YouTube vs. Facebook: Which is Better for Video Monetization?

no no no absolutely not it wouldn't be as bad as doing something like putting pineapple on your pizza but it comes pretty close to being just as disastrous and insulting to our ancestors for years youtube has been the undisputed gold standard when it comes to monetizing your video content online now in 2021 it seems like other platforms are finally getting the hint that creators want more monetization options and so we find ourselves asking which platforms are best for monetizing our videos today's battle between facebook and youtube will help us determine where and how we should make money from our videos online when facebook watch launched in 2017 it provided premium content and most of their catalog was commissioned directly by facebook in the time since then they've opened watch to all publishers and allowed them to earn money from ads on their videos this has led some creators to wonder facebook or youtube while that seems like a simple question the answer isn't exactly straightforward so let's break down the pros and cons of each platform before we dig into some criteria that you can use to make the best decision for your content facebook has nearly 3 billion monthly active users just for context there are almost 8 billion people alive on the entire planet which means it's nearly impossible to beat facebook when it comes to reaching people online despite those massive numbers on the platform facebook watch is still a relatively new feature which means there's less competition for views than on a more established platform like youtube one great feature from the viewers perspective is that video ads on facebook do not show before the video at the time of filming this video the platform actually doesn't show the first ad for the first 30 to 60 seconds of the video depending on the overall length this is great for your viewers because it allows them to start watching and get engaged before showing them an ad which youtube is notorious for doing at the beginning before a video has even started however if you fail to hook viewers with your content on facebook and they click off of a video before an ad place then you lose out on that revenue but it's worth noting that facebook could change how they serve ads on your videos at any time another great thing about facebook is that it's a little easier for your video to go viral and gain significant traction because it's so easy for videos to get shared and receive higher engagement on the platform not to mention videos autoplay on facebook which gets your video exposure it might not otherwise receive there are also multiple monetization methods when it comes to videos on facebook you're not limited to just ads on your videos you can do brand collaborations in fact facebook has a tool to help facilitate these on the platform itself called brand collapse manager you can offer paid online events and facebook also has a feature called stars which are like twitch bits or youtube super chat or super stickers they're a fun and interactive way for your audience to support you as a video creator like any platform there are some downsides to be aware of when it comes to monetizing on facebook in order to even be eligible for monetization you have to have at least five active videos 10 000 page likes and 600 000 total minutes viewed in the last 60 days between on domain live or live replay videos if that seems like a steep mountain to climb you're not wrong for a newer platform you'd expect them to be a little bit more lenient with their eligibility requirements but that's not the case here facebook is also notorious for constantly changing their strategies which can have a negative and lasting impact on creators like you you don't work for them and you can't predict what they're going to do next that's a lot of instability for creators who may already feel like their livelihood is unstable enough as it is if my facebook news feed is any indication of the platform's stability that does not bode well for your videos jokes aside the monetization tools available to you on facebook are also still young and constantly changing an article from digiday that interviewed a couple top video publishers on the platform said they make between 260 and 350 dollars per 1 million views on facebook versus more than 2 000 for every million views on youtube even though right now facebook has publicly made it a priority to give creators 100 of their earnings for a few monetization tools that will not last forever they will undoubtedly come for your money ultimately it's not your platform it's theirs so you will always be at the mercy of their decisions and how it affects your business not to mention you can get banned at any time if you break the rules you pay the consequences with over 2 billion monthly active users youtube is not far behind facebook in terms of users and potential viewers something most people don't consider is that youtube is actually the second largest search engine in the world behind only google youtube is a search platform for video never forget that it means people go to youtube actively searching for video content another great thing about youtube is that it's more compatible with the open web it's super easy for videos to be embedded in articles linked on social media promoted in newsletters and because it's a google product youtube videos get indexed in google search results which means you can get even more exposure for your content sure you can embed facebook videos but it's far less common youtube's algorithms yes there's more than one algorithm are older more mature and more experienced at getting people the content they want to see this means your videos have a better chance of reaching their intended audience and others who might enjoy it there are also no video length requirements when it comes to ads on your videos youtube has also shown a clear unwavering dedication to supporting creators just in the last three years alone they paid out more than 30 billion dollars to creators just like you their monetization tools continue to grow with new additions and improvements every year and that means more money in the pockets of creators on the other side of the coin there's still some drawbacks to youtube as well for example you can't just start a channel and monetize it right out of the gate as of filming this video you have to have at least 1 000 subscribers and 4 000 hours of public watch time in order to even apply to the youtube partner program some of the youtube monetization tools like channel memberships leave a little bit to be desired in terms of the user experience and how creators can leverage them to make more money but those are also things that youtube is actively working to improve when it comes to video ads that play before or during your videos if the viewer skips those ads they don't get monetized and you don't get revenue from those views not to mention every couple of years there's inevitably an adpocalypse of some sort where advertisers or creators cause a ruckus over an issue resulting in less pay and lots of angry people ultimately just like facebook youtube is not your own platform they own it and they can demonetize or de-platform you at any time if you break their rules so should you be monetizing on both youtube and facebook at the same time no no no absolutely not it wouldn't be as bad as doing something like putting pineapple on your pizza pizza but it comes pretty close to being just as disastrous and insulting to our ancestors okay maybe i'm being a little dramatic but let's talk about this seriously while posting the same content on both platforms is certainly an option it can be difficult to create content that will cater to both facebook and youtube audiences and yes there is absolutely a difference think about how video is served on each platform facebook relies heavily on silent autoplay and most users see videos while scrolling through their feed this means that in order to be successful videos have to grab your attention fast on facebook youtube on the other hand is a destination for intentional viewing which allows a little bit more flexibility in grabbing attention and engaging viewers now i'm not saying to just randomly pick the platform that you think will work best for your content you should not be creating content and then picking the platform you should first understand and determine who your target audience is and where they spend their time online sprout social actually has an extremely in-depth article on this exact topic and i'll link to it below this video so be sure to dig into that demographic data to help inform your decisions understanding your audience can go a long way to helping you reach your people where they are if you don't have an existing audience then it's a different story you can decide who you want to reach where you want to reach them and how you're going to do it don't forget that different platforms require different approaches to your videos for example tick tock videos are vertical instagram and facebook videos can be many sizes but square often works best and youtube is your standard horizontal video unless you're doing youtube shorts which is then vertical i believe you should pick one platform that is best suited to your audience and go all in on it learn everything you can about creating and publishing content for and on that platform and work as hard as possible to dominate if you're looking to learn more about the details of youtube or facebook monetization then click the video that's right for you on the screen right now and make sure you're subscribed to this channel for more great videos in the future thanks so much for watching i'll see you next time