Video is one of the most engaging and popular forms of content on social media, as it can capture attention, convey emotions, and deliver information in a dynamic and interactive way. However, not all videos are created equal, and the way you upload and share your videos can make a big difference in how they perform and reach your audience. You might have noticed that some social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, encourage or even require users to upload video files directly to their platform, rather than embedding or linking videos from YouTube or other external sources. This is called native video uploading, and it has several advantages over embedded video uploading.
More Control and Ownership Over the Video Content
Native video uploading allows the social media platform to have more control and ownership over the video content, as well as the user experience and the monetization opportunities. For example, the platform can decide how to display the video, such as the size, quality, autoplay, captions, sound, and thumbnail. The platform can also decide how to promote the video, such as the algorithm, the ranking, the recommendations, and the notifications. The platform can also decide how to monetize the video, such as the ads, the sponsorships, the subscriptions, and the tips.
Retain Users on Their Platform
Native video uploading allows the social media platform to keep users on their platform longer, rather than sending them away to another website or app. This can increase the engagement, retention, and loyalty of the users, as well as the revenue and growth of the platform. For example, if a user watches a native video on Facebook, they are more likely to see and interact with other content on Facebook, such as posts, stories, groups, pages, and events. However, if a user watches an embedded video from YouTube on Facebook, they are more likely to leave Facebook and go to YouTube, where they can watch more videos, subscribe to channels, and comment on videos.
Provide a Better and More Consistent User Experience
Native video uploading allows the social media platform to provide a better and more consistent user experience across different devices and platforms. For example, if a user uploads a native video on Instagram, they can ensure that the video will play smoothly and seamlessly on any device and platform that supports Instagram, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and smart TVs. However, if a user uploads an embedded video from YouTube on Instagram, they might encounter issues such as compatibility, loading, buffering, quality, and security.
As you can see, native video uploading has many benefits for both the social media platform and the user, compared to embedded video uploading. However, this does not mean that you should never use embedded videos on social media. There are some situations where embedded videos might be more suitable or convenient, such as when you want to share a video that you don't own or have permission to use, when you want to leverage the existing audience and features of another platform, or when you want to save time and storage space by not uploading the same video multiple times.
The key is to know your goals, your audience, and your platform, and choose the best video uploading method accordingly. If you want to maximize the reach, engagement, and performance of your videos on social media, native video uploading is usually the way to go. However, if you want to diversify your video distribution and exposure, embedded video uploading can also be a useful option.
