YouTube or Facebook: Which Pays Better?

You’ve probably heard the saying “time is money” before, but how does that apply when you’re a YouTuber or video blogger? Let’s take a look. In order to grow your audience and monetize your content, you may be wondering which platform pays better: YouTube or Facebook?

To begin with, let’s look at some of the other important factors you should consider when choosing which platform to post on. Both social media sites have different demographics and usage habits. This means they appeal to different segments of users and have varying levels of user engagement.

Additionally, each network has its own content creation guidelines and policies that may affect your ability to monetize your videos effectively. Here are some things you should consider when deciding where to post your videos:

YouTube Features

1. Embeddable Videos: YouTube is the original video-sharing platform. That means most people who want to watch videos online have a YouTube account and can view your content directly on their website. You don’t have to drive them away from their current environment to watch your video.
2. Playlist Functionality: Playlists are a great tool for organizing and archiving your videos. They let you group related videos together and create a more cohesive viewing experience for your viewers. Playlists are also a great way to create video “collections” and add some order to your chaotic channel.
3. Live Streaming: YouTube has recently rolled out the ability to live-stream directly to your channel. This feature allows you to engage with your audience in real time and build a more interactive viewing experience.
4. Google Search Engine Optimization: Since YouTube is the most popular search engine for video, having a presence on the platform gives you an automatic SEO boost. Having your videos hosted and easily accessible on YouTube makes it easier for people to find you and your content.
5. Longer Video Lengths: YouTube allows you to upload videos of up to 15 minutes in length. This makes the platform more conducive to longer-form content like vlogs and tutorials.
6. Thumbnail Creation: YouTube’s built-in editor includes options for customizing your video’s thumbnail. It’s important to have a compelling, eye-catching thumbnail on your videos to entice people to click through and watch. A high-quality thumbnail can make the difference between thousands of views and hundreds.
7. Video Recommendations: YouTube’s recommendation algorithm is designed to surface similar videos to the ones your viewers are currently watching. That means it’s in your best interest to upload well-organized and “thumb-worthy” videos to encourage more people to click through and watch.
8. Sharing Options: YouTube videos are integrated with Google’s sharing features to make it easy for you to repost them on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There are also integrations with live-streaming apps like Periscope that let you cross-post your live events and make them available to two audiences at once.
9. Video Stats and Analytics: YouTube’s built-in analytics let you track the performance of your videos and find out what’s working and what needs to be improved. You can see how many views each video is receiving, which ones are being watched to completion, and how long viewers are sticking around.
10. Video Transcripts: YouTube’s built-in transcript feature lets viewers “read-along” with your video. This can be great for accessibility purposes and also lets you include clickable links within the transcript.
11. YouTube Widget: The YouTube widget lets you embed your channel’s video feed directly on your website or blog. This is a great way to centralize your online presence and bring more traffic to your content.

Facebook Features

1. Public or Private Videos: Videos on Facebook are published directly onto the platform and can be viewed by anyone who has signed up for an account. This is a stark contrast to YouTube, where only logged-in users can watch your videos.
2. No Playlist Functionality: There isn’t any built-in functionality for creating video playlists on Facebook. However, you can use third-party apps to organize and group your videos together.
3. Live Sharing: Facebook Live is a real-time video sharing feature that lets you interact with your followers in one-off broadcasts. These can be great for hosting Q&As and engaging with your audience.
4. Facebook Search Engine Optimization: Facebook is the second most popular search engine for video. Having a presence on the platform means you can make sure your videos are easily found by your followers.
5. Longer Video Lengths: Facebook accepts videos of up to 10 minutes in length. This is much shorter than YouTube, but the platform also hosts tons of shorter clips and “snackable” content.
6. Thumbnail Creation: You can’t customize your video thumbnails in the same way you can on YouTube. This can make it a bit harder to stand out in the newsfeed.
7. Video Recommendations: Facebook’s algorithm is designed to surface videos that you might be interested in watching based on your viewing history. This means you can encourage more people to click through to your videos by liking and commenting on the ones you want to be recommended for.
8. Sharing Options: Facebook’s sharing features make it easy to repost your videos and extend their reach. There are also integrations with live-streaming apps like Periscope that let you cross-post your live events and make them available to two audiences at once.
9. Video Stats and Analytics: Facebook’s video analytics let you track the performance of your videos and find out what’s working and what needs to be improved. You can see how many views each video is receiving and how long viewers are sticking around.
10. Video Transcripts: Facebook’s built-in transcript feature lets viewers “read-along” with your video. This can be great for accessibility purposes and also lets you include clickable links within the transcript.
11. Facebook Widget: The Facebook widget lets you embed your channel’s video feed directly on your website or blog. This is a great way to centralize your online presence and bring more traffic to your content.

YouTube Partner Program

1. Subscription Service: YouTube’s subscription feature lets viewers pay a monthly fee to access your content without ads. It’s a great way to earn additional revenue from your most dedicated followers.
2. Tip Jar Feature: YouTube’s “tip jar” feature lets viewers send you voluntary monthly payments using Google Wallet. It’s an excellent way to supplement your income by receiving smaller, less frequent payments.

Facebook Watch and FB Live

1. Pay Per View: Facebook’s pay-per-view (PPV) feature lets you charge viewers to watch your live broadcasts. This is a great way to monetize your most popular events and shows.
2. Fan Shop: Facebook’s fan shop feature lets you sell merchandise and other physical products directly through your page. This can be a great way to diversify your revenue sources and earn money from your most loyal fans.
3. Fan Funding: Facebook’s fan funding feature lets your viewers send you donations in exchange for “virtual gifts”. This is a great way to receive recurring donations from your most engaged viewers.

How Much do YouTubers Make?

1. Ad Revenue: The bulk of YouTubers’ income comes from advertisements on their channels. YouTube uses an algorithm to surface ads that are relevant to your content and most likely to be clicked.
2. Subscriptions: YouTube also lets viewers pay a monthly fee to remove ads from your channel and support your content creation. This is a great way to monetize your most dedicated followers and supplement your income.
3. Merchandise Sales: Many YouTubers also sell merchandise like t-shirts and mugs with their logo or catchphrase printed on them. This is a great way to extend the reach of your brand and make a little extra cash while you’re at it.

Which Network Pays More?

All things considered, YouTube is the better platform for earning money. It has a larger user base, a more robust ad platform, and a longer history of creators making money from their content.

YouTube also has a more stringent set of content guidelines and policies that protect users from harmful or offensive content. This means it’s difficult for inappropriate videos to make it onto the platform, reducing the amount of ad revenue that can be lost.

Facebook, on the other hand, is a newer social network with a smaller user base. Therefore, it has less advertisers and less ad revenue to