With more and more people buying tablets and smartphones, creating videos specifically for mobile devices is becoming increasingly important. These devices have audio, video, and viewing limitations that in previous years, video production companies didn’t have to worry about.
The average American adult will spend nearly six hours a day using digital media. Over 51 percent of the total time is spent using mobile devices, and according to a study by eMarketer, an average of 1 hour and 16 minutes of this time will be spent watching online video.
As a business, this is an enormous opportunity for you to reach consumers with your brand and marketing videos. But with over half of these individuals using mobile devices, you must consider whether or not your videos are mobile-friendly.
Here are the top issues you must worry about when creating a mobile-friendly corporate video for your business:
Ensure Your Video Players Are Responsive
Your videos must use a system that detects the bandwidth of the user. The bandwidth indicates how much and how rapidly the user will be able to download or stream video. A responsive platform, such as Wistia, Vimeo, Brightcove, and YouTube, will automatically reduce the quality of the video to accommodate the bandwidth capability.
By dynamically responding to the capabilities of the device, you will be able to play your videos more quickly, reducing lag time for the video. If your videos are not served from a responsive platform, this is your first and arguably most important step in making your corporate videos mobile friendly.
Use the Highest Quality Audio Possible When Making Mobile Videos
Most mobile devices have low quality speakers that, when played at high volumes, can distort the audio track of your video, or simply make it difficult to hear. This is especially true when someone is playing a video in a noisy space and turns their volume all the way up to hear the audio.
Your job is to make sure that your audio for the video is the of highest quality and clean and clear for your message to be heard.
Keep the Video Length Relevant for the Purpose
People viewing on mobile devices have super short attention spans. So consider the purpose of your video and when they will view it. Is it a short video designed to entertain and go viral? If you want your video to be shared broadly across social media, you want to keep it short and to the point.
Is it a product demo that is intended to show consumers all the best features of your product? These videos can be a bit longer, because the intent of the viewer is to learn something specific, such as how to change the brake pads on their car, or the correct way to stuff a turkey. But don’t combine multiple topics; make chapters about each feature so that the user can quickly find what they want.
It’s important to remember that mobile screens are small. While someone may be perfectly happy watching a 15-minute video on a 20-inch computer screen while sitting in a comfortable chair, they are less likely to watch that same video on a 3.5-inch screen. Which leads to our next point…
Use Large Text and Zoom-In on Important Messaging
While TV’s can be well over 50 inches, few smartphone screens are over 5. This means that the text that viewers are able to read perfectly well on a monitor or a TV screen can be way too small on a mobile screen. The smaller the screen, the more the viewer will have to squint to see the information.
This is most apparent in text. When creating a corporate video that is designed for mobile users, try to use large text so that viewers can clearly read your message. Text you should consider enlarging includes:
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- brand name
- contact information
- service lists
- areas of service
- names of CEO or owners
- website url
Create Responsive Video Splash Screens
The splash screen is the image that viewers see as the cover image of the video before it starts playing. Select the most compelling image from your video, preferably with bright colors or a bold design. These images work well to engage viewers at all sizes, and will be especially helpful for those 51 percent of Americans using their mobile devices. Think of it as a mini billboard.
A large engaging image, even if it is less relevant to the content of your video, will help to increase click-through rates and will give your video good search visibility.
Finding a Seattle Video Production Company To Create Mobile-Friendly Videos
If you, like most corporate businesses in Seattle and throughout the United States, are going to compete for attention among consumers that increasingly engage in digital media through the use of mobile devices, you’ll need to partner with a video production company that understands how to create videos that engage on all screens, whether TV, tablet, or smartphone. This changing environment of video marketing requires a video production team that understands not only the art of creating marketing videos that convert, but also the technology necessary to ensure your video can reach your entire audience.
If you’d like to discuss how to make your corporate videos more effective through mobile optimization, contact our team at Sparkworks Media.
