Facebook videos under 30 seconds loop continuously

Posted on by Carlton Jefferis

All Facebook videos that are shorter than 30 seconds long now loop continuously, according to a pre-announcement emailed to Facebook Marketing Partners on 23rd May, tweeted by Nic Sharma:

I can confirm that this is now in effect, at least for videos that I view  – both on my personal profile and from Pages I like. Others will need to check.

Facebook says this applies to ALL videos so the assumption is this includes videos uploaded to Pages.
UPDATE: I can confirm this does apply to videos uploaded to Pages. I’ve embedded an example below, although please note the embedded version neither auto-plays or loops. You’ll need to visit The Body Coach Facebook Page and find the same video there to witness the looping.

The key information is detailed on this Facebook help page but here are my additional observations:

  • Videos will loop continuously up to a total looped playing time of approximately 90 seconds.
  • Looping also applies to Facebook Live videos, or rather replays of Live videos under 30 seconds.
  • Videos over 30 seconds won’t loop. Once the video has played through, the video’s thumbnail will appear with a play button.
  • Call-to-action buttons will no longer show on ‘organic’ videos under 30 seconds.
  • Call-to-action buttons can still be added to video ads, and appear in the lower right hand area under the video.
  • NOTE: from the information available it is unclear whether this means call-to-action buttons will no longer be available for ANY videos uploaded to Pages, unless they are made into ads.

This now means Facebook joins Instagram, Vine and Tumblr as platforms where video loops, illustrated nicely by Andréa López:

Do let us know what you’ve discovered in the comments.

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Carlton Jefferis

About Carlton Jefferis

Carlton Jefferis is a senior consultant and trainer at The Digiterati. He has over 20 years experience working on pioneering Internet and digital marketing projects for a wide range of clients including Sony, AOL, Manchester United FC, Nationwide Building Society, AT&T, Autographer and a large number of start-up tech businesses. He advises clients of The Digiterati on commercial and sales strategy, digital marketing strategy, ecommerce and product development. As a skilled, active social media practitioner he delivers public training and bespoke in-house courses on social media marketing, digital strategy and digital transformation. He also blogs for leading global digital marketing publisher, Smart Insights.

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