How to Post YouTube Videos to Facebook

Sharing your YouTube masterpieces on Facebook is a great way to squeeze more life out of your content and reach a wider audience. If an algorithm is only showing your video to a fraction of your subscribers, spreading it across platforms just makes sense. This guide will walk you through exactly how to post your YouTube videos to Facebook, covering everything from the quick-and-easy link drop to the high-engagement native upload strategy that top creators use.

Why Share Your YouTube Videos on Facebook At All?

You've already put in the hard work filming, editing, and optimizing your video for YouTube. Why add another platform to the mix? Simply put, repurposing content is one of the smartest things you can do as a creator or marketer. It's about working smarter, not harder.

• Expand Your Reach: Your Facebook followers might not be the same people who subscribe to your YouTube channel. Posting your video on Facebook introduces it to a whole new audience, tapping into a different demographic and community.
• Cross-Promote Your Channels: It's a fantastic way to gently nudge your Facebook audience over to your YouTube channel. A great video on Facebook can be the perfect hook to get someone to click over and hit that subscribe button.
• Boost Engagement on All Fronts: More eyeballs mean more potential for likes, comments, and shares across both platforms. An engaging conversation in your Facebook comments can drive curious viewers to watch the full video on YouTube, which signals to both algorithms that your content is valuable.
• Get More Mileage From Your Efforts: A single piece of content can be the foundation of your social media presence for a whole week. By sharing it on Facebook, you make your content work harder for you, filling your content calendar and keeping your brand consistently visible.

Method 1: Sharing the YouTube Link on Facebook (The Easy Way)

This is the most direct and common method. It takes less than a minute and requires absolutely no extra work. While it's quick, as we'll discuss below, it comes with some significant trade-offs in terms of performance.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to the video you want to share on YouTube.
2. Below the video player, you'll see a ‘Share’ button. Click it.
3. A pop-up window will appear. You'll see icons for different social platforms. Click on the Facebook icon.
4. Alternatively, you can just click the ‘Copy’ button to copy the video link directly to your clipboard.
5. Go to your Facebook page or profile and start creating a new post.
6. Paste the link into the post creation box. Facebook will take a moment to generate a preview of the video, including the title, thumbnail, and channel name.
7. Write a compelling caption to go with your video. Ask a question or tell people what they can expect to entice them to click.
8. Click ‘Post’.

The Downside of Just Dropping a Link

While sharing a link is incredibly simple, it's not the most effective strategy for reaching your audience. Social media platforms, including Facebook, are designed to keep users on their own site for as long as possible. When you post a link that sends people away - in this case, to YouTube - the algorithm isn't a huge fan.

As a result, link posts typically receive significantly lower organic reach and engagement than natively uploaded content. The video won’t autoplay in the feed, and it appears as a smaller, less engaging preview box. You're fighting the algorithm from the start, asking your audience to take an extra step to leave the app and view your content elsewhere.

Method 2: Native Uploading to Facebook (The Smart Way)

If you want to maximize your video's engagement, native uploading is the best approach. This means you upload the video file directly to Facebook. It requires a few extra steps, but the payoff in terms of views, reach, and audience interaction is almost always worth it.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Download Your Video File: First, you need the original MP4 file of your video. If you’re the creator, you can download it directly from your YouTube Studio.
   • Go to YouTube Studio and click on the ‘Content’ tab.
   • Hover over the video you want to post and click the three-dot menu icon.
   • Select ‘Download’ to save the video file to your computer.
2. Create a Post on Facebook: Head over to your Facebook page or profile and click the ‘Photo/Video’ button in the post composer.
3. Upload Your Video: Select the video file you just downloaded from your computer. Facebook will begin processing it.
4. Optimize Your Video Post: This is where you can make your post shine. The ‘Create Post’ window offers several options:
   • Title: Give your video a specific, catchy title for Facebook. It doesn't have to be the same as your YouTube title.
   • Caption or Description: Write a new description tailored to your Facebook audience. Facebook captions can be conversational and are a great place to ask questions to spark conversation.
   • Thumbnail: Facebook will automatically pick a frame from your video, but you can (and should) upload a custom thumbnail. This helps grab attention in a busy feed. Create one that's compelling and clear.
   • Tags: Add relevant tags to help Facebook understand what your video is about so it can show it to interested users.
5. Add a Call-to-Action (CTA): Don't forget to tell people what to do next! Since the goal is often to drive traffic to YouTube, you can add a CTA in your caption like, "For more videos like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel!" and then drop the link to your channel in the first comment (this is a common tactic to avoid suppressing the post's reach).
6. Post or Schedule: Once you're happy with everything, you can either publish it immediately or schedule it for a later date and time.

Native vs. Link: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Still not sure which method to use? Let's break down the core differences.

Sharing a Link

• Pro: Super fast and requires minimal effort.
• Pro: Directly drives immediate clicks to your YouTube video, helping with YouTube analytics.
• Con: Dramatically lower organic reach due to the Facebook algorithm.
• Con: Videos do not autoplay, requiring a user to click the link to play.
• Con: Displayed as a small embedded player, which is less visually appealing.

Uploading Natively

• Pro: Significantly higher organic reach as the Facebook algorithm prioritizes native video content.
• Pro: Videos autoplay in the feed, capturing user attention immediately.
• Pro: Presented in a large, full-width format that dominates the screen.
• Pro: You get access to Facebook-specific video analytics.
• Con: It takes a few more steps to download and re-upload the file.
• Con: Doesn't directly contribute to the YouTube video's view count (unless you successfully direct them via a CTA).

The Verdict: Unless you need immediate YT views for a brand-new premiere, native uploading is almost always the superior strategy for long-term growth and reach.

Beyond the Post: Best Practices for Facebook Video

Simply uploading your video isn't enough. To truly succeed, you need to adapt your content strategy for the Facebook environment. Here's how:

Adapt Your Video for Reels

While your YouTube video is likely horizontal (16:9), Facebook heavily favors vertical video (9:16), especially for Reels. Consider creating a short trailer or a highlight clip from your longer YouTube video and reformatting it for a vertical screen. This is perfect for grabbing attention and acting as a promotion for the full-length version on YouTube.

You can use simple video editing apps like CapCut, Veed, or even Instagram's own editor to crop and re-frame your video. Add text overlays and captions to make it even more engaging for "sound off" viewers, which is the default for most people scrolling their feeds.

Craft a Platform-Specific Caption

Don't just copy and paste your YouTube description. The tone on Facebook is often more conversational and community-focused. Your caption should hook the viewer right away and ideally, encourage a response.

• Start with a question: Get people talking by asking their opinion on the topic of your video.
• Pull out an interesting quote or stat: Give them a teaser that makes them curious enough to watch.
• Keep it concise: While you can write long posts, the first couple of lines are what users see before clicking "See More." Make them count.

Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

What do you want people to do after they watch your video? Tell them directly! Whether it's to visit your website, check out your YouTube channel, or simply leave a comment, a clear CTA makes a huge difference. For driving YouTube subscribers, try something like:

"Loved this tip? I have a full deep-dive on this topic up on my YouTube channel now! I'll drop the channel link in the comments below."

Placing the off-platform link in the comments is a popular creator strategy used to give the initial post the best possible organic reach before introducing an external link.

Final Thoughts

Sharing your YouTube video on Facebook is a straightforward process, but choosing the right strategy is vital. While posting a direct link is quick, uploading natively gives you the algorithmic boost you need to truly engage with your audience and make your content work for you.

We know that managing content schedules and custom formatting for various social platforms - especially with the demands of video - can quickly become a headache. That's why we built Postbase from the ground up to be video-first. Our platform helps you visually plan your calendar, and you can upload your videos once to schedule them natively across Facebook, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok, making the whole process simpler and more reliable.