For several years, YouTube dominated the social media video space. But as other social media platforms continued to grow in popularity, it was only a matter of time before video content found its way to every platform.

Twitter made multiple attempts to capitalize on social media video including Vine and Periscope. Vine allowed users to create short-form video content that could be easily shared. And while it was quite popular for a time, it was soon overshadowed by Instagram’s addition of 15-second video content.

Periscope, on the other hand, allows users to create live video broadcasts. The catch? The videos disappear after 24 hours—this feature was later adopted by both SnapChat and Instagram Story.

Facebook jumped on the video scene by allowing users to upload videos to their profiles and pages. As demand for video content grew, Facebook introduced Facebook Live to leverage the power of real-time video marketing.

Why the emphasis on social video?

Studies have shown that the human brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than it does text. According to Statista, approximately 77% of the US population is on social media—that equates to more than 250 million people. With numbers like that, why wouldn’t companies focus on social media video?

Plus, all the statistics from the last few years show that video is the most engaging form of social media marketing content. No wonder Facebook and Instagram, the first and third most popular social networks respectively, are trying to make video a bigger component of their platforms.

Facebook rolled out Watch in August 2017. Currently Facebook Watch programs are created by a small group of Facebook partners. Although content creation isn’t open to everyone, Watch provides a new advertising opportunity for businesses.

And then there’s Instagram. Over the last couple years, Instagram has moved from 15 second videos to 30 seconds to one minute. Now, it’s taking on video giants such as YouTube and even its big brother, Facebook, with IGTV.

IGTV allows Instagram users to create vertical videos up to one hour long. This is huge for many marketers because it allows businesses to get in front of one of the most desirable demographics: 25 and under.

Whether short-form or long-form, the Bottle Rocket Media team is here to help you with your video production needs. Let’s chat and discuss how we can help you capitalize on this growing video segment. And be sure to follow us on social media to join the conversation: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.