Dive Brief:
- On Tuesday, Twitter announced a new feature that will allow users to upload videos natively to the social site. It is expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
- The move is seen as not only a move to keep up with the ever-growing Facebook and Instagram, but as an industry-wide trend of using videos to generate greater audience engagement.
- The videos are reported to be 30 seconds in length, longer than Instagram's 15-second rule for videos. The site is also rolling out private group chats, another move likely keeping up with the quickly growing market of private messaging over social networks.
Check out my Twitter video #Oscar exclusive! I gots me a scoop! pic.twitter.com/SGQ3oJHDqZ
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) January 27, 2015
Dive Insight:
Twitter isn't exactly in trouble, but there have been warning signs. The first occurred last fall when it was reported that growth was stagnating. Then, just last month, Instagram announced it hit 300 million active monthly users—officially outpacing Twitter. And this weekend, the site also sent out an email to its top users asking them to stop posting Instagram links, a move that looked a little desperate. By letting users add videos up to 30 seconds in length gives it an advantage that Instagram doesn't have, and could potentially open up new marketing avenues for the site. Instagram only allows for 15 second videos, and Facebook's videos can be minutes long, so perhaps a 20-30 allowance for time could be a sweet spot for advertisers.
