How to Optimize Your Video Content Strategy for Mobile

Video consumption on the web has changed. Content Marketers need to adjust their content strategy to make sure their video content is optimized for SmartPhones and Tablets.

Why your Video needs to be Mobile Friendly

Over the past 5 years the number of Smartphone users in the United States has skyrocketed.

As a result people are watching more video on their smartphones and tablets. This represents a huge marketing opportunity for content marketers.

What can we learn about Mobile Video?

A recent report published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), surveyed mobile users in 24 countries who watched short or long videos on their smartphones.

The report has a number of key findings that are important for content marketers who want to adapt their content strategy.

More People Watching Video on Smartphones

35% of respondents globally reported watching more video on their smartphone than last year.

The numbers are even greater for the U.S. (50%) and Canada (42%).

Watching habits are affected by the connectivity available to the user as well as the length of the content.

Short vs Long Videos

More smartphone users are consuming short videos (under 5 minutes) on a daily basis than long videos (5 minutes or longer).

58% watch short videos daily while only 36% watch long videos.

But long form video consumption was more common than expected.

Users with unlimited data packages were significantly more likely to frequently consume mobile video.

Take-Away

• Video length should be kept at under 5 minutes if viewers are likely to consume your content on the go.
• Longer videos may work if your viewers are likely to to consume your content at home when they can use their phones on wi-fi.
• Longer videos will work if your viewers are likely to watch your content at home on tablets. Check this post for more.

Apps are the most popular way to access Mobile Video

Apps are more popular than browsers for watching mobile video.

48% of respondents watched video only or mostly on smartphone apps while 18% used mobile websites.

Take-Away

• Video content should be made available on a variety of sources besides your website.
• Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are platforms that should be used for your video content. Each of these platforms is suitable for different reasons. See below.

Sources of Video Content

72% of people used specialized video content providers for the mobile video they watch. YouTube is the most popular of these with 62% saying this is where they find mobile video.

Social media is also an important source of video. 42% of users find the video content they watch on social media channels.

Take-Away

• A multi-platform video content strategy is recommended. A recent study by Olgilvy and Tubular found out that a multi-platform strategy is necessary because each platform has different attributes.
  • Facebook and Twitter rely on feeds which are viral and transient. They rely on the feed much more than search and discovery. Videos have short life spans but can get a lot of attention in a short period.
  • YouTube is a search engine so it has a much stronger long tail for content. It works well for searchable and evergreen content and content that answers questions.
• Video content should be:
  1. shared on social media to raise awareness,
  2. uploaded to YouTube so it can be found through searching
  3. available on your site.

Tip for Facebook Video

Facebook videos autoplay but are muted. You can put copy on your video so if the video is muted the viewer will still get the message of the video. Here is a good example:

When are Videos Watched on Mobile?

Globally, videos are watched daily starting in the morning and rising to an evening peak between 8 and 10 p.m.

In the U.S. and Canada the pattern is repeated except that there are two evening peaks – one between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the other between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.. There is a longer evening period of viewing.

Take-Away

• Marketers should consider posting video content in the evening hours to capture mobile viewers.

Where are Videos Watched Most Often?

90% of viewers watch mobile content at home while only 49% watch it while not at home.

Take-Away

• Marketers should consider the type of content viewers may be more inclined to watch at home while relaxing.
• As data plans improve mobile users are likely to shift their viewing habits to watch more video on the go.

How often do smartphone users share videos?

68% of smartphone users share mobile videos. 33% share on a daily or weekly basis.

Take-Away

• Marketers need to take advantage of the inclination of smartphone users to share videos.
• Marketers need to provide content that is likely to be shared.

Tip for Video Most Likely to be Shared

Buzzfeed is an expert in content sharing.

Buzzfeed has learned that emotion is an important driver of successful content sharing.

Content that makes people think, laugh or cry generates connection and makes people more likely to share it.

Here is a classic example from Buzzfeed:

The goal of a good video content strategy is to get the right content to the right person, in the right place at the right time.

Mobile presents exciting opportunities to reach your audience in new ways and new places. Marketers need to adapt their content strategy as the mobile world evolves.

If you are interested in Tips, Tools and Resources to make your content more mobile friendly, you can get our free guide 12 Ways to Make your Content Mobile Friendly.

Photo Credit: IntelFreePress