Why Vertical Video is a Social PR Secret ~via @LisaBuyer
Hold it. Your social public relations strategy is taking a turn, it’s called vertical video. Here’s why: vertical videos have 90% higher completion rate than horizontal.
The advancements of technology enable smartphones and tablets to replace computers, as they cover similar functions. As a result, people’s online lives have migrated to mobile devices in this digital era.
Mobile trends and takeovers
Along with this trend, mobile devices are also constantly evolving to fit the needs of its users. Just a decade ago, you’d be hard pressed to find any display of phones and specifications suitable to watch a video. Nowadays, larger displays and higher quality screens embedded on smartphones make watching videos an enjoyable and preferable experience.
Research by Recson shows that 75% of mobile traffic will come from videos in five years. That’s an increase of over 50% from the traffic today. Videos make everything real and personal.
Videos help to humanize your brand, educate the buyer, simplify the complex, evoke emotion and tell a story noted Lisa Buyer in her most recent Search Engine Journal article.
Social media platforms embraced this trend by adopting vertical videos. It all started with Snapchat, that paved the way with Snap Ads to vertical videos in 2016. Next, Instagram’s IGTV and Youtube’s video ads later confirmed that vertical video is here to stay.
Snapchat reported that it has 5x greater consumer engagement in terms of its’ swipe-ups compared to the click-through rates on most mobile ads after launching Snap Ads. A research conducted by Wibbitz also showed that there was a 130% rise in views and 4 times more engagement on Facebook after launching vertical videos.
Why vertical video?
Turning your phone horizontally to watch an episode of the Walking Dead is natural. However, when you come across a random one-minute trailer on Facebook, you probably prefer to stay vertical as it would be too bothersome to realign your device.
MediaBrix’s research confirmed that vertical videos have 90% higher completion rate than horizontal. Their data also showed that less than 30% of users tilt their phones horizontally to watch an ad and those who actually do only watch 14% of the ad.
It looks like vertical videos trends will persist. With that, Social PR pros and digital marketers are on guard to include vertical videos on top of their list. The folks at Breadnbeyond have compiled everything you need to know about how to incorporate vertical videos for your marketing strategy, so make sure to take a look at the infographic below.
