The Three Second Rule: Optimizing Facebook Videos for Mobile

Let me guess, you're probably reading this blog post on your smart phone. If you aren't, you're part of the minority. Mobile internet use has made it so mind numbingly easy to consume content to your heart's content. Ubiquitous accessibility is, without a doubt, one of the main reasons for the meteoric rise in online video consumption. Case in point, social networking giant Facebook averages 100 million hours of video use per day. People are being hypnotized indisputably by these moving pictures en masse.

For marketers, Facebook has become an exciting playground where they can experiment with different advertising strategies. The trick to capturing an audience's attention with video, however, is seizing their interest within the first three seconds.

Wondering where else to focus your video strategy? Check out this article!

 This blog post is part of “Your Definitive Guide to Lead Generation” blog series.

The Cold Hard Truth

Facebook currently boasts 8 million video views per day. What's even more surprising is the fact that about 85 percent of those video views happen with the sound turned off. According to DigiDay, web publishers LittleThings and Mic, average 150 million monthly views each on Facebook and 85 percent of those viewers are watching them in deafening silence. The "silence is golden" trend has forced marketers to adapt by including compelling and branded text along with captions to enhance video digestibility.

The Three Second Rule

In terms of view count, Facebook counts their views at the three second mark. What does this mean for marketers? It means that brands need, nay must, catch their audience's attention within the time it takes a person to pick up a fallen biscuit while it's still good. While the previous analogy is a tired elementary-school misconception, it perfectly showcases the insanely short amount of time brands have to make a good first impression. The three second view count is only applicable to Facebook, however. This "constraint" means that most brands have begun to use the same aesthetics and format throughout their videos (regardless of subject matter). 

Recipe for A Mobile-Optimized Facebook Video

While branded Facebook videos have adapted to fit inside a certain mold, the repetitive nature of the format seems to work. So how do you optimize Facebook videos for maximum ROI?

Striking visual cues: Bold colors, provocative images, and recognized spokespeople do much to keep your audience engaged. Because people view videos on mute, brands need to concentrate their efforts on appealing to the four remaining senses.

Text or Captions: People will usually follow the path of least resistance so make it easy on them. Include captions and accompanying branded text to narrate your video and establish a connection between the content and your brand. If you don't have the technical know-how to include captions, use Facebook's heaven-sent auto-caption tool.

According to Facebook, 65 percent of people who make it past the first three-second mark will make it to the ten-second mark and 45 percent of those will watch for thirty seconds. That fact alone highlights the importance of the very first moments when a person, sometimes absent mindedly, scrolls past a video.

Social media is just one element of a wholesome digital marketing strategy, but how do you know whether yours is reaching its potential? Start with the Digital Marketing Strategy Assessment, a free tool that assesses the maturity of your current ecosystem and provides you with suggestions for improvement.

Think that producing videos is too expensive or complicated? Watch our free on-demand webinar, Low Budget Video Production, to learn how to produce effective marketing videos in house, options for purchasing equipment at every budget and tips for lighting, sound, and editing your videos.