Why Vertical Video is a Must For Your Social Media Strategy

When you post videos on social media, the orientation of your video matters more than you might think. While it might not seem like there is a major difference between horizontal or vertical video, studies show that some video formats are better for boosting views, engagement, and interactions.

If you want your videos to perform well across your brand’s social media platforms, you should start posting vertical videos.

Reasons why you should post vertical videos

Posting vertical videos on social media will be far more beneficial for your brand than posting horizontal ones. Here are a few reasons why creating and sharing vertical videos is a must for social media marketers:

Mobile users hold their phones vertically

One of the main reasons to post vertical videos is because that’s how most mobile users hold their phones. Considering that the overwhelming majority of social media users access social media platforms using mobile devices, you want to make your content as mobile-friendly as possible.

Roughly 82.5% of mobile users hold their phones vertically when watching videos or scrolling through social media. Many of these users do not flip their phones horizontally to watch videos. 

If your videos are vertical, your followers can watch them seamlessly when using their mobile devices.

Vertical videos have a higher completion rate

In today’s world, it can be challenging to grab attention from consumers. Attention spans are shortening, and consumers are bombarded with all types of engaging content that vie for their attention. 

If you want consumers to watch your video content in its entirety, posting vertical videos is key. Vertical videos have a 90% higher completion rate compared to horizontal videos. In fact, a Snapchat report found that video ad completion rates were 9x higher for vertical videos than horizontal ones.

Vertical videos have greater visibility

Vertical videos have also been shown to have higher visibility rates than horizontal videos.

These social videos have 13.8x more visibility on Facebook and a greater completion rate. According to Snapchat, vertical ads on their platform have 2x more visibility. 

According to Facebook, videos on the platform receive 59% more engagement than other types of posts. On Twitter, tweets with video have roughly 10x more engagement than other types of tweets.

Make the most of the additional engagement that can come from your video posts by making sure that you post vertical videos that will be seen on your social media platforms.

Tips for posting vertical videos

When done effectively, posting vertical videos can help your brand increase its awareness and video click-through rates.

Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your vertical video content:

• Use the entire screen. Take advantage of all of the screen space available to you for ads and other video content.
• Provide relevant content that adds value. Your video orientation will not matter if consumers think watching your content is a waste of their time. Create high-quality content that will draw their interest.
• Keep your videos short and sweet. Consumers don’t want to watch a 45-minute IGTV in their limited spare time. Try to keep video content less than 3 minutes to encourage users to press play.
• Optimize your vertical videos for each social media platform. Remember that each social media platform is unique and adjust your video content accordingly.
• Shoot your videos vertically. Videos that were shot vertically will look better than videos that were taken horizontally and adjusted later.
• Include captions with your vertical videos. Captions help improve accessibility and allow users who watch videos without sound to enjoy your content.
• Use vertical videos in your Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook stories. Vertical videos aren’t just for your posts. Use them for your stories and live video content, too.
• Try to grab attention within the first three seconds. Even though vertical videos have a higher completion rate, you still need to make a strong and captivating first impression within the first few seconds of your videos.
• Repurpose your regular-sized videos into vertical videos. If you have a well-performing piece of long-form content that is not vertical, repurpose this content into shorter, vertical videos that can be shared across your social media platforms.

So are you ready to make more content? Repurposing your videos into accessible and optimized pieces for your social media help. Learn more about repurposing content and other marketing tips by scheduling a chat with us. 😎