Let’s get real for a second. Mobile video is the primary way most people watch marketing videos. Sure, television and streaming commercials still exist. Yes, my dad still watches YouTube on the big screen in the living room. But the truth is that many consumers spend far more time on their smartphone than they do in front of a horizontal screen.
Many of your potential leads likely encountered your brand for the very first time on their phone—probably while doing something else. If we’re talking about people under 45, between 84% and 94% admit to watching two devices simultaneously, usually a television and a mobile phone. No matter how many blogs warn of the dangers of “second-screening,” Mobile viewership of everything from micro-content to long-form documentaries is on the rise.
Meanwhile, TikTok is thriving despite bans. Meta is sticking video everywhere it can, and YouTube is doubling down on Shorts. The term mobile video is almost redundant at this point, even for B2B audiences. To put it plainly, video is mobile.
Mobile Video for B2B
Mobile video has been a fundamental part of the B2B buying process since at least 2017, when a BCG study found that 80% of buyers were using mobile for work. More importantly, more than 60% reported that mobile played a significant role in a recent purchase.
This was almost a decade ago. Mobile phone usage as part of everyday business life has only gone up since then.
So mobile video is important whether you’re trying to reach individual consumers or buyers for Fortune 500 companies. With this massive audience watching, you want to make sure your mobile videos are as good as they can be. Here are 11 best practices to help you optimize mobile video.
1. Keep it Short: 120 Seconds or Less
When it comes to optimal video length before, shorter is better. While each platform has its own ideal length, less than a minute is a solid guideline.
Shorter videos achieve higher engagement rates. That’s especially true for mobile video.
Most mobile viewers just aren’t willing to commit to a long video. Aim for brevity and focus. Committing to a tight time frame will help you cut out the unnecessary elements and make videos more engaging.
For customers a little further down the sales funnel, you can make longer videos, but keep the topic focused.
2. Get Vertical
The default dimensions — or aspect ratios — of mobile video are different from a desktop. Smartphone viewers may not view your video at full size. Plus, many people prefer vertical video on mobile devices. They don’t want to rotate their phone just to watch a video.
Make sure your video fits the aspect ratio of the platform where it will be shared. For more specific guidelines, check our vertical video guide.
3. Optimize Mobile Video for Audio Independence
The right soundtrack or quality voiceover can add personality and nuance to a product video or explainer video. But, many mobile viewers watch with the sound off. Maybe they’re being polite, maybe they don’t want to get caught watching TikTok at work. Either way, making mobile videos work without sound is a smart choice.
Captions and subtitles can help, but the most effective tool is a visually engaging video.
4. Add Some Text
Your video can incorporate words into the animated images and visual content. Use on-screen text to underscore key points and drive home your message. Or make on-screen words the entire message, like we did in the video for Garnier.
5. Create Better Video Thumbnails
On some platforms, video autoplays. But if you’re on a non-autoplay platform like YoutTube, remember that mobile video optimization starts with the thumbnail. Too often companies spend massive production budgets producing a fantastic animated video only to drop the ball with a boring, random video thumbnail chosen by AI. People judge a video by its cover, and if your video looks boring, no one is going to waste time watching.
Scrub through your video for an exciting moment, grab that frame, and use it to create a video thumbnail. Then hook viewers by adding a bold text overlay announcing what your video is about. For animated videos, you can ask your animator to create a custom thumbnail that projects a more professional image than a screenshot.
Which of the thumbnails shown below would you rather click on?
6. Hook Viewers in the First 3 Seconds
You have about three seconds to grab viewers’ attention. Include brand or product imagery in the first few seconds and skip splash screens to get right to the point.
The best video hooks combine visually interesting characters with rich imagery and a dramatic starting point. Grab mobile viewers right away with something exciting and keep them watching until they walk face first into a pole.
Mobile video is exactly that—mobile—which means your video better get moving right out of the gate.
7. Use Quick Cuts to Keep Things Interesting
Holding on one steady shot will bore viewers quickly, and boredom equals bounces. Keep the camera on the move to tell your story with quick cuts and interesting transitions.
This multimedia explainer for Tasty Shakes is constantly on the move, matching the high energy music.
8. Choose Unexpected Angles
If you only take one thing away from reading this blog post let it be this: mobile videos cannot be boring.
Animation lets you zoom to the top of a skyscraper, dive into your computer screen, or even jump into a child’s drawing. Use unexpected perspectives and innovative story angles to catch and keep attention.
9. Ask for What You Want
Once you manage to engage mobile viewers, your next goal is converting them. So don’t forget the call to action.
Keep it simple. Mobile video should aim to produce a single, measurable action, whether that’s a click through to your website or a share to increase awareness.
You can boost conversions with a simple call-to-action that’s easy to follow-through with. For help setting one up, check out our video CTA guide.
Mobile Video: The Future is Now
Mobile video is already making an impact on decision makers from casual browsers to B2B C-suite buyers. As of March 2023, about 70% of digital video viewers watched on smart phones. That number has likely increased in the last couple of years.
So if you want to succeed with video, it’s time to get mobile. Download our free eBook to learn more about how to succeed with mobile video.
