Ever since the first spellbound audience gazed at moving pictures coming to life, we have been captivated by the power of video. Combining images and sound grabs our attention and touches our hearts in a unique way, as can be seen by the open mouthed toddler unable to tear himself away from the television or the thousands who flock to theaters and cinemas for an opening night show.
With this worldwide fascination showing no signs of waning it’s no surprise that people are turning to video to tell their story and communicate with others on a personal level.
While tweeting photos on Twitter or posting pictures on Instagram seemed to give us instant engagement with people and causes, video is taking that communication to an even higher level, helping us identify with their creativity, dreams and aspirations.
Twitter’s announcement on June 21 that users will now be able to tweet 140 seconds of video is an incredible leap forward. More than doubling the video time for posts on instagram, Twitter is clearly responding to user demand.
According to Jeremy Rishel, Twitter’s head of product development for creators “Video tweets on Twitter have increased by over 50 percent since the beginning of 2016.”
This growing popularity is a huge opportunity. In the past tweets were limited to 140 characters of text – giving you limited marketing opportunities – but 140 seconds of video has the potential to be so much more.
In under 140 seconds, a powerful message can be delivered through a well crafted animated video. Using a current video from your website is no problem either as the average explanatory video tends to be less than 120 seconds long. Videos can be imported from your iphone or ipad simply by tapping the tweet icon.
Never before has it been easier to share your own professionally presented ideas with friends, family and colleagues.
We’ve come a long way from the flickering, soundless black and white images that intrigued us a hundred years ago. As this new avenue of social media unfolds it will be fascinating to see how the public take advantage of having the power of video at their fingertips.
Now the question remains: When you tweet, how will you use YOUR 140?
