Video is one of the most engaging formats on the web, and naturally also on Facebook. When a brand is looking to promote a video via Page Post Ads (based on organic or unpublished posts), there are two primary options:
- #1 – YouTube: Upload the video to YouTube, create a Link Page Post Ad which points to the YouTube video
- #2 – Native: Upload the video directly to Facebook, create a Video Page Post Ad which points to that video
The table below shows what these two options look like.
| Upload Location | YouTube | |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Type | Link Page Post Ad | Video Page Post Ad |
| Screenshot Newsfeed |  |
 |
| Screenshot Playing |  |
 |
As you can see, when the video is uploaded to Facebook natively and we use the Video Page Post Ad, the ad unit appearing in the News Feed is much larger than the link page post ad pointing to the YouTube video. Additionally, when playing the video, it’s a much more engaging experience.
At AdParlor, we have A/B tested these two methods and the native Facebook hosted videos performed much better on numerous KPIs.
- 2.5x higher CTR
- 30% higher video play rate (number of clicks on the ad unit which are video play clicks)
- 10% lower cost per engagement (e.g., post comments, shares and likes)
- 3.5x lower CPC
- 5.5x lower cost per video play