The visual image, or more significantly, the moving image, will continue to be your main weapon in your marketing and brand awareness strategy for the next several years (at least).
The vertical video is now the most popular format of social media video on mobile phones, with TikTok leading the charge. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have closed in on TikTok and launched their own short form vertical video feature.
If you haven’t jumped on the vertical video bandwagon yet because you’re waiting for the trend to die down, it’s time to take the leap.
The list below will serve as your guide on the vertical video creation journey. Read through it and take action.
1. Understand your audience
Social media is a hungry beast and one which needs feeding constantly. Take time to assess where you should be sharing content, and then seek to understand how best to deploy on those platforms.
Choose which platforms you know you can master and have the capacity to manage and stand out upon.
2. Leverage your content
Whether in-house or shot professionally, when approaching your shoot, ensure that you get as much bang for your buck as possible. Taking a ‘multi-platform’ approach (sharing across your chosen social platforms and website) will ensure your campaign’s best chances of success.
3. Know when to leave it to the professionals
Mobile phones are great – and the quality of their video capture has risen dramatically – but understanding when to hand over to a professional team will guarantee you don’t risk missing the target.
Remember, it’s never a weakness to use your time more wisely and invest in expertise. Sometimes it’s important to take a step back and let a professional take over.
4. Remember to include your call to action
It’s all too easy to forget to ask for action at the end of your video. We push content out into the ether and often fail to request engagement in any form.
5. Vertical videos aren't going anywhere
Vertical videos are here to stay – and if you’re sharing across the likes of Instagram and TikTok, you’ll be very familiar with the increase in popularity of this format.
Stories, reels, and short-form bursts allow brands and creators to offer raw insights and behind-the-scenes insights and an opportunity to share professionally crafted content specifically created for these mobile-first channels.
6. Stay on top of the trends
Keeping ahead of the trends, learning new platforms, and knowing when to act is a full-time job. Learn from the experts in your industry and attempt to replicate success where you see it.
Keep one eye on the future and one eye on how you can make gains in the present. What are the trends in your industry? Perhaps you can take advantage of producing more short-form ‘reels,’ offering webinars, or making a podcast.
7. Mix up the duration lengths of your videos
Our attention spans are indeed becoming shorter, so lean into this trend by creating a plentiful supply of short videos that can be scheduled and deployed over time.
While most of your vertical videos should be short, 15 to 30 seconds, occasionally include a longer video. A 45 second or even a minute in length will automatically draw focus because it’s unusual for you to do. Save the longer videos for important announcements, updates or walkthroughs, and don’t overuse this tactic.
8. Play to your strengths
There will always be a time for user-generated content ‘UGC’ and professionally-crafted videos. Knowing when to use each is critical.
9. Go live regularly
Viewers and people in general find content they know is live highly engaging. There’s something about the feeling that many people get when they know exactly where someone else is and what he or she is doing. A glimpse into your life or the work life of your brand or special event in real-time will boost engagement and skyrocket your brand awareness. And one of the best features of live video from a ROI perspective is the cost – cheap!
Deploy A Strategy
Plan in advance and consider a content calendar to keep you organized.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from this is the need to create a strategy. The start of the year is the perfect time to plan the year and consider the following:
- What is the focus?
- Who am I talking to?
- Where will I find this audience
- What type of content will best suit them?
- What does that look like?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you can assess how best to achieve your goals, create a time, and execute against it.
The use of vertical videos offers massive growth opportunities for those who deploy them effectively. These videos will enhance your current marketing strategy and through consistency and analytics, you’ll grow your online presence and build brand awareness without increasing your digital advertising budget.
