Dive Brief:
- After initial testing, Facebook has officially started supporting vertical video in its mobile news feed, according to reports.
- “We know that people enjoy more immersive experiences on Facebook, so we’re starting to display a larger portion of each vertical video in News Feed on mobile,” a Facebook spokesperson told Marketing Land.
- Facebook research found that users were watching vertical video with the sound on for longer periods of time on mobile devices than the corresponding horizontal version of the video. Facebook first began offering the option for vertical video a year ago.
Dive Insight:
Taking another page from the Snapchat playbook, Facebook is bringing more vertical video to mobile. While Facebook-owned Instagram has its classic square video format, Snapchat became known for vertical video that autoplays with the sound on. There has been much debate over the best social video format, especially for mobile, and whether videos should autoplay with the sound on or off. Now, Facebook says it has learned its mobile users want to watch vertical video with the sound on — and is bringing more of the format to its mobile news feed.
Mobile and video have become major focuses for Facebook: The platform has launched live video streaming this year, updated its algorithm to better emphasize video, and now receives 85% of its ad revenue from mobile. Facebook has been trying to figure out the preferred video format for users and how brands want to engage with audiences on its mobile app, and it looks like vertical video that autoplays with the sound on has won out.
For marketers, the challenge lies in creating video content for different social media outlets and formats, including Facebook’s desktop platform, the Facebook app, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter. Facebook's move will make it easier for marketers to repurpose any vertical mobile videos that are intended to be viewed with the sound on.
