Mobile video best practices

Mobile video is a great resource to have as part of your mobile marketing mix. It is engaging and fun for viewers, can create a hype around your brand, and tends to be memorable. Of course, when using mobile video for your mobile marketing campaign, you want to make sure you follow the mobile video best practices. The following are five of the mobile video best practices that should always be considered when creating mobile video for your marketing campaign:

1. Make sure the aspect ratio for the video is correct. It is going to differ from the web, and may even vary across mobile devices. If you want the video to work well and look good on the mobile devices, adjust the aspect ratio accordingly. Check with the service provider to get the proper aspect ratio for your video. You want the picture to be clear.
2. Consider the screen the video will be viewed on. Videos with text, that are dark, have fast moving objects, etc. will not work well or look good on a mobile device. Create a video that will be clear to the viewer, easy to understand and watch on a small screen, and is not too fast, dark, or intricate to gain and retain attention on a small hand held mobile device.
3. Consider what happens after the consumer views the video. In other words, post-viewing experience should be part of the concern when developing a mobile video plan. Will the video direct them, include a call to action? Will you have a link to your mobile site? Will there be any sort of follow up?
4. Keep video ads short. Catch attention fast using small bits of content, and make it interesting. Mobile devices do not load as quickly or buffer as well, which means that if you want an image to look great, and load well, keep it short. No one is going to wait around for an ad to buffer, so if you want the consumer to se it, you have to make sure it loads quickly.
5. Create new benchmarks for the mobile videos. You do not want to use your online benchmarks as the user experience will be different. Certain publishers or networks will have benchmarks for various verticals. It is important to keep this in mind as it will improve the overall user experience.

These are just some of the mobile video best practices to keep in mind. Of course, when creating mobile video you want to consider your target market and what would appeal to them. You want to make sure you are clearly showing value and positioning your brand well. You also want to make sure that your consumer knows that you are talking to them. They should feel understood, and important. If you can accomplish these things with your mobile video, you will have success.