Why is mobile video marketing such a powerful tool for changing behaviours?

The way we consume video content is ever-changing. Television once held a monopoly over worldwide video marketing for the largest part of the 20th century. Only to be dethroned by the rise of the home computer, the internet, mobile video marketing and the opportunities that came with it.

Precise targeting for social media platforms as well as video content giants, like YouTube, completely changed the game as people enjoyed the abundance of interesting and diverse content that they could pick from.

However, the newest contender in the back of our pockets has once again revolutionised how we consume video content. It’s been the people’s choice for more than a while now proven by statistics showing video consumption via mobile doubles every single year.

Mobile devices dominate the market with 75% of video plays being through mobile alone.

The future is in our hands, literally.

How We Consume Information

Humans don’t have the best attention spans, especially with consistently growing media clutter. Microsoft has shown that our attention spans have grown 4 seconds shorter over the last 20 years. The need for content to be engaging, impactful, and most recently, actionable is important now more than ever.

The ability to create quality content that stands out is even more crucial to grab the attention of Millennials and Gen Z. Mobile is the key here.

Video consumed through mobile is digested differently, users are shown to be more focused and engaged when watching mobile videos as usually there’s more direct purpose.

Have you ever sat watching TV while scrolling through social media, cooking, cleaning up or even falling asleep?

Google insights note that videos watched on phones by millennials garner close to double the amount of attention in comparison to TV. Only 28% of TV viewers have their attention fully captured as it is often used as background content to fill the mental gaps when doing other activities. In comparison, 52% of millennial mobile users are watching videos with the sole purpose of digesting the content.

Opportunities on Social Media

Instagram has swapped out its activity tab for a new shop button, and they are not the first to extend their app with a bespoke eCommerce platform. 800 million people utilise Facebooks marketplace, congregating in one colossal, international bazaar.

Social media is bringing the call to action even closer to the content through utilising the convenience of mobile devices. Quality video marketing boasts high conversion rates making it a powerful vehicle as we move into the age of media marketplaces to seal the deal in boosting sales on these platforms.

As far as engagement is concerned, social media videos dominate the online content environment. Marketing dive shows us that 53% of consumers interact with a brand after having watched a video through social media.

That’s already a large amount of engagement, however, that number rises all the way to 66% for millennials, as video has been found to be their preferred form of media content.

While Twitter does not have a marketplace, it is a huge factor in the purchasing decisions of consumers that are interested in a company’s brand. A staggering 93% of videos watched on the platform are on mobile devices. That is a powerful hold to have on one of the largest social platforms for driving discussion and brand interaction. This makes it extremely clear that mobile content strategy needs to be taken into account to ensure a video’s success on the platform.

The Rise of Infinite Video Scrolling

We can’t talk about video content in 2021 without mentioning TikTok.

The way we consume mobile content is changing rapidly as the lines between social media and entertainment become continuously blurred. The endless streams of video content tailored through algorithms have proven to be very enticing, for both influencers and brands.

Engagement rate is the currency of social media marketing. It is a formula that measures meaningful engagement against audience figures. TikTok boasts the highest engagement rate for influencers of any other at 15.99%. So high that Instagram has created its own endless flow video content feature called “Reels”. These platforms have increased opportunities for Video marketing to become incredibly personable. We know users enjoy interacting with brands, but unique tailored video content has proven to attribute to authentic personalities that users want to connect with.

Mobile phones have revolutionised video marketing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It has provided us with a level of interactivity that just isn’t possible with other platforms. However, the quality of the content they interact with and are entertained by will determine their responses. Social media users do not want to be passive receivers of information: they want to engage more.

Written by Thom Choice

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