Thinking video? Think mobile first
Think about how you experience the internet throughout a normal day in your life. Sure, you might spend some time browsing the web at your desk, but today’s world is busier and more fast-paced than ever before. This, coinciding with the mobile experience steadily improving, has led the usage of websites on mobile devices to skyrocket in recent years. It was just a few years ago that responsive web design had just started to become popular to help accommodate the growing amount of mobile visitors to websites. Now, that growing audience is classified as way more than “growing.” That audience is the majority. Much like websites views have evolved in that way, so have video views. 60% of videos watched on YouTube are now watched on mobile devices. And in a world where so many videos are being created for social media, 90% of videos viewed on Twitter are now viewed on mobile.
What does that mean for pieces you create?
It means that the first thing you should do when planning for your next video is ask yourself where it will be viewed. Nowadays, the answer is (likely mostly) on mobile devices. If that is the case, it’s important to consider how that video will look not only on a computer screen or TV, but also on a small handheld device. That might mean larger videos. Maybe square videos. Or might mean captions or on-screen, graphic text call-outs are vital to convey your message. But remember, if a majority of viewers are watching your piece on a device that’s only a couple inches wide, small text and detailed animation callouts might get lost and not effectively communicate your message. It can be a delicate balance.
A shift in mentality
The shift to a mentality where mobile viewing comes first isn’t going away, so make sure it’s something that you consider early on when talking about creating your next piece. After all, the goal of a good quality video is so that it can still look good and represent your brand for an long time to come. It’s always important to think not only about where those shifts in viewer behavior are now, but also where they will be in one year and two years down the road. We’re happy to help lead that strategy discussion with you and share our expertise to make sure your next video is designed to stand the test of time. Just send us a note and we’d love to hear about what your goals for your next video project and offer recommendations on how make that next piece as effective as possible.
