Did you know that Facebook announced last year that its algorithm would no longer, by nature, prioritize video in its News Feed?

While some thought that change would dethrone videos as the No. 1 type of content on Facebook, they were wrong. A BuzzSumo analysis found that videos continued to get 59% more engagement than any other content type. Because Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes content that gets engagement, video still gets shown more than other content.

For the distant future, it looks like video will continue its reign on Facebook — and most other social platforms. In fact, each year video continues to grow, and it still hasn’t reached its saturation point. That’s why you need to learn how to create even better videos for social platforms.

Below are five tips from a new Socialinsider study that analyzed over 9 million Facebook videos to find the keys to video success.

1. Plan it out.

Most pages share between two and three videos a week on Facebook. For your brand to hit that cadence, you’ll need to plan a robust calendar to ensure you have new video content to share each week.

As you already know, video requires the most time to create, but as you’ll see from the stats below, it is worth it!

2. Shoot vertically.

When you shoot vertically, more people will watch your video — and they’ll watch it for longer. People also engage with vertical videos 88% more than square ones and 43% more than landscape videos.

Plus, vertical videos are now the most common on Facebook, so you’ve got to shoot this way to keep up with your competitors.

3. Make it short, but not too short!

Aim for videos between two and five minutes for the best levels of engagement. Facebook recently made a few changes to how it ranks videos, and now videos that are longer than one minute will be ranked higher.

As a bonus, if your video keeps people engaged for at least three minutes, those will be ranked even higher. Another study found that the best length for videos is three to four minutes, so that may be the sweet spot!

4. Go live (if you’re smaller).

For companies with over 100,000 fans on Facebook, their fans engage with live videos less than they do with pre-recorded videos.

But for companies that have 10,000 followers or less on Facebook, the audience engages 64% more with live videos. Live videos can be intimating at first, but with a bit of practice (and a few basic tools), you’ll be a pro in no time!

5. Describe what it’s all about.

Pen a video description that’s more than 300 words to maximize engagement. Adding questions to the video description didn’t affect engagement levels, so instead, you can give viewers a preview of what they’ll learn — and try to make them laugh while informing them.

Followers are consistently looking for brands to entertain them, and it’s rare you get this much space to write copy that can make 'em laugh!