Today, many publishers are faced with the challenge of engaging their audiences. The problem is that consumers have become increasingly mobile-first and socially connected, which means a print magazine, newspaper, or book just won’t cut it.

Consumers want video. 85 percent of all U.S. internet users watch online video content monthly across all their devices. And the demand for great video content is only continuing to grow. Already, video is the consumers’ favorite type of content on social media with over half a billion people watching video on Facebook every day.

There’s no doubt that video is where it’s at, particularly when it comes to a mobile-first audience. According to eMarketer, more than 75% of worldwide video viewing happens on mobile. So, even if you’re a traditional analog publisher, video content is what you need.

Video Is the Key to Engaging Today’s Viewers

Video content is engaging. In fact, over half (53%) of consumers report engaging with a brand after viewing one of their videos on social media. And that engagement comes in many forms.

• On your website, videos encourage the average user to stick around 88% longer.
• Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year.
• Viewers are 95% more likely to remember a call to action after watching a video. In comparison, only 10% remember a CTA when reading.

Consumers don’t just enjoy watching videos, they enjoy engaging with videos and the publishers that produce them. But you have to produce the right type of videos.

3 Things Every Mobile-First Video Needs

Video is a fantastic tool for hooking your audience and getting them to consume your most valuable content. The key is making videos that your audience wants to see. To do that, you need to follow three simple rules.

1. Videos Should Be Easy to Consume

Unlike a long paragraph of text or multi-page article or blog, video is easily consumable. It should be concise, capture viewers’ interest in the first few seconds, and condense key information down into digestible snippets.

The key is not to repeat an article word for word in video format. Instead, you should create short videos that are long enough to maintain your attention but short enough to leave them wanting more. 56 percent of all videos published in the last year are under two minutes in length, and many are even shorter depending on the platform. According to HubSpot, the best video length for each platform is:

• Instagram: 30 seconds
• Twitter: 45 seconds
• Facebook: 1 minute
• YouTube: 2 minutes

2. Video Should Be Easily and Quickly Produced

A lack of resources is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to video production for most publishers. Few marketing teams have the time, expertise, and money needed to create high-quality video content (at least that’s what they think).

However, it’s possible for publishers to scale up video production without overburdening their budget or team. It’s all about using what you already have, empowering your staff, and focusing on creating sharable videos. The reality is that the more quickly and easily you can create video content, the more videos you’ll create.

3. Videos Should Be Easily Shareable

Creating videos that are favored by social networks can help you reach a global and cross-channel audience. In fact, when marketers were asked what type of content gets the best return on investment when it comes to social media, video was the top response. That’s because social video generates 12 times more shares than text and images combined.

So, what exactly does sharable social video look like?

• It should make the most of trending topics.
• It should be filmed and shared vertically or as a square on social media.
• It should include unique messaging that grabs your audience’s attention.
• It should be short, concise, and compelling.
• It should be optimized for mobile.
• It should be watchable without sound.

A Content Calendar for Your Video Content

Publishers also need a content calendar to organize all types of content across different categories. Think of it just like a typical editorial calendar, one that helps you plan out what content you’ll need to publish, how you’ll publish it, and where it will be published.

A video content calendar will ensure that your videos fit within your company strategy, stay on target, and are varied enough to keep your audience reading, watching, and sharing. The calendar should also help you determine how best to repurpose and rework your top video content to get more and more views and engagement.

Why You Need a Video Production Platform

To easily achieve this, consider working with a video production platform for publishers that offers:

• Access to a huge library of multimedia from video clips to images, music, and other licensed assets.
• An intuitive video editor platform that facilitates engagement across the main social media networks and devices.
• Professionally crafted storyboard templates for quick and easy video production for your publishing brand.

The platform should help you create go-to video formats by taking a formatted approach to videos. This allows video production to be easily scaled without detracting from quality or overtaxing your creatives.