You’ve seen the stats – 60 percent of people prefer video over reading text and video is more memorable than written content. So you and your team curated engaging, informative videos that, as of now, live only on your YouTube channel. You share links to these videos in your Twitter and Facebook posts, and your YouTube view count each month is a source of pride. People really like your videos.

But now you can upload your videos directly to Facebook (and to Twitter, for that matter). You might be wondering, “why upload them when you can just link to them on YouTube?”

1. Facebook Videos Trump YouTube. According to recent studies, Facebook native video engagement rate is 97 percent higher than that of YouTube. Facebook gives more newsfeed exposure to native videos than links to YouTube videos, which means your native video will likely receive more reach and more engagement than a YouTube video. This may be enough of a reason for you to get uploading; if not, read on.
2. Facebook’s Size. Facebook has more than 1.5 billion active users – 50 percent larger than YouTube’s user base. As the Social Times article states, 60 percent of users state Facebook is their primary news source, so the more people return to Facebook, the more videos they will see.
3. Targeting. Facebook has a lot of information about its users so you can target the audience most interested in viewing your content. And Facebook now offers video ads and video capabilities for its other ad types, including Like and Website Conversion ads, which gives you more content options. Rich media (videos) advertising receives 83 percent higher eCPMs than image ads, making static image ads so 2014.
4. Auto Play. Native videos automatically play in the Facebook feed on both desktop and mobile devices. If you link to a YouTube video, there is no auto-play option and the video image is much smaller and less inviting. People have to click on a link and be taken off of Facebook to see the video. Which version – the native video or the YouTube link – do you think drives more views to your video?

   Native Video Post:
   

   YouTube Video Post:
   

5. Great Analytics. But what about my YouTube video counts? Yes – you will now need to track video views on both YouTube and Facebook. But, good news – Facebook continues to improve video statistics. Facebook added a Videos tab to the Insights section of your Facebook page, so now you can track video views, reach, average completion length and more.
6. Not Everyone’s Doing It. That’s right, according to a report released in July 2015, 47 percent of Facebook pages studied had never uploaded a video and 33 percent only posted one video in June 2015. You can be one step ahead of the competition just by uploading your videos.

So what’s the best way to engage?

1. Keep Videos Short. The ideal length of a video is 30 seconds. One of my favorite Facebook video stats is the average length of time viewers watched your video. Test different video lengths but err on the shorter side.
2. With or Without Sound. Auto play is great but remember that the auto play occurs without sound. So you need to capture attention through visuals. If what viewers see (sans noise) in the first few seconds grabs their attention, they’ll click for more.
3. Catch Viewers Early. What helps grab their attention? BuzzFeed uses copy in their video to help tell the story so you know what the video is about and are intrigued to watch more.

So should you continue to upload videos to YouTube? Yes – YouTube is key for search. People will find your videos if they Google a question or are looking for your company. Plus, your longer-form videos will likely get more engagement on YouTube as people are actively searching for information.