There is an ongoing battle between Facebook and YouTube over where you should be uploading video. When it comes to making the decision of where you should be hosting them, there are several factors to consider.
Both platforms have their benefits and drawbacks and researching each of them can provide you with a clear idea of where is best to host your videos. YouTube is the predominant video platform, with years building their brand they are the second largest search engine in the world and it is easy to assume that this is the most appropriate place to host your video content. However Facebook video is on the rise and it is easy to see that the content that is shared and interacted with most on the social network is video.
So what should be considered before choosing one of the platforms to host video?
The video itself
Both Facebook and YouTube have their own recommended settings for optimum playback. Generally .MP4 or .MOV are the preferred formats.
The first thing to note is that Facebook doesn't support Full HD video playback (or 1080p). Currently, the maximum playback resolution for videos on Facebook is 720p and when it comes to uploading video to Facebook, what many don't realise at the time is that Facebook compresses the quality of both the video and audio elements quite heavily. With YouTube however, you can upload video with a resolution of up to 8K (4 times that of Full HD 1080p), but the chances that you would be capturing video at that resolution are very slim, and although many smartphones and video cameras are now capable of capturing even 4K, the displays to play video back at this resolution haven't been widely adopted… yet.
However, as much as we all love a polished product, at the end of the day it all comes down to the engagement of your videos, which leads nicely on to my next point.
Getting to your audience
As I mentioned before, YouTube is the second largest online search engine and processes billions of searches per month. In some senses you should treat your video content on YouTube similarly to the content that you add to your website optimised for Google searches. YouTube is essentially a destination for viewers looking for specific content using keywords and searches.
YouTube has apps dedicated for most devices globally, from smartphones and tablets to games consoles and smart TVs. Not only that, but YouTube makes it incredibly easy to embed your videos into your website and blogs. You also benefit from easy to track viewer information with YouTube's analytics.
Facebook does have its own upsides though. As a social network, users check their news feed frequently and instead of searching for specific content, Facebook selects and delivers video to the viewer amongst various other pictures and posts. This social format makes commenting, liking and sharing seem more intuitive to the viewer.
There is a significant difference when watching videos on Facebook depending on whether they have been uploaded natively to the platform, or linked to via YouTube. As you scroll down the news feed on Facebook and find a video that has been uploaded directly to the platform, you will notice that the video will automatically start to play, whereas if the video is hosted on YouTube, you have to physically click on the video to start it. You will also see that the initial thumbnail for natively uploaded video is over twice as large compared to the video linked from YouTube. These difference, albeit subtle, are there to naturally make uploading video natively to Facebook more visually appealing.
Still, Facebook's best tool is the vast wealth of demographic information they collect from their user base and the ability to sophisticatedly targeted to deliver the video directly to those more likely to be interested.
Downsides
In making a choice of which platform to use, it is worth recognising the downfalls of each of the platforms.
For YouTube, videos hosted on their just don’t move as fast as Facebook and they tend to receive less shares and comments.
However, Facebook, albeit a very fast means of sharing visual content tends to have a shorter lifespan. Facebook tends to place more popular content higher up on your news feed, so as the shares and likes start to slow down, you video can quickly sink to the bottom. It isn't easy to search for old Facebook videos like it is on YouTube.
Summary
As we can see, both platforms have their own benefits and shortcomings, but neither is perfect for every context in which your videos may be used. Facebook videos, if done correctly, are great to draw an audience to yourself or your business, where it can be shared quickly and then allowed to fade away. When it comes to tutorial videos or demo reels, then these may be better served on YouTube where an audience it more likely to come across it through certain search terms and key words. So it really does come down to the overall context of the video and the audience that you wish to place it in front of.