Mobile Video: Reinventing Storytelling in the Mobile Age
What device did you use to make your last phone call, take your most recent picture, or listen to your favorite song? Chances are your answer to all three questions is your smartphone. The mobile phone, dubbed ‘mobile device,’ combines all our tech gadgets. It is changing the way people interact, consume content and even do business.
Mobile has transformed our world and evolves at rocket pace
We bring our phones everywhere because they have become indispensable to our daily lives. A recent report by Informate Mobile Intelligence shows that Americans spend on average 4.7 hours per day on their mobile phones. We use our phones to order taxis and meals in real-time, shop for clothes, catch up on news, navigate and socialize. That’s not to say that phones are no longer being used for communicating, but the form of communication is changing: text messaging, video calling and snap-chatting are just some of the ways people prefer to interact with their friends or family.
If you look at mobile phones from a decade ago, you’ll notice one striking difference from the one you own today: the screen. While the trend of mobile phones was to get smaller and smaller, each time Apple releases a new iPhone, the screen size of the phone has gotten bigger. That’s because larger, higher-resolution touch-screens on mobile devices have intrinsically caused consumer viewing habits to change. They provide an optimal web viewing experience, influencing where people consume content, and how they consume it. People are reaching more and more for their mobile phones over any other device because phones are accessible to people at all times and allow users to absorb information better and faster.
“Face-timing” and video calls are being favored over traditional phone calls, while “stories” have grown more popular than text-based posts and images on many social media platforms. Why? Because today’s mobile users want interactive and exciting content: they want to be entertained. Video prioritizes user experience, and companies that create immersive content are understanding how to appeal to and grab the attention of today’s digital and on-the-go consumers.
As a result, mobile video is the new gold rush
Mobile has not only improved many areas of life, but it has transformed the way companies do business. Because their audiences are on mobile, brands need to be there too. Companies in all industries, from retail and finance to healthcare, that have capitalized on the opportunity presented by mobile are able to interact and engage with consumers via their mobile websites and social media platforms. Most social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have incorporated video options because people want to view and consume content, from world news and sports to entertainment, visually. Simply optimizing your website for the mobile user is not enough. Today, companies need to understand that what is fueling this mobile revolution is video.
Video content is dominating mobile, and its consumption is growing exponentially
According to a Cisco study, video accounts for 50% of mobile traffic today, but by 2020, this number is expected to grow to 75%. Mobile video is providing a gateway for media-producing publishers and advertisers. If brands want to stay relevant in today’s digital age, they need to think more like publishers and give their audience what they want: emotional, engaging and quality content. After all, if storytelling is the core of their activities, what better medium can integrate audio, visual and interactive content to deliver a compelling story?
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a mobile video is worth a thousand conversations. Of course, seeing is believing, so click on our infographic video to experience the magic of mobile video for yourself.
