Video marketing is nothing new. It’s been used by many marketers and has been claimed that videos produce more conversions than any other content. How does moving images, sound and sometimes text have the ability to convert viewers into customers?
Let’s face it, we’d rather watch a documentary than read a huge textbook. This is because we’re visual beings and we crave imagery. Our minds process images way faster than words. Now, combine it with sound, you have content that’s engaging, memorable, and drives more traffic.
When you’re running ads or videos, the challenge is to grab the audience’s attention. With videos, people are 27 times more likely to click on an online video ad than a static one. Other than that, videos get more shares than text and images combined.
People love sharing content on social media, but most of all they love sharing videos. Since Instagram enabled videos on their platform and launched direct messaging, it’s been a medium where people tag their friends and send videos to their friends to show the latest meme or a random tutorial.
When videos are done correctly, they can convert complex data and information into something easier to digest and understand. It’s been stated that a one minute video is worth to 1.8 million words.
Watching Videos Isn’t Just On Desktop
When the use of smartphones experienced a surge, they’ve become more than the typical phone used for making and answering calls— they’ve become something more. These days, we turn to our smartphones for almost anything.
Whether it’s a simple google search, to look up a friend’s number, or even as an alarm clock, there’s no doubt that smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. We need our smartphones for everything nowadays.
Another thing we do on our smartphones is to check social media and watch videos. Since specifications and displays on smartphones have become larger and better, watching Youtube or random clips have shifted from the desktop to our palm-sized gadgets.
Turning on a bulky PC or laptop can be a bit tedious compared to accessing Youtube from the palm of your hand. Due to its portability, many people have opted to use their phone to watch videos
If you’ve noticed that watching videos on mobile phones have grown throughout the years, you’ve probably spotted at least one vertical video in your social media feed.
Vertical videos may seem unusual since we’re used to watching videos in a horizontal format. However, they’re nothing new and have grown in number since IGTV, Snapchat, and Facebook stories were released.
This vertical format has gained significant backlash, even earning them their own Reddit thread. With a fair share of hate, there’s also a fair share of love. Social media platforms have embraced the vertical phenomenon by encouraging their users to create vertical content.
Thanks to cute filters and VR features, users have found it fun to use this feature. Apps and platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram continue to update and add more filters and features to their camera and going as far as to make personalized filters by famous accounts.
Your Smartphone is More Than Just a Phone
Smartphones are literally dominating the world. They’re not just for texting or calls and have to their phones for playing videos. In fact, a high 57% of global video plays came from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Mobile traffic made up about 52% of global internet traffic in the 2nd quarter of 2018, showing how we access content is changing.
The thing with vertical videos is that they’re immersive and makes the viewer feel as if they’re in the video as well, making them more engaged and attention-grabbing.
Let’s not beat around the bush, the fact is people are lazy. Around 94% of smartphone users use their phones just how they’re supposed to which is in a vertical manner. They don’t like turning their phone sideways repeatedly.
However, this doesn’t mean the horizontal format should be disregarded. Some content should still be enjoyed in landscape format. Imagine watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones in a vertical manner— it would be pretty annoying right?
So, TV shows and movies are best enjoyed as horizontal videos. On the other hand, short clips or funny videos are better enjoyed in a vertical manner.
According to mobile advertising platform, Mediabrix, vertical videos see a 90% higher completion rate than horizontal videos. The data showed that less than 30% of users turn their phone sideways to watch an ad and those who do only watch 14% of it which shows vertical videos have better completion rates.
Social Media Loves Vertical Videos
There are several places you can start publishing your vertical videos. You can start with various social media platforms existing on the web.
Instagram is a good place to start publishing your vertical videos. Ever since they welcomed vertical videos by launching a feature called “Stories” (basically Snapchat but better), it has been used to publish short clips. Businesses have used Instagram Stories for ads as well.
In mid-2018, Instagram decided to take vertical videos to a whole new level. They knew how people use their phones in a vertical manner and created a platform similar to Youtube that only publishes vertical videos.
Other than that, Instagram has a large user base, meaning your content is highly likely to be seen by 250 million daily active users who use Stories. That’s roughly 50% of Instagram’s total number of daily active users.
Unlike Stories, content on IGTV can run as long as an hour. Similar to an actual TV, the moment you open IGTV, you are welcomed by a video clip that’s already playing.
Youtube is another place you can share vertical videos. Youtube allowed full-screen playback for vertical videos with a dynamic video player that adjusts the size to the video’s aspect ratio. Since then, there have been several vertical music videos that have been released which makes the viewing experience even more engaging.
Vertical videos on Youtube have raked in hundreds of millions of views, which are mostly music videos. Despite most of their content being horizontal videos, vertical content is receiving a decent amount of views.
Snapchat, the pioneer for ephemeral content also encourages users to create vertical video content. Until now, they’ve continued to update the platform with various filters, VR features and stickers.
Snapchat and Instagram are quite similar. When considering publishing vertical videos on these platforms, you should take into consideration your target market. Snapchat appeals more to
Teenagers in the U.S, while Instagram appeals to a worldwide audience.
More than 7 billion clips are viewed daily on Snapchat which most of them are vertical. Not to mention, vertical video ads on Snapchat are watched all the way through 9 times more than horizontal videos. Snapchat reported that ShockTop’s brand awareness experienced an improvement by 15 points and purchase intent increased by 22% from a Snap Ad.
Facebook Stories was released a while back on their mobile app. Now, you can access your stories on Facebook through your desktop. Facebook has also added the feature to the messaging app— Whatsapp to further strengthen their claim on vertical videos.
Using Vertical Videos as a Part of Your Marketing Strategy
So, you’ve read about all the perks of vertical videos. There are a number of ways you can use vertical videos in your company, especially if you’re looking to establish an online presence.
If you’re aiming for a target market that uses more than one social media platform, product explainers in vertical form are something you can start with. A vertical product video makes your presence more immersive than intrusive for mobile users.
In-app advertising is another thing you can do. Although most platforms support vertical video ads, they’re not the only place you can advertise. If you’re interested in reaching more people, you can contact a digital advertising agency to get you more traffic sources from other in-app ads.
If you’re willing to splurge a little, opting for a digital billboard is strategic locations is a good idea. You can loop your vertical video for a large-scale brand awareness campaign.
Most social media platforms now have a feature for broadcasting. Since smartphones are more advanced these days, you can utilize it to engage with your followers. You can do it practically anywhere. However, take note to not make them turn their phone sideways since only 6% of people actually hold their phone in a horizontal manner.
When broadcasting live, make sure you’ve planned your talking points and content, especially if you’re nervous. Having an outline will help you and provide you with what you’re going to talk about next.
You can try something a bit personal and exclusive with personalized behind the scenes sneak peeks. This can go a long way to building relationships with customers. An example would be Donors Chosen who sent handwritten thank-you notes to half of all recent first-time donors. About 38% of people who received a thank-you note had a higher chance of returning.
Find out more about vertical videos in social media marketing in this infographic the folks and Breadnbeyond whipped up!
Interesting insights.
Thanks, Noemi.
It always seemed to me that making a video and then doing video editing is very difficult. I often desire to try myself in this, but when I realize that I do not know where to start, I feel scared and give up this venture. But video content is the most effective way to engage your audience.
Keep working at it, Rodney! And use the resources here on Filmmaking Lifestyle to gain confidence and improve.