Whether you are selling or buying, we all agree that video marketing is the way to go. If you still don’t, take a look at these stats:
- 82% of business see videos as an important part of their marketing strategy.
- 91% of consumers have watched a video about a product or service they wanted to learn more about.
Those numbers are hard to beat. Now, let’s say you already use videos on your Social Media… are you sure you are using them right?
When they first started to come out, vertical videos were frowned upon due to the inconvenience of their reduced sized when compared to wide screens. It looked like amateur stuff, and you don’t want that for your business.
However, along with the popularization of smartphones, vertical videos have become more and more popular to the point that they now outperform horizontal ones in any way possible.
Or at least that’s what Snapchat experts believe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD0u07wc7_M
Still not convinced? Well, today we are gonna share with you 5 reasons why you should start using vertical videos on your Social Media! Throughout the article we will go through why this video format is so effective and how important it is for you to implement it to your video marketing strategy, shall we?
#1. The world has gone mobile
There is no denying that. At home while watching TV, commuting from and to work, on your lunch break. Those are most likely the few moments you have time to access your social networks, and usually in neither of them you use a desktop. Research shows that people access social media on mobile the most, and it’s only natural that they do it vertically.
It might sound obvious, but smartphones – just like any other phone – were designed to meet their most basic function: making and receiving calls, which means their aspect ratio has to be vertical. And that means everything!
The fact that your phone screen is vertical determines the experiences you have online. And videos are no exception! In fact, according to the MOVR Mobile Overview Report from December 2014, 94% of users hold their phone vertically when watching a video even if they were intended to be watched horizontally. So why go against the flow?
#2. Social Networks are mobile-friendly
The more the world goes mobile, the more social networks follow the trend. After all, what matters is how long you stay connected, and if the only time you have to catch up on your social life is spent on your phone… well, you do the math!
Now, think about it. How do you usually hold your phone? Yep, vertically! You see where I’m going? Holding your phone upright allows you to type and access menus easily, and even use different features in a more intuitive and natural way.
And social networks know that!
Not only are they mobile-friendly, they are also optimized for mobile experiences. For that reason, in 2017 Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YoutTube decided to remove black bars on vertical videos, to give users a more pleasant experience.
#3. Vertical equals better results
Yes, you read it right. Vertical videos are not only beneficial for users and social networks, they can also do wonders for your business. In fact, advertisers that started using vertical videos to promote their products say they got a lot better results than the ones that didn’t, especially when it comes to views and engagement.
For Wibbitz, a platform to create automated videos, the usage of vertical videos meant a 130% increment on views and 4 times more engagement on Facebook. Not bad, eh?
Marketing specialists explain what’s behind the success of vertical video: it catches more of the viewer’s attention, which is exactly what you want when you are advertising.
#4. Focus on what matters
So, we agree that you want people’s full attention. We also know that we have maybe 10 to 15 seconds to make a potential buyer notice our product, and let’s face it: we don’t want to share that with anyone else.
Now try watching a horizontal video holding your phone upright. There’s too much distraction.
Vertical videos allow people to focus on what really matters: your brand or product. No other content drawing their attention away, no comment section to pique their curiosity, just your video on full screen. It’s your time to shine!
The best successful case to demonstrate that is Snapchat, the social network that represents the “vertical video revolution” at its best. With the popularity of ephemeral short vertical videos, Snapchat came up with new ways for advertisers to reach their audience.
And not only that, according to MediaBrix, a digital advertising company, using vertical videos can also result in a better watch time. They found out that viewers only watch about 14% of horizontal videos. Vertical video ads, on the other hand, see a 90% completion rate.
#5. Minimal effort is still a thing!
Let’s be honest. We are all just too lazy, aren’t we? You and I included. If we have to make even the most minimal effort to do something, chances are we won’t do it. Even more so when we are chilling out on Facebook or scrolling down our Instagram feed, because in our leisure time we just tend to adopt a more passive posture, and that’s ok.
We also got so used to reading emails, searching our photos and even watching videos vertically, that we never turn our phones sideways.
Even the New York Times is doing vertical videos as stated by Zena Barakat, their former video producer who spent over a year researching this format.
“As a person who makes videos, I was like, ‘You’re not seeing it the way we intended it! And they were like, ‘We don’t care!’ They found it so uncomfortable to hold the phone the other way, and they didn’t want to keep switching their phones back and forth.'” said Ms. Barakat
So if your video marketing ad is horizontal you might be losing an opportunity to get your message across. And trust me, you don’t want that!
Still on the topic of lazyness: vertical videos are a lot easier to record. It might sound silly, but in times of quick spontaneous videos being able to easily hold your phone to snap a video can be gold.
Now, after reading this article: what are your thoughts on vertical videos? Are you gonna use them on your Social Media?
Leave us your comments and until next time!