ON FACEBOOK, DIGITAL FIRST PUBLISHERS ARE STILL DRIVING BILLIONS OF VIDEO VIEWS: TOP FACEBOOK VIDEOS MAY 2018

The May Leaderboard for the most viewed Facebook videos has been released, and the top ten most-watched publishers drove 13 billion views on the platform. Here’s our cheatsheet for May:

• Seven publishers claimed more than 1 billion views each
• Four publishers improved their rankings compared to April 2018.
• The most viewed publisher generated over 2B video views.
• The highest average 30-day view count (V30) from one publisher hit 25.8 million

TOP FACEBOOK VIDEO PUBLISHERS MAY 2018

Let’s take a look at three of the most interesting stories from the May Leaderboards. I want to focus on the biggest movers on the list: Blunt Kommunity, which jumped 8 spots from #10 in April to #2 in May; 5-Minute Crafts, which jumped 5 places from #15 in April to #10 in May; and People Are Awesome, which jumped 25 positions from #36 in April to #11 in May. Hey, find out where they get their whiskey and order me a barrel.

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BLUNT KOMMUNITY: 1.7B FACEBOOK VIDEO VIEWS

Based in the US, Blunt Kommunity is a property of Brave Bison, the social video company that was recently named the world’s third-biggest digital media publisher. Why is their new property called Blunt Kommunity? According to their Facebook Page, “Because we’re a straight up community of people who straight up make you laugh, smile, or experience other positive sensations.”

What kind of content is Blunt Kommunity creating? Well, their most viewed video uploaded to Facebook in May was “Maasai Shoe making tutorial Kenya Africa.” Uploaded on May 21, 2018, it currently has 49.4 million views and 557,000 engagements. And it’s 4 minutes and 39 seconds long.

This isn’t a fluke. Their second most viewed Facebook video that month was “You rarely see these scenes on the street.” Uploaded on May 17, 2018, it currently has 47.6 million views and 649,000 engagements. And it’s 3 minutes long. And, since I’m a believer in the rule of threes, check out their third most popular video. It’s entitled, “Breathtaking Magic Street Trick ” Uploaded on May 4, 2018, it currently has 39.0 million views and 247,000 engagements. And it’s 3 minutes and 42 seconds long.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I find these Facebook videos longer than conventional wisdom would have recommended. And I find their content to be unique, compelling and entertaining or informative. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of content that Version 2 of YouTube’s Creator Playbookwas urging publishers to produce six years ago — 8 months before YouTube started adjusting the ranking of videos in YouTube search to reward engaging videos that keep viewers watching. Back in February 2012, that playbook said, “There are no rules to making great content” and there aren’t any “guaranteed ‘tricks’ to get more views.” And that seems to be the case on Facebook today.

But, it looks like Brave Bison has learned the best practices and strategies for building an audience and generating engagement not only on YouTube, but also on Facebook – and applied these lessons to successfully launch Blunt Kommunity. As Brave Bison says on its website, “We know how to create video that talks to a generation of curious viewers who grew up holding smartphones, glued to social media. They don’t really want advertising, but they actually quite like brands. IF they can relate to a brand’s message. IF they are being entertained. What’s not to like?”

Brave Bison adds, “We originate great branded content ideas that are fit for a digital world. Culturally relevant ideas grounded in human insight and informed by data. Real stories about real people because we know that’s what garners engagement. Content fit for purpose on ever-evolving digital platforms.”

And “making video content that people want to watch, talk about and share” is the key to success on Facebook today. Here is the critical data that shows this. In February 2008, Blunt Kommunity had 22.1 million monthly views. In March, that had grown to 340 million monthly views. In April, Blunt Kommunity had 791 million monthly views on Facebook. And in May, it had almost 1.8 billion (with a “b”) monthly views.

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5-MINUTE CRAFTS: 840M FACEBOOK VIDEO VIEWS

Based in Cyprus, 5-Minute Crafts features fun DIY-projects and crafts for people who “experience the joy of doing it yourself.” The 5-minute crafts team presents “short clips” that aren’t really that short, which thoroughly demonstrate each and every step, saving their viewers time, effort, and money

So, how do they decide what topics to tackle? On their website, they say, “Mostly, we face a question that how we know what people are looking for? A simple answer for this is that we have a team that is highly efficient in their work. They browse for the everyday troubles that people find while doing daily routine tasks and then they make available short clips regarding that. We always provide clips after assuring its validity and try to find any hazards if there are. People find them compelling, and they give feedback also about what they want more.”

Now, I’m not a member of their target audience. But, 5-Minute Crafts has also created unique, compelling and entertaining or informative content that is resonating with a ton of DIY enthusiasts. In February 2018, they got 461 million views on Facebook. This grew to 489 million views in March, 693 million views in April, and 839.7 million views in May. Their most viewed Facebook video in May is entitled, “No one is ever too old for dolls.” Uploaded on May 3, 2018, this video has 58.2 million views and 987,000 engagements. Oh, and it is 5 minutes and 8 seconds long.

Their second most viewed Facebook video in May is entitled, “Homemade beauty recipes to avoid awkward situations.” Uploaded May 17, 2018, this video has 51.1 million views and 1.5 million engagements. Oh, and it is 5 minutes and 24 seconds long. So, don’t be misled by the term “short clips.” As Little John (Eric Allan Kramer) says in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), “They call me Little John. But don’t let my name fool you. In real life, I’m very big.”

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME: 840M FACEBOOK VIDEO VIEWS

Just outside the top ten, UK based People Are Awesome take the #11 position by making “amazing videos of people doing incredible things!” And their content is driving dramatic growth on Facebook. In February 2018, People Are Awesome got 172 million views. This grew to 280 million views in March, 413 million views in April, and 839.4 million views in May.

Their most viewed Facebook video in May is entitled, “Best SKYDIVING & BASE JUMPING!” Uploaded on May 22, 2018, this video has 91.2 million views and 1.5 million engagements. And it is 3 minutes and 34 seconds long.

So, yes, Facebook uses signals like how many people react to, comment on or share posts to determine how high they appear in News Feed. And with the recent update to their News Feed algorithm, Facebook is also prioritizing posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people. But, at the end of the day, what triggers likes, shares, and comments is content. And if you create unique, compelling and entertaining or informative content, then you move up in Facebook’s News Feed. And, if you create great content, then you move up in Tubular’s leaderboards, too.

TUBULAR VIDEO RATINGS

You’ll notice some exclusive data in this month’s chart as we include Tubular Video Ratings, a unique group of online video metrics that set the standard for measurement of views and engagements across videos and publishers. They include a simplified first 30-day engagement rating (ER30) and first 30-day views (V30)

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Edited by Greg Jarboe

Source: http://tubularinsights.com/top-facebook-video-publishers-may-2018/

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