Wistia's Guide to Twitter Video

With over 199 million daily active users and 500 million Tweets sent every single day, the social network known for sharing thoughts at the speed of light shows no signs of slowing down.

For brands and businesses, it’s worth noting that 75% of B2B businesses market their products or services on Twitter. We recommend joining them if you haven’t already — and we also suggest using video in your Twitter platform strategy. As with Facebook and Instagram, video is one of the surest ways to market your product and communicate your messages on Twitter.

So, what makes Twitter so great for sharing videos? We’ll explain everything in this complete guide. Read on to learn where to place your Twitter videos, the best types of videos your business can make, Twitter video tools, and much more!

Why Twitter is great for video content

There are a few reasons why brands and businesses aren’t slowing down on creating video content to post on Twitter.

The algorithm loves video

Twitter has shared that rich media, which includes video, images, GIFs, and polls, factors into the platform’s ranking signals for Top Tweets and Topics. The algorithm recognizes video as one type of media that users engage with most often.

Video gets more reach and engagement

The platform also saw that video is the most shared media type. In fact, Tweets with videos are six times more likely to be Retweeted than Tweets with photos and three times more likely to be Retweeted than Tweets with GIFs.

Video stands out in the timeline

At the end of 2019, Twitter recorded a 95% increase in daily video views on the platform over an 18-month period. From 2019 to 2020, it also saw a 72% year-over-year increase in watch time. Brands and businesses know that videos are both eye-catching and scroll-stopping on the Twitter timeline.

Twitter video placement

Let’s take a look at the current available options for where you can share videos on Twitter.

Organic timeline videos

Twitter timeline videos are the most common video placement on the platform. They’re available on both mobile and desktop. Timeline videos are posted to a brand’s profile and show up organically in the main timeline as people scroll. Depending on the engagement, they might also appear in Top Tweets when users search for your brand or keywords, hashtags, and phrases mentioned in your Tweet.

When it comes to creating video content to share on Twitter, it’s super important to make the first three seconds count. Twitter suggests showing branding in the first few moments of your video to grab attention quickly.

Check out this video from Asana, the project management solution, that showcases their new releases in less than a minute!

TECHNICAL SPECS

• File Type: MP4, MOV or GIF
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (landscape or portrait); 1:1 (square)
• Video Settings: H.264 baseline, main, or high profile compression, recommended frame rates 30 FPS and 60FPS, AAC LC (low complexity) audio compression at 128 kbps
• Resolution: 1280x720 (landscape); 720x1280 (portrait); 720x720 (square)
• Video Captions: Optional, but recommended
• Video Sound: Optional, but recommended
• Video Duration: between 0.5 seconds and 140 seconds
• File Size: under 1GB recommended
• Minimum Width: 1200 pixels
• Minimum Height: 1200 pixels; Any height is acceptable, but if the height exceeds the width it’ll be cropped to 1:1 in the feed

Read more on Twitter’s video requirements.

Twitter Video Ads

If your business is willing to put some spend behind a Twitter video strategy, video ads can help you showcase your product or service to more folks on the platform. Promoted video ads can encourage people to engage with your message and drive folks to your brand’s website.

You have three variations of video ads from which you can choose:

• Standalone video ads — it’s important to note there’s a 280-character limit on Tweet copy. Additionally, the title length is limited to 70 characters.
• Conversational ads include Call to Action (CTA) buttons with customizable hashtags that make it easy for consumers to engage with your brand’s message.
• Polls can also be added to promoted videos, which is another great way to interact with your audience and understand people’s opinions on topics related to your brand.

Read more about Twitter promoted video ads.

Twitter Live

Like Instagram and Facebook, it’s also possible to go live from Twitter.

Twitter Live can be used by brands and businesses to drive conversations and real-time interactions with new and existing audiences. Use Twitter Live to capture the launch of a product or expand the viewership of an exciting conference.

See Twitter’s example below:

TECHNICAL SPECS

• Video Settings: H.264/AVC
• Frame rate: frame rate 30 FPS (recommended); 60FPS (maximum)
• Audio settings: AA-LC 128bps
• Resolution: 1280x720 (recommended); 1920x1080 (maximum)

Supported encoders and services:

• Restream
• Golightstream
• Socialive
• OBS
• Wirecast
• Teradek
• Elemental
• Vmix
• StreamYard
• Streamlabs

Read more on Twitter Live.

Tips for great Twitter video content

First and foremost, when it comes to creating video content to share on Twitter, it’s super important to make the first three seconds count. Twitter suggests showing branding in the first few moments of your video to grab attention quickly.

Here are more insights and best practices for creating engaging video content on the platform:

Keep it short

Although you can post videos up to two minutes and 20 seconds, research shows that short video ad campaigns around 15 seconds are the most successful. Keeping video length at or under 15 seconds maximizes brand impact. Additionally, shorter videos have a 13% higher purchase intent.

The same mindset of keeping things concise should also be applied to your Tweet copy. Overall breakthrough is 5% higher for videos with short and sweet copy, so aim for under 100 characters.

Key elements to feature

When it comes to the creative aspects of your video, Twitter found that prominently featuring your brand, showing your product, and highlighting human connection makes for a successful video.

Clearly positioning your logo in your video can result in a 30% increase in unaided brand recall. Twitter recommends permanently placing your logo in the upper-left or upper-right corner of the frame. Twitter also found a 25% increase in aided brand recall and a 21% increase in message recall when your brand is displayed for more than half the video.

Opening your video with your product can increase interest by 24% and boost click intent by 34%. Be sure to let people know right away what your video is about by centering your product or service.

Lastly, when your video shows positive human interactions and other people positively engaging with or wanting to buy your product, there’s a 40% increase in overall response.

Make your visuals pop, and use captions

Unlike platforms like Instagram where your videos stick around for a long time, Twitter is feed-based and, as a result, content is lost in the timeline after a short amount of time. To create attention-grabbing videos, convey your messages immediately, keep accompanying copy brief, and remember the three key elements above that you should be creating your videos around.

You should also make sure your videos work with sound off to be accessible and capture on-the-go mobile viewers. Videos with captions and visual cues were shown to drive a 28% longer view time. Again, short and sweet wins the race: The completion rate for videos that use captions and visual cues is three times higher for 15-second videos versus 30-second videos.

Use hashtags

Modern-day hashtags actually originated on Twitter. Brands can use them to increase discoverability and start conversations around specific topics.

Finding the right brand or product hashtag to post with your video can lead to a 17% higher unaided brand recall. Think of hashtags almost like search keywords — too broad, and you’ll get lost in the shuffle; too specific, and people won’t find you.

When choosing a hashtag for your marketing strategy, you should create one that drives your message and supports your brand.

Best types of videos for Twitter

Now that we know more about why businesses should be posting video content on Twitter, where to place videos, and how to create compelling videos, let’s move on to the types of video content that work best for B2B brands.

We can think of four kinds that’ll help you get your creative wheels turning — we’ll even show you some examples!

Trailers and teasers

Is your B2B brand invested in creating content to grow your audience? Creating a teaser trailer is a great way to drum up hype for your branded content on the platform. Whether you want to draw people to your video, audio, or written content, video snippets can be a more engaging way to grab people’s attention and get them excited.

HelpScout, the customer service and education software company, used video to tease their latest publication, which features articles, audio interviews, videos, and much more!

Product launch or updates

As we mentioned, presenting your product early in your videos has proven to be more interesting and engaging. It stands to reason, then, that you’d definitely want to use video to present something new or highlight a product update.

Take Slack’s approach, for example. The popular business communication platform demonstrates their product interface using a super-sleek GIF. Through video, they clearly highlight how you can use their Workflow Builder feature to streamline daily stand-up meetings.

Behind-the-scenes

Want to give folks a peek behind the curtains of your brand? Behind-the-scenes footage is perfect because it doesn’t need to be polished or overly edited. Let your authenticity shine through!

Do you have a special guest on your show? This type of content can also easily be included in promotion kits for your guests to cross-promote to their own Twitter audience and make their followers feel like they’re getting an exclusive look at something.

At Wistia, we shot behind-the-scenes footage right from a mobile phone before going live for a webinar all about our Channels product. Capturing this kind of footage can show your audience more about the people behind your brand.

Quirky or trendy content

Lastly, don’t be afraid to include quirky or trendy content in your Twitter video strategy. After all, the concept of “trending topics” was basically born on Twitter. Pay attention to what’s climbing the Twitter charts and find places where it makes sense for your brand to enter conversations.

Shopify, the e-commerce platform, re-posted their silly TikTok to Twitter, in which they pretended to be the famous pop star Ariana Grande. The video portrayed “Ariana Grande” starting a business. Shopify found a unique opportunity to tie pop culture and their product together in order to make timely, entertaining content for their audience of business owners.

Twitter video tools

We know you’ve learned a lot about Twitter video content so far. Before we wrap things up, here are a few of our favorite tools for getting started with a Twitter video strategy and creating more engaging videos.

Mobile phone

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Your mobile phone is a powerful production tool. The love for super authentic, unfiltered content makes Twitter a great place for low lift videos created on the fly from your phone.

InShot

If you do want to do some light editing, we love InShot, the free video editing app designed for social media videos. It includes helpful editing features like video trimming, clip merging, and speed adjustment. It even comes with preset filters and effects to add a distinct feel to your Twitter videos.

Giphy

One last thing — while video is the priority, don’t forget about GIFs entirely. They’re still super popular on Twitter! Using a tool like Giphy can be a great way to turn the best parts of your longer-form content into engaging rich media. Giphy allows you to easily upload your video and turn it into an animated, scroll-stopping GIF.

Take your social strategy to the next level with Twitter video

Stand out on Twitter and start engaging more with your audience by adding video to your strategy. By understanding Twitter’s video placements, options, and requirements — as well as the strategy behind what you’re doing and how to create mesmerizing content — you’re on your way to creating videos that showcase your brand’s product or services in a Retweetable, Like-able, and engaging way.