likes your page. This is partially because people subscribe to multiple channels and like multiple pages, and also because YouTube and Facebook work in different ways re monetization.

A few years ago, when members liked your page on Facebook, they would then always see your feed and your posts. Facebook changed their model and now forces you to pay or “boost your post” to present it to those who liked your page and beyond.

When you release a video on YouTube, your video also isn’t presented to all of your subscribers. YouTube essentially pools a certain number of them and depending on how they react (ie. Are they engaged by it,) this will determine how far and wide YouTube will roll out your videos, both by suggesting it to your subscribers and recommending it to others who may be your appropriate audience.

TIP: The way you can ensure that your audience does see your video on YouTube is by asking them to click on the notification bell, which sends them a notice that you’ve released a new video. Facebook doesn’t have this feature.

Different Call-to-Actions

When making a video for YouTube, you may want to end your video with a “Please Subscribe” call-to-action, then direct your audience to watch a different video though your end screens.

When making a video for Facebook, you might want to have an ending that states “Click the link in the description.” Or “Please Like Our Association Page.”

As such, you might want to create two separate files for two different endings; one optimized for YouTube and one for Facebook.

Views

Facebook and YouTube count views differently. On YouTube, a view counts when someone watches your video for 30 seconds. Generally, people have to click on your video for that to happen. On Facebook, even if you don’t watch the video but it’s on your feed, it will count as a view after 3 seconds.

As a result, people generally consider the view count on Facebook to be over-hyped and relatively worth less than a view on YouTube.

Aspect Ratio: Horizontal vs. Vertical

Aspect Ratio is essentially what your video looks like. The shape of it, expressed by two numbers x ; y (where x = height units, y = width units)

YouTube is traditionally a horizontal format: meaning the videos look more like a widescreen TV.

Facebook is vertical.

When you shoot a video for YouTube or Vimeo you’ll generally shoot it standard 16×9.

However, if you upload that same video to Facebook, it won’t be optimized, as Facebook scans its videos in the vertical format.

According to Facebook “When you create ads for mobile, images and videos should cover as much screen as possible to grab attention.”

Here is what Facebook recommends for videos on Facebook:

• For Facebook and Instagram feeds: We recommend 4:5 but you can also use 1:1.
• For Facebook and Instagram Stories: Most people hold their phones vertically so we recommend 9:16 to capture the full screen. You can also use 4:5.
• For video carousel format: We recommend 1:1 and consistent ratios for all videos in a carousel.
• For Facebook and Audience Network in-stream video: We recommend 16:9 to fit the videos the ads are in.

So, if you’re only creating a video for Facebook, then you should shoot it vertical. If you have a choice, shoot vertical for Facebook, wide-angle for YouTube/Vimeo.

TIP: YouTube now does allow Vertical Video. If you have a vertical video, then uploading it in the vertical native format is optimal as it will allow people to watch on their cell phones, without crushing the image with black bars.