the number of hours people spent watching videos on mobile is up 100% year-over-year
The experience of watching video has changed tremendously over recent years. Gone are the days of gathering around the television and working out agreements with family members on who gets to watch a program at a specific time. Even being glued to a desktop computer to stream a movie or a news clip is becoming a less frequent occurrence. Now, with high-quality video available in the palms of our hands, we’ve come to expect to watch exactly what we want, when we want it, and where we want it. Accounting for mobile in a video marketing plan has become an imperative. According to this research conducted by Google/Ipsos in February 2015, “the number of hours people spent watching videos on mobile is up 100% year-over-year.” Ignoring this growing statistic could dramatically affect the success of video content for the online marketer… and video production companies.
With this rise in mobile consumption, “mobile-friendly” has become an expectation for consumers. With such quick access to video, consumers are going beyond watching video for the simple reason of entertainment. Consumers are now also turning to mobile video to find answers, learn new things, and make decisions. These consumers have an immediate need and turn to their mobile devices with intent, looking for immediate answers and solutions. Too many obstacles or errors along the way that diminish the user experience will result in lost opportunities and brand loyalty.
Are Your Videos Mobile-Friendly?
What does mobile-friendly mean? The most basic definition is: your full-size website shrinks down to fit the smaller screen of a mobile device without compromising readability, quality, or navigability. With video, however, there is much more that can affect the mobile experience. Here are a few items to make sure you get right:
Playback Quality –
If a user does not have a strong mobile connection or your video is not streaming through a platform or service with adequate bandwidth, the video could freeze frequently or lose quality. While you cannot control the user’s connection speed, you can make sure you’re using a solid video service to serve your videos. If the user is not going to have service at all and prefers to watch content while offline (such as on a plane or in a remote location), the user will need the opportunity to download the video onto his or her phone ahead of time and watch their videos through an application.
Audio –
Most mobile devices have very low quality speakers. If a video does not have the highest quality audio possible, the audio can sound distorted or simply make it difficult to hear. Keep in mind the places your consumers are likely to consume your video on mobile. It might be a noisy space that requires turning the volume all the way up or the audio from your video might be right in their earbuds. Keep the experience positive with high-quality audio.
Visuals and motion graphics –
While mobile screens have increased in size over the past few years, they are still much smaller than the typical television in a household living room. If your video requires motion graphics or on-screen text, zoom in and make sure your visuals can still be read and deciphered when it shrinks to fit a mobile screen.
Advertising –
Pre or post roll advertising on videos can create errors in the streaming and even deter the user from continuing on to the actual content. Watching video on mobile is a very personal experience. If you do advertise on your mobile videos: keep the advertisements short, test the functionality on multiple devices, and make sure the quality of the video ad is maintained at different sizes and held to the same standards as your video content.
The growth of mobile video consumption is greatly impacting online video. Doing mobile video right can meet the changing needs of customers, create valuable, entertaining and informative experiences, and generate loyal brand advocates.
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