Facebook Premiere Video: A How-To Guide

“Going live” on Facebook is an easy and effective way for brands to connect with their audience; however, simultaneously creating content and engaging with an audience live-in-the-moment is no small feat. Fortunately, for brands interested in the many of the pros of going live (increased engagement and access to audience members) without the cons of on-screen multitasking and tech troubleshooting, Facebook Premiere Video lets brands pre-record videos and schedule them as a live moment.

The opportunity for real-time conversations that live videos offer means the medium receives an average of six times more engagement on the platform than standard videos. For time-strapped companies or teams, Facebook's new tool aims to make creating and posting content as user-friendly (and headache-free) as possible. This means that:

• A News Feed announcement post (much like an event post) will be added to your brand’s page when the premiere is scheduled. 
• Followers will receive two notifications before your scheduled premiere: one 20 minutes in advance and another 3 minutes in advance.
• At the scheduled premiere time, your video will be published with a Premiere badge. After the premiere, it will be saved to your page and “Videos” tab. 

​Here’s how to produce, upload, and schedule a Facebook Premiere Video that will engage your followers.

Creating Your Video and Visual Asset

A few requirements to keep in mind when filming and editing your Premiere video:
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• ​Length: Premieres must be at least 30 seconds and no longer than 4 hours long. 
• Frame Rate: Videos must be 30 frames per second or less.
• Codecs: The video codec must be H264, and the audio codec must be AAC.
• Dimensions: Videos must be no larger than 1920x1080p.
• File Type and Size: MP4 is the suggested video format for Premieres, and the maximum file size is 10GB.
• Thumbnail: Optional, but recommended. Create a PNG or JPG file that represents your video with an aspect ratio of 1.91:1 and a minimum size of 400x150p.
• News Feed Announcement Image: You will need a similar or identical image to your custom thumbnail for the “save the date” post that will be published before your premiere.

Scheduling Your Premiere

To schedule your Premiere:

• Head to Creator Studio (found either in the “Manage Page” menu on the left side of your screen when on your brand’s page, or here.
• Click “Create Post” in the upper left corner of the home page, select “Upload Video,” and choose your video file from the menu.

• The pop-up screen on the right side of the page has two options at the top: “1. Create Post” and “2. Publishing Options.” Make sure the “1. Create Post” is toggled and set to “Additional Details” in the submenu before adding the following information for your video: 
  • Title: Choose something concise (30 characters or less) and clear so viewers understand immediately what the video is about. Use major keywords related to your video to help users find it through search.
  • Description: Use this space to share additional information about your video, adding additional keywords where possible.
  • Tags: Add up to eight more keywords related to your video that will help viewers using Facebook’s search function to discover your content more easily. ​

Additional editing options, like custom thumbnails and captions, are also located in the “Create Post” menu. They’re not essential, but they can make your video more accessible.

• ​Toggle to “2. Publishing Options.” Under “Choose How to Publish Your Post,” select a time for your video to premiere – any time 15 minutes to 7 days in the future – and upload your News Feed announcement image
• When applicable, select and edit additional Premiere options, including playlists and crossposting access for pages of other partner organizations who may be interested in sharing the video as well. 

• ​Publish!

Engaging Your Audience

Since you’ve created and scheduled your video, when your Premiere begins you’ll have extra time to connect with the audience members who are tuning in to view it live! To boost engagement, be sure to:

• Answer community questions: Be prepared to respond to users with personalized answers and relevant linked resources.
• Make your premiere a safe space: Moderate, hide, and/or delete any comments that do not promote an inclusive conversation for all users.

In need of some additional support ensuring your premiere is a hit? We offer Coaching & Consulting sessions and Social Media Management services that can help you produce a video that will connect you and your audience.

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Elise Schimke

Elise is a digital media strategist and writer passionate about telling the stories of nonprofits and community organizations. She is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Northwestern University’s Medill School.