The four main sources
When a video is published on Facebook and or it’s sibling platform Instagram, it will reach four different sources which are; Followers, Shares, Recommendations and Paid. These sources are part of the Retention Insights, a metric and section in Creator Studio which is important for increasing the likelihood of showing your videos to more people on Facebook’s platforms. With this new functionality and insights, you can easily see what sources are generating watch time.
Note! Like all Facebook’s Insights products and features, Traffic Source Insights will roll out to 100% of the user base over the next upcoming months. So, if you don’t see it yet, you’ll just have to wait patiently.
Continue to read this post for a detailed description of the four sources.
Followers
A person who has liked or is following your page may see your published videos in multiple and different places. Regardless where they see your content, all views and detailed statistics will be included in this first source category.
Shares
A person might see your published videos if it has been shared and reposted by one of their friends or other pages the are following. Facebook is describing this source as “word-of-mouth” marketing, another chance and way to reach new people and fans outside of your current audience.
Recommendations
A person who has neither liked, nor followed your page may still see your published video. The most likely scenario for this to happen is if the person is browsing one of Facebook’s Discovery sections and or tabs, where they can search for videos or watch what’s Up Next. Recommendations are an added bonus for high-quality and very engaging content.
Paid
A person might see your published video because you have paid for it, i.e. Boosted the post. This is a very effective way to further strengthen your organic reach and efforts without running and setting up native ads.’
Advice for optimizing for Video Traffic Sources
There are a bunch of different factors that will influence your organical distribution of video. We recommend that you, whilst reading this, browse and discover the Retention Insights in Creator Studio the best learn and understand what we’re talking about.
Strengthen your follower base
A key factor to increase the amount of followers of your page is to post regularly, this will ensure people to come back and connect with your brand every week, and stay top of mind. Facebook is stating that they prioritize the distribution of videos that are three minutes or longer, inspire people to continue and complete watching. Another factor for better distribution is to inspire regularly, ensuring returning viewership. Do this by using Creator Studio to analyze what your followers actually are watching, interact with them, and ask.
Also consider using Audience Insights to further get to know your following, and learn what other videos and or pages they prefer. This also includes; When your newest followers tend to be on the platform.
Be discovered by optimizing for shares
A person might see your published videos if it has been shared and reposted by one of their friends or other pages the are following. Facebook is describing this source as “word-of-mouth” marketing, another chance and way to reach new people and fans outside of your current audience.
Get featured by optimizing for recommendations
If a person is browsing one of Facebook’s unconnected sections/tabs, for example; Facebook Watch, Up next and News Feed Recommendations, the platform will recommend videos based on interest and if they’re highly likely to enjoy it. For this source, Facebook prioritize recent and newly uploaded videos. In News Feed Recommendations, videos that typically are shorter around one to three (1-3) minutes are prioritized. For Facebook Watch and Up Next, retentive videos that inspire people to watch for longer is prioritized.
Hopefully, you already have access to the new Video Traffic Sources and can begin to work out your plan continuing forward. If not, you’ll just have to wait patiently for it to roll out in Creative Studio.
We hope you enjoyed the reading and gained some valuable insights about the social media landscape. If you’re unsure for how to tackle things and go about it, we’re always at your disposal. Don’t forget to subscribe to stay updated! 🥳
