Most messaging apps have become all-in-one solutions, offering video calls, image sharing and even gaming, with the notable exception of Snapchat. Now the ephemeral messaging platform is widening its functionality, adding text chat with the ability to have a FaceTime-like video call if both users are online. These, of course, will be destroyed upon leaving the chat unless you use a save for later functionality on select messages. The addition of these features will likely boost engagement but will Snapchat lose some differentiation? Video calls are not saved by default on most services and text typically does not carry the same privacy concerns as images.
Tag: video
Facebook: Soon With Commercials?
Facebook is ready to bring auto-playing videos to your mobile news feed in a bid to make videos a more attractive option for users. Videos will auto play without sound while in the context of the feed, but a simple tap will expand the video to full screen and unmute the audio. This a proposed solution to the problem that Facebook’s video platform is ineffective from the mobile creation environment all the way to playback, and could bring far more videos to your news feed in the near future. If that happens, that could also mean video ads blending into the news feed in the same way. Video ads are a potentially lucrative source of revenue for Facebook, with estimates placing the cost of distributing a 15 second video for one day on the platform between $1 million and $2.4 million.
In Favor Of YouTube Comments
Users have spoken in outrage (as they do with any major change to a a major platform) over YouTube’s recent changes to comments. Main changes include Google+ integration, improved moderation tools and the ability to post publicly or privately. Despite the complaints of some 90,000 who are petitioning, Memeburn makes a convincing argument on the why this is an improvement for YouTube. Among their most salient points are the fact that tying your comments to an identity promotes meaningful discussion–a far cry from the current state–and curation as the video owner and those in your circles are more visible. Brands should be in favor of this change (aside from the improved audience data) as YouTube has moved to become a more premium network a brand would like to associate with. While comments will likely drop as a result of this change, they will be more impactful. In the same way marketers have grown weary of the value of a like, they should adopt the same approach to comments or engagements.
Pew Online Video Study: 78% Of Adults Watch Online Videos
Pew Internet released a study today whose main conclusion was that 78% of adult internet users watch or download videos, which is up from 69% in 2009. This figure includes adults who watch videos on a video-sharing site, watch videos online at all, or adults who download video files onto a computer to watch later. Certainly, online adults under the age of 50, as well as non-adults under that age do lead the charge in online video consumption. It’s nonetheless important for marketers to note key distinctions about these age groups: younger users are drawn to music, comedy, and animated videos, while adult men are more likely to be found watching political, sports, and educational (or how-to) videos. Another interesting demographic conclusion: the higher the household income, the more video watching occurs; at $75,000+, 70% of adults watch online videos, while at $30,000-$74,999, only 54% watch.
While these results aren’t intrinsically groundbreaking, they’re important to study, particularly for digital marketers who are looking to target specific age groups with pitches and campaigns. Ultimately, it seems as though comedic videos are the most universally accepted across gender, age, and income brackets, while more niche categories should be used to target specific age brackets and audiences. For the full details, click through to the report.
Lowes’ Life Hacks On Vine
For a great example of a brand using Vine, take a look at Lowes. The hardware company has been posting “life hacks” or six second instructionals to improve your home. Examples include drilling holes in your trash can to prevent trash bags from getting stuck among others. Unlike some brands which will port over existing content to Vine or Instagram Video, Lowes understands that distinct channels demand original content tailored to the medium.
YouTube Co-Founders Launch Video App
There’s a third hat in the video app ring: YouTube cofounders Chat Hurley and Steve Chen announced MixBit, an iPhone app that lets you record, edit, share, and mix video clips from other users to create your own movies. The videos are designed to be recorded and viewed horizontally, and it operates just like Vine and Instagram – tap-to-record and release to finish. Clips can be as long as 16 seconds, and finished can include as many as 256 clips in a single video, meaning that videos can last more than an hour. There are no filters, but you can rearrange, cut, and further edit clips before publishing. With the flexibility to post videos that are far more long-form than either Vine or Instagram allow, MixBit could be a potent new video capturing and editing app – and with YouTube’s powerful backing, it’s not too far fetched to guess that it will be an important third party in the Instagram and Vine-dominated world.
5by is Songza For Video, With Ads
If you’re like most people, you need a break during the workday. If you’re like a lot of people, that break is spent watching videos on YouTube. Startup 5by hopes to improve that behavior by providing highly curated content for your video binges, much like Sonza does for music. Over 100,000 videos have been curated by 5by’s small team so far, and third-party content partners are being added to curate videos as well, targeting users to receive videos mixed with native ads. The company is already in talks with two major television manufacturers about incorporating the service in the next generation of smart TVs, so they might be onto something. The incorporation of native advertisements with the videos could also bring a fresh look at how to smoothly integrate ads into a difficult to monetize context.
Upcoming Film, Jobs Releases Trailer On Instagram Video
Jobs, the upcoming film on the life of the Apple pioneer has turned to Instagram Video to promote the movie which drops August 16th. The 15 second format was a perfect fit for movie trailers and also allows for easy viewing on Twitter. We’ve seen brands like Starbucks gain several hundred thousand followers on the platform and now the new feature will allow them to reach their audience with video. We’ll see if brands produce original video for the platform or simply use it as another distribution channel.
Instagram To Launch Videos June 20
Beginning June 20, Instagram will be launching video service, allowing users create and share 5-10 second videos. The announcement comes on the heels of recent news that Vine has surpassed Instagram for Twitter sharing. While Vine has taken off, Facebook’s Instagram does have the advantage of their existing 100 million user base who will not have to install a new app to begin creating videos. Twitter and Facebook have not played nice with integration of their subsidiaries so do not expect inline views of these videos on Twitter.
YouTube Launches Paid Subscription Channels
YouTube has made their entry into the paid space, launching 50 paid subscription channels offering premium content. We will be monitoring the pilot program to see if users are willing to pay for yet another subscription amidst competition from Netflix, Hulu and countless others. YouTube promises to open their paid model to qualified partners in a self-service feature as well. Our guess is that these channels will tap into niche audiences without generating significant reach.
