How To Use Video To Boost Facebook Reach

It’s not news that many have been complaining about how the new Facebook algorithm is screwing them up… bringing their reach down to single digit.

Here is the thing – you can complain, or you can research, experiment and figure out what you can do about it.

Don’t fall into the victim mentality trap because everyone is writing and bitching about it. If you can’t weather a Facebook algorithm update, you are probably building your business & marketing on quicksand and need to reconsider your strategy.

First off, is the new algorithm really “bad”? Maybe not. Have you really dug into it, or are you just parroting what others are saying?

The algorithm rewards genuine interaction – the kind that you put forth your personality and share your message. My reach has actually increased since the update.

There are a few good ways to boost your reach – most important of all, is to provide valuable content and be consistent with your interaction. If you don’t SHOW UP for your peeps, you can’t expect them to show up for you.

I don’t claim to be a Facebook marketing expert. Just like many of my readers, I don’t have $1,000’s a month to spend on Facebook ad like the big wigs, and I just want to share what has worked for me. rnIn terms of content format, the best I have found so far is posting videos.

In fact, since I started sharing videos regularly, the reach of my other posts seems to go up as well. rnMaking video can sound intimidating for some… especially if you feel self-conscious in front of the camera… or you have a bad hair day… or you have a mysterious acne attack.

If I tell you that you DON’T have to worry about what to say and how you look in your video, and that you can whip up something real quick and share it out in 30 minutes or less, would you be more inclined to use video to increase your reach?

You Don’t Have To Worry About What To Sayr
To get started, you can appropriate content you have already written in your blog posts or newsletters, turn it into a script (which you don’t have to memorize! I will show you why) and you now have content for a video!
I tend to write pretty long posts, so I would break them up into 2 or 3 videos so each is around 3-5 minutes long.

You Don’t Have To Worry How You Look
Yes, you can do it with bed hair in your pajamas.
The next thing is to create a slide that you would voiceover to deliver your content. You don’t have to show your face! A picture of you on the slide is recommended to make a connection with your audience.

You Don’t Have To Memorize Anythingr
For me, one of the challenges about video is that I sometimes have the hmm’s and aah’s, or I get so excited that I go off on a tangent and completely lose track of what the video is about!
I use a script for most of my videos, and sometimes it’s hard to maintain constant eye contact and avoid looking like I am reading from a script.
With voiceover, I can pretty much bypass this challenge – I read the script from my iPad (or a second monitor, if you have one) and record the slide on the computer.

Now You Have the Content, Let’s Make Your Video:
There are a couple of ways to record your voiceover with the slides:
1. Screen-capture software such as Camtasia or Screenflowr
You simply select the slide as the custom region to be recorded, hit record and start talking! Then export the video as an .mp4 file and you are good to go.
2. Record with Google Hangout On Airr
If you don’t have a screen recording software you can do a screen recording using Google Hangout On Air (make sure you have good connection otherwise it can get choppy) – you can then download the .mp4 from your YouTube account for the next step.
3. Record a Good Ol’ mp3
You can record an .mp3 (audio file) using software such as Audacity, which is free, then convert the file into .mp4 video file with the slide image using tools that are available online (just google “convert mp3 to mp4”)

Make Your Video Work Really Hard For You:
Whichever way you choose to do the voiceover, you have an .mp4 video file as the end product.

Now you are going to make the most out of it.

First, upload the video to your YouTube channel. Not only will you get YouTube traffic, but you can also use the link or embed code to share your video on G+, Pinterest and content platforms such as LinkedIn Pulse.

Then, create a blog post on your website and embed the video to the post. Under the post, add some content – I like to include a “resource” section that links back to my other posts, a freebie, or product. See an example here.

Now go back to the YouTube video, and add the link of the blog post to the description section. E.g. For additional resources, visit [URL of blog post]

We are talking about increasing your Facebook reach so let’s do that now:

You want to upload your video directly onto Facebook, NOT copy-and-pasting a YouTube link. Facebook likes videos uploaded directly, and that’s what makes a HUGE difference in reach.
On your Facebook fan page status, click on add a photo/video. rnSelect the video you want to add, and make sure you put in description that will catch the attention of your audience. rnDon’t forget to add a Call-To-Action – Facebook allows you to put a link to the video, which will appear after it’s done playing.
I like to include a link back to the blog post with the video and resources to drive traffic back to my website.

After the video is uploaded to your Facebook page, don’t forget to share it out!

Of course you can share the post on Facebook groups and your personal page. And you can do more than that.
Right click on the “time stamp” on your post and copy the perma-link. rnThe link opens up to the video post. You can share this link on other social media platforms to drive more views and engagement with your post.