With consumers watching YouTube, accessing streaming services, or scrolling social feeds on their phones, mobile-first video is critical for any modern marketing campaign.
We all know about the proliferation of mobile devices and how it’s changing the media landscape. In fact, twenty percent of Americans are now “smartphone-only” internet consumers. For those of us married to our laptops and triple-screen desktops, that can seem unimaginable. But even desktop users routinely switch between their computer and their phone throughout the day. Needless to say, as phones become more powerful and mobile apps satisfy more of our needs, the idea of a mobile-only population is becoming less and less abstract.
This is why many companies have shifted to a mobile-first philosophy when it comes to their marketing tactics. But, even with major brands making the shift, mobile-first marketing is still misunderstood, or dismissed as being too expensive or difficult to implement. In reality, a mobile-first mindset is critical for any modern marketing campaign. Nowhere is this more true than in the video world, where every day more viewers are on their phones, watching YouTube, accessing streaming services, and scrolling social feeds.
What is Mobile-First?
The phrase “mobile-first” refers to content — videos, ads, entire websites — that is optimized for mobile devices. This doesn’t mean that mobile-first content only works on mobile devices. Rather, it’s designed with mobile functionality in mind.
A smaller screen size requires different aspect ratios. Smaller computers demand compressed file sizes. And, touch-screen interfaces change user interactions. Desktop-only content will immediately turn off mobile users from websites that are too big to load, or have pop-ups without an escape route, or that autoplay videos and offer clumsy navigation menus.
Adopting a mobile-first ideology goes beyond the assets you create. Creatives need to consider all aspects of the mobile experience when shifting to this ideology. This includes considerations like:
Where Will Consumers Be Watching this Content?
Unlike consumers on stationary devices, mobile consumers are — as the word suggests — on the move. They want to bring your content with them and access it from anywhere. Creatives will need to consider the experience for someone watching content on their phone during their commute, as well as someone watching from their couch.
Will There Be Audio?
One report found that sixty-nine percent of consumers watch videos with the sound off. This means content creators can’t rely on sound to convey their message. But the proliferation of captioned and subtitled videos on Facebook and Instagram is proof that viewers still want to consume your video, just in a text-video hybrid format. This is also why you see “sound-on” stickers on videos that just need that audio factor.
Giving users the choice between a captioned video or a sound-on experience is the best way to ensure an accessible mobile video experience.
How Will Consumers Be Holding Their Devices?
The way consumers hold their device also plays a role in their experience. Most people use their phones in the vertical orientation, whether they’re scrolling through Instagram or sending emails. It can be downright annoying to have to rotate for a single advertisement or video — hence the push for vertical video across digital spaces.
Phone orientation also plays a role in how you actually design content. Is your CTA located far away from where a consumer might have their thumb or forefinger? Are you taking up the most screen real estate possible? In a space where creators are constantly competing for attention with small to big brands, your content needs to be as intuitive as possible for consumers.
Do I Need to Film Everything Twice?
The short answer is no. Creating mobile-friendly content isn’t about duplicating content so that it works on a mobile. Instead it’s a mindset. When forming a campaign, creatives need to consider all the implications of the mobile experience. By thinking about the mobile consumer first — in the campaign creation phase, not just the asset collection phase — creatives can proactively plan for a content strategy that optimizes mobile and complements the desktop experience.
For example, a company might sell complex technology that requires extensive documentation to learn. Without mobile optimization, this company may decide to take a flyer, originally designed for print media, and convert it into a PDF. While this can be used for mobile marketing, a PDF is not the best way to reach mobile users.
If this same company were to adopt a mobile-first mindset, they may decide that, while a text ad can do a sufficient job describing their product, a product demo video with captions is the best solution for a mobile audience. They could then drive viewers to a landing page that explains their product in more depth and offers an email signup. This campaign, created with the mobile consumer in mind, gives the company more opportunities to promote their product across channels, giving the consumer more chances to engage with the content. Even better, the content they create for mobile already pairs well with the desktop experience — no changes necessary.
The idea is that mobile-first content can’t be created by simply filming vertical videos and cropping photos for the mobile consumer. Creatives must consider the mobile consumer in all stages of the content creation to understand the best medium for displaying their content. But, we won’t lie and say that vertical video isn’t a big piece of the puzzle. Check out our guide on creating vertical video, which covers how to shoot, crop, and format this mobile video must-have.
Optimizing Content for Multiple Platforms
You don’t have to film everything twice, but you do have to film everything differently. Audiences on Instagram Stories will prefer different content than those scrolling through Facebook. YouTube viewers expect a different format from consumers on Twitter. While you don’t need to make separate content for each of these platforms, there’s an opportunity to create content that you can use on each of these platforms with minimal editing. Here are three common ways to optimize content for multiple platforms:
1. Film Wide, Crop to Size
If you’re filming original content, choosing a wider lens will allow for easy cropping to vertical video. Instead of refilming content for mobile, you can make all the changes in post. It’s important to note that content should follow the mobile-first mindset for a video to appear natural when cropped. That means keeping the subject tightly in the middle of the frame and avoiding camera movements that require a wider frame.
2. Blog to Script
Turning a blog post into a short video or podcast is an efficient way to re-purpose content and cut down on time spent creating new content. You can edit articles down to super short videos, with a focus on brief and engaging captions. Or, you can use a blog post as a jumping off point for longer, more in-depth content — like an eBook or a podcast. Work with what you have, but take into consideration the unique characteristics of each platform you want to distribute on.
3. Stock Footage
Even pro video creators don’t film one-hundred percent of their own footage. With the demand for video so high, and the demands of footage production equally high, stock footage is a streamlined solution for scaled content creation. By nature, stock is a mobile-first choice because a clip can be used in so many ways. You can search for vertical stock clips specifically, or crop any existing clips you download for vertical display. You can feature the same clip in several videos across channels, or choose different sequences from the same clip to use on different channels.
If you want more variety in your videos, licensing multiple clips can still be low-cost. With our latest video subscription, you can download any five clips each month, billed annually or billed monthly, with no contract. This new subscription has an interesting perk — it gives you access to free video clips, too. If you’re looking for access to a fresh stock library without the pain of overcommitment, this subscription is for you.
Stock footage is also the go-to technique for pro editors when they need to push their video further. Original footage is amazing when you can source it, but it takes high-level production work (and budget) to film an entire story from beginning to end. Stock helps you fill in the gaps, whether you’re making a short ad or a ten-minute YouTube video. Use it for establishing shots, transition shots, and all the in-between clips that tie your story together.
Mobile Video Specs and Other Considerations
Mobile-first is a mindset. However, there are many considerations that’ll make your mobile content stand out. Here’s a list of questions to ask yourself before creating content to see if you can make it mobile-optimized:
- What platforms will this content be distributed on?
- How will consumers view this content (device, phone orientation, etc.)?
- Will consumers have access to sound?
- Will consumers have adequate time to watch the entirety of my content? What’s the minimum amount they need to view?
- What format will best support my message? How will consumers engage with it?
Additionally, there are technical specifications that apply to every video you make. If you’re uploading to social media — the most common platform for mobile-first video — get to know the individual guidelines of each major platform, because no two are the same.
Mobile Video Aspect Ratios
Aspect ratio is the ratio of width-to-height of a video. You can have two videos with different dimensions, but the same aspect ratio. When you’re creating mobile-first videos, there are a few standard aspect ratios to deal in. Some platforms, namely Twitter, have unique video aspect ratios (1:2.39 to 2.39:1), so always check the individual guidelines when you’re ready to cut a video for social media.
- Landscape: 16:9
- Vertical: 9:16, in the case of full-length vertical (think Instagram Stories) or 4:5, in the case of smaller in-feed posts (think Instagram posts)
- Square: 1:1
Mobile Video Resolutions
Here are some of the minimum resolution requirements for videos on social platforms. These aren’t necessarily the best dimensions for a video, but it will give you a point of reference for typical mobile video resolution.
- Vertical video: 600 x 750
- Landscape video: 600 x 315
- Square video: 600 x 600
Mobile Video Bitrate
Bit rate is compounded by other factors, like frame rate, audio, and video resolution. There’s no magic number when it comes to video bitrate, especially since you’ll be uploading your videos to a bunch of different platforms. However, your goal should always be to achieve a manageable file size without losing quality.
Mobile Video Playback
The majority of digital video viewers, regardless of what device they’re on, have extremely short attention spans. After just two seconds of waiting for a video to load, viewers will begin to drop off. The best way to prevent this is to ensure your video file is practical for mobile page loading.
When you’re dealing with video on mobile web pages, one big consideration is page load time. Having even one big video file can clog up a user’s phone, making the whole web page load slowly and forcing them to exit the page. You can avoid this by never auto-playing videos, which would automatically download the video from the server and cause a delay.
Cover image via GaudiLab.
Learn more about producing mobile-first video:
- The Guide to DIY Video Ads for Facebook and Instagram
- How to Make Video File Sizes Smaller and What Software to Use
- How to Master the PC to Instagram Workflow for Posts
- Shutterstock Partners with Sky Media to Empower Small Businesses
- How to Shoot and Edit Videos Using Instagram Reels