Listen to your mother’s advice. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you should too.
Should you brand jump on the bandwagon and join the mobile video revolution? No-brainer, the answer is yes! But, don't ride off into the sunset exclusively with mobile video yet. We build an undeniable case for mobile video in this article. Because we are your expert source for all things video, we took the liberty of updating our statistics related to mobile video for 2017, and the plot thickened…
YouTube maintains that mobile video consumption rises 100% every year.
Ericsson forecasts that by 2021, video will account for 70% of mobile traffic.
Facebook reported that in 2016, 75 percent of video views on their platform came from mobile devices.
With such compelling numbers, you may be asking yourself, "Should I scrap desktop video from my 2017 strategy?" Hold your horses, we’re not quite there…yet.
Not So Fast, Desktop Still Matters
We spend a lot of screen-time talking about critical considerations to make before you begin shooting your marketing videos. Deciding on mobile and/or desktop is one of the big ones. And while the above stats seem to make the decision obvious, it’s not.
86 percent of business-related video views take place on desktop browsers
The average time spent on livestream video on desktop is 5 minutes compared to 7.1 minutes on a tablet, and 2.8 minutes on mobile device.
Video viewing traffic sourced back to mobile only accounts for just over half of all video views, which means there’s still a massive chunk of audience using desktop.
Factors That Will Determine Desktop vs. Mobile
1. Visual Experience
One rather straightforward consideration is the size of the device. Mobile device screens get bigger with every new release. In fact, we have a trendy name for them — phablets. But smartphones will never achieve the size of a desktop screen (good riddance! Can you imagine fitting that phone in your pocket or purse?). If your message is primarily audio, screen size doesn’t matter as much. But if your video contains a lot of detailed images or wording, the extra inches provided by a laptop or desktop screen will dramatically enhance the experience.
2. Duration
Studies show that mobile views are shorter than their desktop counterparts. Ergo, if a company has an informative and lengthy video (e.g. explainer videos, tutorials, training videos, branded short films) desktop will improve the odds that viewers watch all the way through. As for shorter, entertainment-based B2C videos — stick to mobile devices.
3. Audience
The most important consideration when choosing between mobile and desktop is knowing who is watching. Insivia reports that 75% of executives watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week. It’s safe to assume that these views typically occur during the workday and on a desktop computer. We’d even go as far as to say that much of the web surfing taking place in the B2B realm probably isn’t on a smartphone while sitting on a bench at the park. It’s at the office on a computer. Then again, if your target audience is millennials, mobile might be the best way to go. (Need some additional tips for marketing to millennials? Check out this blog.)
4. Platform
As we mentioned earlier in this article, social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube see an overwhelming majority of mobile users. But business-related video views are mostly taking place on desktop. If your distribution strategy incorporates LinkedIn, your website, or third-party sites as your primary promotion channels — desktop will better serve your campaign goals.We get it; devising a video marketing strategy can be overwhelming. And it seems like every week, we’re throwing another list of considerations at you. But hey, at least you’re on the right track. Video is the future. As for the various nuances that dictate your strategy? A video marketing agency will help your brand expertly align content and visual experience with audience insights and a clear path for distribution. In short, we’ll make video a whole lot easier and more effective for you.
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