Years ago, a colleague publicly mocked me online when I was sharing my thoughts via video. His problem with my videos? I was holding the phone vertically rather than horizontally. Based on my video orientation, he questioned my expertise and standing in the industry. It was maddening for a few reasons:
- Videos are all about their ability to captivate and communicate the message. I don’t believe orientation has any impact on that.
- Our viewing capabilities aren’t horizontal; humans can easily accommodate and enjoy a vertical video.
- Interaction with mobile devices has surpassed desktop video viewing. Users hold their phones vertically by default.
So, if vertical videos bother you, get over it. Now, to be clear, I’m not advocating that your next explainer video or professionally recorded video be done vertically. Our televisions and laptops are still oriented horizontally, and it’s great to take advantage of that expansive video real estate.
This infographic from Breadnbeyond, The Ultimate Guide to Vertical Videos for Social Media Marketing, details the consumer behaviors of watching videos and video advertising on mobile devices. Some of the stats are eye-opening from Mediabrix:
- Only 30% of people who watch videos will turn their smartphones sideways when observing a horizontally oriented video
- Users who were served a horizontal video ad on a mobile device watched only 14% of the ad
- Most of the time, viewers spent watching the horizontal video ad searching for the close button
- In contrast, vertically presented video ads were completed 90 percent of the time
- All video services, including YouTube, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and Snapchat, now automatically play vertical videos in full screen.
In other words, when the primary platform and medium are mobile, vertical videos aren’t just the norm—they’re more effective!
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