Know the Community Guidelines

Facebook has about the largest audience of any social media platform there is. As such, they have perhaps the strictest rules about what can be shared, who it can be shared with, and so on. The Guidelines (as they call them) are not overly restrictive, they’re just long. Be sure to set aside a chunk of time to familiarize yourself with them before you begin any type of marketing on Facebook, video or otherwise.

Penalties for violating the Community Guidelines vary depending on the severity of the offense, among other factors, but if you are a repeat violator you can, and will, have your Facebook account deleted and banned. Predictably, the penalties for marketing-related violations are generally stricter than for non-marketers. Facebook staff are not known for being extremely flexible once a decision has been made, and although appeals and reversals are not unheard of, it’s a better practice to avoid sanctions in the first place rather than trying to appeal a negative decision. The most basic advice here is to ensure your videos and other marketing messages are family-friendly.

Don’t Overshare

This applies more to posting your videos (or other marketing messages) on your own account or in groups or pages, rather than advertising. As far as paid insertion, your budget seems to be the only real limit. But for social sharing, don’t overdo it. Not only will people begin to bristle at your omnipresence (especially if you’re also sharing the same basic message through paid ads), too much presence through free channels may backfire and generate some negative publicity.

Don’t be the party guest that refuses to leave. There’s a fine line between not enough and too much. It may take some experimentation to find that line.

Target, Target, Target

Simply put, it’s a waste of money to insert your video where it’s not wanted. If you take the shotgun approach to placing your advertising messages, you are not only going to irritate the individuals who see it but don’t have any interest, but if they see it over and over again, you may generate negative goodwill. Why not save money and only show your videos to the people are likely to want to see them?

Targeting is simple on Facebook. They offer a myriad of demographic choices to narrow your audience down to precisely who will likely be interested in your message. Split testing and constant adjustment of your target audience will also serve you well here.

Facebook may seem intimidating, but if you study their rules and culture, social video marketing can be very rewarding on that particular platform.