Choose the right social video format for the right platform
It cannot be overstated how important video content is in any brands marketing strategy. The quality and originality of your content has direct links to its sharability and by extension the reach it will achieve, so when creating video content, it’s imperative that you do the absolute best you can rather than considering it just another box to tick on your marketing ‘to-do’ list.
In addition to creating high quality video content, the platform you’re intending to display it on should be considered at the planning stage and the content edited, adjusted and optimised for each. We look some of the things to consider when recording content for the top four social platforms for video.
Facebook video
A facebook video can be distributed in the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, or alternatively 9:16 (the same size but displayed vertically), the file size should be not more than 4GB and the content should be created with a view to capturing a viewers attention in the first few seconds (or they may scroll past never to return). 45 minutes is the maximum video length currently permitted on Facebook although you should stick to content of around one minute.
The file format could well be a factor in the overall video quality of the video Facebook displays, so to reduce the chance that Facebook will compress your video to the detriment of quality it’s best to use H.264 video uploaded in either .MOV or .MP4 formats.
An estimated 500 million Facebook users watch video content on Facebook daily, so it’s important that your brand has a presence and optimises the video to attract immediate attention. It’s also worth mentioning that around 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound, so you should consider whether your content will still get your message across without audio.
Twitter video
The social platform famous for enforcing brevity in text based posts treats video content in the same way. Video content of up to 512GB can be uploaded and the length of the videos is restricted to 140 seconds. Like Facebook, Twitter supports the .MP4 and .MOV video formats, with the 16:9/9:16 aspect ratio providing a good viewing experience. Assitionally, consider that the mmaximum frame rate is 40 fps with a maximum bitrate of 25Mbps. Twitter’s maximum resolution is 1920 x 1200.
While Twitter is generally regarded as a platform for short form text content, 82% of its audience watches the video content shared thereon.
Instagram Video
The optimum video aspect ratio for Instagram is square – 1:1, with .MP4 or .MOV once again being the preferred file formats. The maximum video length is just a minute so it’s important to get you message across quickly.
Instagram boasts 800 million active users per month so it’s a powerful platform for delivering eye-catching and informative video.
YouTube Video
The platform entirely dedicated to video unsurprisingly allows more in terms of file size, video length and image quality. The standard 16:9 picture format is the one to use here and video can be displayed in resolutions up to 8k (beyond Ultra High Definition) File size is limited to 128GB and video duration to 11 hours.
With users viewing content at a rate in excess of 5 billion views a day, your content will need to be something truly special in order to stand out from the crowd.
For more information what we can do to produce and help you tailor your video content for distribution on numerous social platforms, get in touch to discuss your marketing content distribution strategy.
