Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past year, you’re probably aware of the growing dominance of video in social media. Whether you’re scrolling through your Facebook news feed, checking out Twitter trends, or surfing the popular page on Instagram, you’re never too far from your next favorite video clip. That’s because brands and users alike are starting to realize the true value of video content on the web. With this value comes responsibility, and social platforms have no choice but to take notice and adapt to fit this new digital phenomenon.
To keep you in the know, here are a few ways the landscape is changing:
Twitter Native Video
- At the end of 2014, Twitter announced that users will soon be able to record, edit, and share videos natively within the platform. This is huge news for video content competitors such as YouTube, Vine, and Instagram, as Twitter could become a major player in the realm of user generated video content. This addition is said to roll out sometime in the first half of 2015.
Facebook Business Pages Makeover
- Facebook announced late last year that business pages will soon have the option to change their look to a more video-focused view. The new page is said to display a large featured video at the top with a comment thread, followed by a string of videos situated into a playlist below. Sounds a lot like YouTube? That’s the point. With brand voices being hushed in users’ news feeds, this will give brands an avenue to distribute their content in a more engaging way, much in the way that YouTube uses video placement on the page to entice users to stick around.
Facebook Video Stealing The Limelight
- According to a recent report by SocialBakers, 20,000 more videos were posted to Facebook than YouTube in December. Think about that for a minute. The top video platform of the last decade just got knocked out of the top spot by another social network. That is huge news – especially for brands who need to know exactly where to get in front of their consumers and how to do it well. To put that into perspective, here’s a visual of the last year:
You can’t deny it; things are definitely changing out there for video. Perk up those ears, listen for important industry announcements, and find your own strategic way to keep your brand at the ever-changing cusp of social video.