The Rise Of Vertical Video

Evergreen content will always be an important part of content marketing. However, relying too heavily on evergreen to drive engagement is not going to be the most effective strategy for marketers going forward. Today’s consumers expect content that’s live, on-demand and hyper-relevant.
If you are a business or marketing a brand, you’re probably already considering how to make your content strategy more compelling, concise and addictive. And if the trends are telling us anything, it’s that video is on the rise—from vertical video on social media, to using video for storytelling in micro-moments and geolocated video discovery and sharing.

Vertical video and it's Popularity

By 2019 i.e. next year, video will make up 80% of all internet traffic and this means that two out of three marketers expect video to make up the majority of their content in the near future.
In the mobile-first world, vertical video rules the day and is only expected to keep growing. Today, 94 percent of people hold their phones upright when capturing content on their smartphones. Tons of Instagram and Snapchat stories are created worldwide every year, nearly all shot vertically. With the debut of IGTV which is also all vertical, it makes sense that we’re seeing major brands across categories move to embrace the vertical video format.
Even Facebook is seeing the vertical video light, with a recent upgrade to its default video orientation. In fact, last year, Facebook tested the “larger rendering” of vertical video in their news feed on mobile and discovered that not only did people like the larger view, they watch longer—and with the sound on.
Live video is taking off, as well: According to Facebook, live videos have six-times the engagement as non-live videos.
We’re already seeing more live vertical video on mobile-first platforms like Snapchat and Instagram along with  IGTV moving forward, we might see even more savvy brands experimenting with live streams across mobile, social and digital mediums.

Storytelling in short form

Our time is even more fragmented online. Instead of spending hours online surfing the web and social media, people explore the digital world in short bursts, from mobile devices. And those micro-moments—moments when people go online looking for recommendations for what to do, where to go, what to buy—are opportunities to connect through storytelling. In the coming years, we’ll continue to see investment by brands in live, ephemeral and localized content for Snapchat and Instagram Stories.

Geo-located video discovery and sharing

The power of Snapchat is real although the app itself is beginning to struggle a bit. The location feature however is very powerful.  You share your location for snaps, which then appears to friends on a map and updates when you open the application again. Location is already starting to play a bigger role in how people discover video at events. We’re seeing it one Facebook Messenger as well as You Tube.

The Summary
​
Ultimately, successful storytelling and content starts with being human and connecting—having a two-way conversation. Live content, especially when it’s relevant and local, provides brands with an incredible opportunity to create a fast-track memory shortcut, building real relationships with consumers and brand affinity with people directly in their community.
-Roy

Tags:  #video #marketing #social media #branding