Any mobile device is designed to be held “vertically”, you can’t argue that.
Indeed, people are using their smartphones vertically about 94% of the time.
But what does it have to do with the video?
Content, especially video consumption on mobile, has seen a dramatic rise versus desktop. It has proven to be the most engaging and effective way to tell stories and connect with your audience whether you’re a 19-year-old male beauty blogger or selling purple mattresses.
We don’t doubt that the quality and relevance of the video content and its creativity are vital for the ad to do great, but the tests show that video format also impacts overall engagement.
Let’s see how.
Horizontal vs vertical video: What’s better?
Completion Rates
Studies show that vertical videos have higher completion rates compared to horizontal ones.
Specifically, viewers are 9 times more likely to watch vertical video until the end.
Cost
Researchers have found that it is cheaper to advertise with vertical videos. They conducted this test using the same video, with the only difference being the format: vertical and square.
Vertical video ad outperformed square one on Facebook resulting in a 30% lower cost per click (CPC) and a surprising 68% lower cost per view (CPV).
Screen Space
All of that has quite a simple explanation: with vertical video ads, you take full advantage of the mobile screen space using 57% of it versus only 23% with horizontal video.
Viewers find themselves engaged in the action that is happening in the video without even realizing it just because of the bigger size. On the contrary, when viewers scroll through their social media feed and a horizontal video ad appears because it is so small they can already see the next post.
That instantly pulls the focus of attention from your ad, and if the next post is more relevant for the viewer, chances are he will scroll down without even watching 3 seconds of your video.
Key Takeaway
Now that you know why video size matters, you might still be wondering what it has to do with your business.
It’s not just about video content anymore. It‘s about producing video that FEELS NATIVE to each platform.
Resizing video content vertically for mobile is essential for businesses and brands if they want to succeed on social media in 2019.
Read here about why you need to include video in your content plan.
