Flipping it 90° – We Went Vertical!

Hey all! Savannah here with the latest and greatest Jpixx insight! We’ve flipped videos by 90°!

As we shift through time, we see a rapid change in the way media is presented. Photos expected to be squares, there’s a livestream for any event, captions on everything, and, oh… videos are vertical now? To fit the frame of that small device we take everywhere with us, we shift the way we format our videos.

There is no denying that the social media industry has come a long way since the 2010 era of YouTube and Vimeo when both platforms were only 5 and 6 years old. At that time there was a heavy influence of horizontal video because, for decades, that was how you viewed not only media on television, but also naturally. The human eye sees landscape orientation. So, in 2010 the majority of influencers came out against vertical videos. No one thought it was a good idea to flip a DSLR to the side when filming. However, it’s known and natural to hold a smartphone vertically. 

In 2011, Snapchat waltzed in and completely changed the game. By sending short clips of talking heads, day-to-day activities, concerts, and events on a platform that did not support horizontal video, vertical video relished in its ability to fill a phone screen. And it wasn’t going anywhere. 

Snapchat’s success drove Facebook and Instagram Stories to fruition. Content that only existed for 24 hours became something that encouraged people to constantly check what their friends and family were up to. As the ratio of social media consumption rose in the direction of the smartphone and less on television and computer, so did the acceptance of viewing videos vertically.

A vertical video on Instagram is 187% more likely to have an engagement for over 50% of the total playtime of the videos. So we are left to shift our gears to make sure that our clients are getting the most engaging content for their demographic. Access College Foundation connects Hampton Roads students with scholarships, and over the summer, we met these high school students at their level by presenting this event virtually via Instagram Stories. Students submitted their own videos showing off their new college gear, and we helped Access create content to be shown in a way that they never have for this event–vertically. When we proposed displaying this event vertically, Access was a bit apprehensive to make the switch from the traditional horizontal format, and one that integrated lots of IG Story features. But we worked to meet Access in the middle with how it would work and why it would be effective. We were in touch with the students and donors weeks ahead of the event to gather content, and the entire “run of show” was planned out on the back end. In the end, we engaged students in the event where they were the ones being celebrated. Prior to the event, Access acquired 200+ followers by promoting the event itself. It also allowed for more open interaction between Access and its audience of 500+ who were in attendance for the Instagram event! Now that’s something to walk for!

Out of all the media Facebook allows in a post, video content counts for 59% more engagement than any other medium. In a recent study conducted by Buffer, they found that Facebook and Instagram now favor vertical advertisements over landscape and still, and for good reason. The phone screen is not created to comfortably hold horizontally, and a smaller video that doesn’t fill a screen tends to get overlooked and swiped by. Vertical video just… looks nice on a vertical screen. When the Roc Solid Foundation came to us to edit a video, fit for social media, that would market their On Demand program, we wanted to make sure that they would get the best looking video. As the provided clips were mostly vertical, we pushed for a vertical advertisement, and with a solid first cut, the first Jpixx vertical ad edit was born! As Facebook now offers vertical videos cheaper to promote than horizontal videos, they are able expand the reach of the content even further and gain from potential donations from across the nation.

Click on this photo to view video!

There’s no other way to put it; it’s time to go vertical.