Vertical vs. Horizontal Video: Which is Better?
When determining whether your video should be shot horizontally (landscape) or vertically (portrait), there are two factors to consider: where the video is going and what its goal is.
Let’s get into it:
Website
If the video is going on your website, we recommend that you have a horizontal video. When you embed it from a platform like Vimeo or YouTube, it will look better than a vertical video.
Also, if the goal is for the video to have a long shelf, you should have it on YouTube and those look best shot horizontally.
Social Media
Here is where it gets a little tricky. Both styles of video, horizontal and vertical, can look great on social media, depending on the content/type of post.
What we recommend for vertical video:
- Reels (Facebook and Instagram)
- Short Form Video (YouTube shorts, TikTok, LinkedIn)
- Stories (Facebook and Instagram)
- If the content does not need a long shelf
What we recommend for horizontal video:
- Promotional Video (Facebook and LinkedIn)
- Testimonial Video: (Facebook and LinkedIn)
- If the content needs a long shelf life
Since most of our clients need a variety of videos for their marketing strategy, we can provide both horizontal and vertical video assets so they are covered for their website (long-form content) and social media (short-form content).
What type of content does your company use most of the time?
When To Shoot a New Brand Video
One of the first questions we ask potential clients on a discovery call is “Why are you interested in a professional video?”. A common answer lately has been, “We are updating our website and our web developer asked us if we had any video content for the home page?”.
This huge event typically triggers the need for a new video. Here are the other main events that may mean it’s time to shoot a new brand video:
New Website/Rebrand
We just mentioned this above. When your company updates its website or goes through a rebrand, you may need a new video.
If your old video is outdated, it won’t look consistent with a new website. Also, if you change your logo, your old video may include old logos, etc.
Web developers that we work with highly recommend shooting a new video to add to a new website or rebrand package.
New Office
We’re scheduling a shoot for a financial services firm in Frisco that just moved to a new office. They want a new professional video to show off their company’s culture and its new digs.
Their location is a selling point to attract advisors to their firm, so it’s important to them that we highlight their office interior and the surrounding areas.
If your company moves offices, especially if it’s an upgrade, it may be time to shoot a new brand video.
New Key Team Members
Recently, we talked to a company that needed new professional videos because their CEO is stepping down and he was in most of the videos on their website.
They wanted to reshoot the videos with their new key team members so there was an accurate representation of their company. If you’ve experienced turnover with key team members, and the old ones are in your brand video, it’s time to shoot a new one.
If any of these events happen at your company, we’d love to get you a quote for an updated brand video.
Click here to schedule a call with us: Book Discovery Call
What Should We Talk About in Our Brand Video?
This is a common question on discovery calls with professional service businesses.
Here are 3 questions that we ask to determine the best content to include in your company’s brand video.
What is Important to You That You Want Your Ideal Client To Know?
When producing a video for your company, it’s our job to guide you, but ultimately you will know your business far better than us. You know what makes you different from your competitors and the services your companies offer.
During our pre-production call, we will ask you what is important for your ideal customer to know about your company, based on your years of experience. This will help us create an outline for you to go over to ensure your content aligns with your brand.
What Questions Do Your Ideal Clients Always Ask You?
Chances are if one of your clients has a question, several potential clients have the same question. Start thinking of questions that you answer day in and day out. Answering these in your brand video is a great way to build trust.
That’s exactly what we’ve done in the articles that we write. We simply address questions we get on sales calls or production meetings and build content around them.
What Are The Main Problems Your Company Solves?
The last question I ask clients is what pain points and problems their clients have that their company solves. If you work for an IT company, you may solve cybersecurity issues.
Law firms solve legal issues, but it’s best to be specific. For example, business attorneys will solve different problems than a family law attorney.
Put yourself in the place of your ideal client. What pain points do they have? What problems do they consistently come to your company to solve? This is the content you should discuss in your brand video.
Your Next Step
Are you ready to take your company’s branding to the next level? Click here to schedule a call to discuss your brand video project: book a call
How To Maximize The ROI of a Video
Today, let’s get into how to maximize the return on investment on a video. So when we shoot a video for a client, we don’t just want to produce an incredible video, we want it to perform well and make you money. So I want to give a few tips to ensure it does just that.
Put it on Your Website
You want to be sure to put this video somewhere on your company’s website. Now, depending on the type of video it is, is where you’re going to put it.
For a brand video:
If it’s a brand video, that corporate video that shows off your team and services, you probably want to have that somewhere on the home screen. Depending on the layout, it could be above the fold, below the fold, but somewhere on that home screen to where when someone’s browsing your website, then they watch that video, it usually does a lot of the trust building and selling for you.
For a recruiting video:
Now, if you have a recruiting-style video where you’re more going into depth on your team, you may have that on the About Us section of your website.
For a services video:
And if it’s a video on a specific service, you want to have that on your services page under that particular service.
Social Media Channels
In addition to posting videos on social media, you want to ensure your videos are uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo.
The reason is, that someone can find that content years down the road, and your company can be making money long after the video is shot. That’s important to us because we don’t want you investing money with us to just produce a killer video. We want you to get a strong return on your investment as well.
So hope this helps. Get recording. And remember at 12 Media Group, we put your brand in focus.
Ready to discuss a video project for your company? Click here to get started: Get a Quote
