V9.34: Video-based Marketing Gets Attention

It’s clear that Facebook is going all in on video. Doesn’t seem so shocking anymore, but there are still a lot of advertisers and brands hesitant to invest in video. Yet, the truth is that “more than 75% of worldwide video viewing is mobile.”  We can pretty much directly correlate that to the rise of social media and the mobile-focused user experience we all crave now. Most platforms, social or otherwise, need to have a mobile-friendly version if they hope to sustain their usability.

With all that being said, it shouldn’t be surprising that Facebook is doubling down on video and trying to provide a better video experience on their mobile platform. They recently released an article that explains “How to Maximize the Impact of Mobile Video,” which breaks down some much needed best practices.

The article discusses how important it is to capture someone’s attention in the very beginning of your video. You shouldn’t wait for the end to deliver your brand message/promise. Otherwise, people fall off the video and never see the important bit.

It also mentions how to better track video performance– and no, it’s not simply video views. Video is no longer just an awareness play, but a strong driver to your website. People want to learn more after watching your video and you can measure their journey through your site to conversion.

Ultimately, the main takeaways here are the following:

1. “Design your video for mobile.” Whether or not you want to believe it, video is here and it’s staying for the foreseeable future. Same goes for mobile. So, let’s all make sure to do these trends justice. Video needs to be optimized for the mobile experience or you’re wasting your money. End of story. Facebook recommends you use square or vertical ratio file formats because that’s how people typically hold their phones. Also, remember to capture attention with your brand promise in the first 3-5 seconds of the video, otherwise people will drop off. 
2. “Tie metrics to business goals.” Sure, completion rate and video views are great, but how does that measure your brand and demand goals? Even a strong awareness play should look to measure website engagement over video views. People watched your video, great! But how are they moving through your website to further engage with your content? Make sure to track success of your actual business goals when it comes to video. 
3. “Adopt a cross-platform strategy that embraces changes in audience behavior.” People watch video across multiple channels and platforms. It’s important to use measurement tools that help measure brand perception and the impact of the video. Create a more holistic approach to your video efforts in order to create more targeted and relevant user journeys across platforms.

So, there you have it, folks! Time to dive deeper into video and properly move into the mobile world. You have to reach people where they’re at and how they like to consume content– otherwise, they just won’t care.