Phone rotation is dead. Long live vertical video. With more and more people watching video content vertically on their phones, it begs the question – which way should I be shooting?
In 2023, we’re no longer turning our phone screens to watch video content, with people instead opting for vertical video. Here’s the big stat: according to The Entrepreneur, 94% of users hold their phone vertically, so it makes sense your video content is shot and shared vertically on social media.
On both iPhones or the majority of Androids, the default way to hold your phone is vertically, yet something has switched in consumers, with less and less people willing to rotate their phones the watch content. So given your consumers won’t change, maybe it’s time you do? So, why is there more emphasis to make sure your video is 1080 by 1920 pixels? One word: TikTok.
As you’re probably well aware, TikTok utilises its feed size vertically. The app is specifically designed to encourage users to both consume and create that way, as vertical footage occupies the most screen real estate possible – keeping viewers full attention. So say goodbye to the black bars above a standard landscape video – footage should be considered vertical before you even start filming.
While this concept was first popularised 10+ years ago with apps such as Vine and Snapchat, since TikTok’s dominance over the social media market, other platforms have begun to follow suit. YouTube, Instagram and Facebook have all embraced vertical footage, with Youtube specifically seeing large viewing growth since releasing YouTube shorts.
By utilising vertical video, you can easily post on more than just TikTok or Instagram Reels. By working with these platforms’ recommended sizes, you’ll see better results. For instance, viewing Instagram Reels aren’t restricted to just who users follow, this allows your content to be seen to more users.
So what does this mean for you? Embrace the vertical 9:16 format and don’t be afraid to share more organic videography. Consider video content including people and dialogue directly to camera. When filming, vertical video needs to be treated as an essential part of your social media strategy – because it should be.
However, when looking at your results, just consider most social platforms are optimised to report on the first three to five seconds. This might make your view count look good, but it isn’t necessarily the best metric to consider for the success of your video. You want to look at the amount of engaged users and if all these users are the right audience for your brand.