Vertical videos are videos that are shown in the portrait orientation, meaning that it is taller than wider.
Some years ago vertical videos were considered of bad quality, unprofessional, and user-unfriendly. However, with the rise of mobile usage and social media platforms vertical format has become widely popular.
Mobile users prefer vertical videos since they take up the entire screen, they are more visible, and do not urge visitors to turn their device horizontally.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are overpowered by vertical videos since they are mostly viewed on phones. Other platforms that are also used on desktops like YouTube or Facebook started to adopt the format as well.
In order to create perfect vertical videos, brands use these tips:
- go for 9:16 or square format
- enable subtitles because people usually view videos on social media without sound
- create a hook at the beginning since the attention span on social media is smaller
- do not leave blank spaces on the lower or upper parts
- leave interactive elements like polls or stickers if you are using Instagram, for example
