How to Upload a 360 Video to Facebook

Uploading a 360 video to Facebook is your ticket to creating truly immersive and unforgettable experiences for your audience. Done right, these videos make viewers feel like they're right there with you, allowing them to look up, down, and all around at their own pace. This guide provides a straightforward path to uploading your 360 videos correctly, optimizing them for engagement, and avoiding the common pitfalls that leave videos looking flat and distorted.

What Exactly Is a 360 Video and Why Bother?

Before we get into the technical steps, let's quickly cover why 360 videos are such a powerful tool for brands, creators, and marketers. Unlike a standard video that offers a single, fixed viewpoint, a 360 video captures a complete spherical scene. When viewed on a phone, your audience can physically move their device to look around. On a desktop, they can click and drag to explore the environment. This simple difference turns passive viewing into an active, interactive experience.

Why should this matter to you? Because interaction is the currency of social media. An immersive format naturally invites engagement in a way that static content can't. Here are a few ways brands are using them to connect with their audiences:

• Behind-the-Scenes Tours: Give followers an exclusive look around your office, studio, or manufacturing facility. Let them explore your space as if they were actually there.
• Live Event Experiences: Place your audience in the front row of a concert, the sideline of a game, or the middle of a conference. It's the next best thing to being there in person.
• Real Estate &, Travel Showcases: Realtors can provide interactive property tours, letting potential buyers explore a home from their couch. Travel companies can give a sneak peek of a resort, a scenic viewpoint, or a bustling city square.
• Interactive Storytelling: Craft a narrative where clues or points of interest are hidden within the 360-degree space, encouraging viewers to explore to uncover the full story.

In a world of endless scrollable content, 360 video is an effective way to make people stop, look around, and spend more time with your brand. That increased "dwell time" signals to Facebook's algorithm that your content is valuable, potentially boosting its reach a lot further.

Step 1: Get Your Video File Ready for Facebook

You can't just take a 360 video from your camera and throw it onto Facebook. If you do, it will probably look like a warped, strange-looking panoramic video that no one knows how to watch. The secret to making it work lies in one small but essential piece of data: metadata. This special tag tells Facebook, "Hey, this isn't a normal video - it's a 360-degree experience!"

Check Your Video Specs

Before adding metadata, make sure your video file is already in good shape. Facebook has recommendations for the best quality playback:

• Format: MP4 is the most reliable choice.
• Resolution: Aim for the highest quality possible, up to 4K (4096x2048 pixels). A lower resolution will look noticeably blurry in a 360 environment.
• Aspect Ratio: For monoscopic (standard) 360 video, the ideal aspect ratio is 2:1. This is because the video needs to wrap perfectly around a sphere.
• File Size: Stay under Facebook's current file size limits. A shorter, high-quality clip often performs better than a long, compressed one.
• Frame Rate: Stick to standard frame rates like 30 or 60 Frames Per Second (FPS).

Injecting the Right Metadata

This sounds technical, but it's actually a quick, one-time step that you'll perform after you've edited your video and before you upload it. Most professional 360 cameras automatically include this metadata, but many consumer-grade cameras or editing software programs will strip it out. Double-checking and injecting it yourself guarantees that Facebook will recognize it. The easiest way to do this is with a free tool called the Spatial Media Metadata Injector.

Here's how to use it:

1. Download the Tool: A quick search for "Spatial Media Metadata Injector" will lead you to it on GitHub. Download the zip file for your operating system (Mac or Windows) and extract it.
2. Open the Application: Launch the tool. It's a very simple interface with just one window.
3. Find Your Video File: Click "Open" and navigate to your final, edited 360 video file (your .mp4 file).
4. Check the Box: Once your video is loaded, you'll see some options. Simply check the box that says "My video is spherical (360)". If your video is also stereoscopic (3D), you can check that box too, but for most uploads, only the first one is needed.
5. Inject and Save: Click "Inject metadata." The tool will quickly process the file and ask you where to save it. It automatically suggests saving a new version with "_injected" added to the file name. Stick with this! It keeps your original file untouched while giving you a new, ready-to-upload version.

That's it. Your video is now officially prepped with the invisible instructions Facebook needs to display it correctly.

Step 2: Upload and Configure Your 360 Video on Facebook

Now for the main event. For the best success and access to all the 360 controls, uploading from a desktop computer is highly recommended.

Navigate to Your Facebook Page, Profile, or Group

Go to where you want to post the video. The process is nearly identical whether it's your personal profile, a business page you manage, or a community group.

1. Start a New Post: Just like you would with any other content, start creating a new post. On a Page, you might see "Create post," or on a profile, "What's on your mind?" Click the option for "Photo/Video" to begin your upload.
2. Choose your "injected" file: Select the video you just saved with "_injected" in the filename. Facebook will begin processing it. You'll know it's working when you see a compass icon or a small globe symbol appear over the video thumbnail, which confirms Facebook has detected the 360 metadata. This might take a few minutes for larger files.
3. Access Video Options: Once the upload is complete, you'll see an "Edit" button or "Video Options." Click this to open the detailed settings. This is where you fine-tune the experience.

Working with the 360 Controls Tab

Inside the video options, you'll see a few tabs. Skip straight to the one labeled "360 Controls." This section is specifically for your immersive video and has two critical settings.

1. Setting the Starting Point

This is arguably the most important optimization you can perform for a 360 video. When someone sees your video in their feed, the Initial View determines what part of the 360-degree scene they see first. If you don't set this, it will default to the center of the panoramic frame, which might be boring or miss the main point of your video entirely.

• In the "360 Controls" tab, you'll see a preview of your video.
• Click and drag this preview left, right, up, or down.
• Position it so the most compelling visual is front and center. If there's a person speaking, point the camera at them. If it's a beautiful landscape, frame the best part of the view. This is your chance to hook the viewer instantly before they even think to scroll away.

2. Choosing the Video Format

Here you'll see radio buttons for your video's format. Facebook usually detects this correctly, but you can override it if needed. For most cameras and projects, you will simply confirm that Monoscopic (360) is selected. If you shot with a specialized 3D 360 camera, you would pick the corresponding 3D format.

Finalizing the Post Details

Before you publish, take a moment to fill out the standard video details. Go back to the "Video Details" tab.

• Title: Give your video a clear, descriptive title. This helps with search visibility both on and off Facebook.
• Description/Caption: This is where you add context. Tell viewers they're watching a 360 video and guide them on how to interact. Phrases like, "Take a look around! Drag your screen to explore our new studio" or "Can you find the hidden pineapple? Look around!" actively encourage engagement.
• Tags: Add relevant tags to help Facebook understand the topic of your video and show it to people who might be interested.
• Thumbnail: You can select a frame from the video or upload a custom image. Choose a bright, high-quality, and intriguing thumbnail that represents the best of your 360 environments.

Once everything looks good, you can either click "Publish" or schedule it for a later time. After it's live, give it a quick check on both desktop and mobile to make sure the 360 experience is smooth and the initial view appears as you set it.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the upload process for 360 videos on Facebook boils down to two key steps: preparing your file with the correct metadata and using the "360 Controls" during the upload to set the right starting point. Getting those details right transforms your post from a confusing panoramic clip into a polished, immersive experience that captivates your audience and makes your brand stand out from the endless feed of traditional content.

Since so much of modern social media hinges on video, we built Postbase from the ground up to support the new wave of engaging formats like Reels, Shorts, and yes, even more advanced videos like 360 media. Our platform is engineered to let you schedule your entire content calendar - across all platforms - without wrestling with clunky legacy tools that treat video as an afterthought. You can plan ahead with our visual calendar, optimize content for each network, and trust that posts will publish reliably every time.