How social platforms display video in 2017
If you’re investing time and money into online video, you want to be sure that video displays the way you expect on all social platforms. To make the most of your video on social media, here’s a quick overview of how each social platform treats video, at least at the time this article was written.
Platforms are constantly changing how they handle video though, so check the specifics on each platform at the time you’re posting to be sure.
You can (and should) upload videos directly to Facebook to make the most of this platform. However, keep in mind that Facebook videos are automatically muted, so be sure to add captions within Facebook once you’ve uploaded the video. Facebook users currently control whether or not videos autoplay in their news feed, so keep that in mind as well.
On Facebook, you also have the option of Facebook Live, which behaves a little differently than a posted video. For Facebook Live, followers will hear audio immediately after clicking on the live video stream. A Facebook Live video can be posted to your timeline as a permanent video after its conclusion.
On LinkedIn, autoplay videos from both YouTube and Vimeo are muted. So, as with Facebook, captions are a good idea. Also be sure to have some intro music or other open space at the beginning of your video to allow your viewer time to turn on their sound (if they choose to do so) before the real content starts.
On Instagram, you have several options to share video. First, you can upload a short video just as you would a photo. As with many other platforms, videos may start playing automatically, but won’t have sound until the viewer taps the video to turn it on. However, a recent change to Instagram’s iOS app means that sound remains on for subsequent videos until the user taps another video to mute sound or closes the app.
Other video (or video-like) options on Instagram include live video and stories. For Instagram Live, videos disappear as soon as they end, unless you save it to your story. A story is basically a slideshow of images and video that you create over time, which can also include text overlays as captions or commentary.
On Twitter, you can upload a video from your computer or record, edit, and share video within the Twitter app. Maximum video length on Twitter is 2 minutes and 20 seconds, and you can trim a video down in the process of posting it. As with other platforms, videos will autoplay on mute, and a user can disable the autoplay feature in their settings.
Google+
Because Google+ and YouTube share a parent company, Google+ makes it extremely easy to share a YouTube video to the platform. Google+ doesn’t have an option to upload video directly, but rather to share video from another source on a post.
Even more changes are coming to the online video and social media landscape soon, with Google Chrome announcing it will begin blocking auto-play videos in 2018. On the other hand, Google will begin showing short snippets of video in search results when relevant.
The bottom line? Video and social is ever-changing, so be sure to periodically check details on updates for each social platform and their specifications on uploading video.