How to post the best quality videos on Facebook

In a digital age where visual storytelling reigns supreme, Facebook remains an indispensable tool for reaching audiences far and wide. With an impressive 2.9 billion monthly active users, it’s a powerhouse for creators, influencers, and businesses alike.

You’ll need to post your videos in the highest quality to stand out amongst the crowd on Facebook. Whether it’s your feed, a story, or live, choosing the right file type and format, dimensions, and export specifications will ensure your audience sees your content as you intend.

Best Facebook video and audio formats

Despite supporting multiple video formats, Facebook recommends MP4 or MOV. Luckily, these are also widely used on other social media platforms, so you’re free to transfer one completed edit to another. This video quality can be exported from your editing software (typically Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro X) to its specific technical specifications.

As for audio, it’s best to use AAC with audio compression at 128kbps+ rather than mp3. These are the highest quality and can be used in editing software. If you’re using an audio platform like Artlist, download AAC files rather than .mp3. Making sure you have the best sound is important, but keep in mind that around 85% of all videos on Facebook are watched without any sound. This puts extra importance on having the best video quality you can.

Best Facebook aspect ratios

The aspect ratio can be a confusing term for some, so let’s break it down: it refers to the dimensions of the video on the screen and is defined in “horizontal: vertical” terms. Given that most of the videos seen on Facebook are shared posts, they tend to follow two distinct viewing modes: landscape and portrait.

Landscape refers to videos that are wider than they are tall and, thus, have a horizontal orientation. On the contrary, portrait refers to videos that are taller than they are wide and necessarily have a vertical orientation. You’ll use the following aspect ratios for each option:

• Landscape – 16:9 – 1280×720 pixels
• Portrait – 9:16 – 1280×720 pixels

Facebook video lengths

The length of each video varies depending on where you choose to upload – Feed, Marketplace, Stories, etc. Here are the specs for each:

• Feed: Up to 240 minutes
• Marketplace: Up to 240 minutes
• Stories: 1 to 120 seconds
• In-stream: 5 to 120 seconds
• Search results: Up to 240 minutes

The maximum file size for a Facebook video is 10 GB. 

While you cannot go beyond the limits set, you may have a video far shorter than the maximum length. No worries. Simply loop the video in your editing software, and it will play likewise. If you upload a video into Stories that is longer than the max, it will split into clips.

How to export your Facebook videos

You’ll most likely be editing in Adobe Premiere, or Final Cut Pro X. Follow these instructions for the best quality output.

Exporting from Adobe Premiere

1. Send the composition to Adobe Media Encoder for output.
2. Select the composition for output.
3. Choose Composition > Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue. (If the Media Encoder is closed, allow it time to launch.)
4. Set the Media Encoder settings.
5. Set the Format drop-down menu in the Queue panel to H.264.
6. Set the Preset drop-down menu to Match Source – High bitrate.
7. Click Match Source – High bitrate (blue text) to open the Export Settings panel.
8. In the Video tab, scroll down to Bitrate Settings, change the Target Bitrate (Mbps) to 3.5, and click OK.
9. Click the blue text in the Output File column to name and specify where to save the file.
10. Save the file to cloud storage so that you can access it on your portable device and upload it through Instagram.

Exporting from Final Cut Pro X

1. Click on File > Share > Master File.
2. Go to Export settings and make sure the video codec is H.284 Faster Encode
3. Choose Computer as the format. Also, shoot for a maximum file size of 20 megabytes or lower.
4. Hit Next and save your project to your desktop.

How to upload the best quality Facebook videos

Congratulations on getting this far! Now it’s time to get your video on Facebook without compromising the quality.

It’s important that your work is uploaded directly from your desktop computer or laptop rather than your mobile device. This will ensure that your video remains intact. Ensure that your WIFI connection is strong while uploading so there are no interruptions.

Be aware that different formats (Feed, 360, etc.) have different file size maximums. However, you are allowed a preview to determine which format does justice to the video you wish to upload. The grid will naturally crop the image during the preview according to its respective specs. This is the final step before uploading, so make sure you don’t accidentally crop anything that you want to remain in the video.

Once the final image is to your liking, press upload and be proud of your work.

Wrapping up

Learning how to post a video on Facebook with the highest quality may seem like a lot of work at first, but now you have all the info you need to do it like an expert. Don’t forget you can access everything you need to create showstopping videos from Artlist, so check it out and start creating your own today.