Four Facebook Video Rules Every Higher Education Institution Should be Following

The goal of all higher education institutions is to attract students. College and universities, like any other type of business, are brands, and the best way to connect with students is to meet them where they are at - on social media watching countless videos. 

Prior to my panel at the Social Media Strategies Summit for Higher Education in New York, Facebook’s Charlie Shin stated that the social media giant predicts that in 2020 almost 74% of the platform’s content will be video. 

How can colleges and universities capture the attention of these students when so many videos are being pushed at them daily?  Charlie shared four Facebook video rules everyone should be following: 

1- Keep Videos Short

The average attention span is about 6 seconds, and with teens, that number drops even lower. Keep your videos less than 15 seconds long. You can communicate a lot of information quickly using video. Try to keep your higher education Facebook video focused on a single point and make it impactful.

2 - Include a Call to Action Early 

Put your calls to action early in the video, or you will lose a lot of traction. Many people don’t ever finish short videos. Put your CTA at the beginning of the video to capture conversions right upfront. 

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3- Vertical Videos 

Teenagers don’t turn their phones to watch videos. They’re scrolling too fast and they’re used to Instagram Stories and Tik Tok. Shoot videos vertically to increase the number of Facebook video views on your college’s content. 

4 - Include Text 

Don’t forget to use text on the screen — Facebook videos default to autoplay with the sound off. Undergraduate prospective students are watching videos while they are in class (shocking!), on their commute, and passing time in public places. To engage your audience and stress your message, overlay videos with headings, captions, and CTAs throughout.  

Keep in mind Facebook is just one platform to reach prospective students. Just like with finances, social media requires diversification. Not everyone is on the same platform and to reach your entire audience, you must customize your videos for each service. 

High school students are using Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and Tok Tok along with Facebook. College students, faculty, and parents prefer Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your message and type of content should change based on the platform you are using.