The Role of Text and Video in a Mobile-First World

In the last decade, we’ve seen the rise of a mobile-first approach and how they have changed the way we interact with the world online. With vast improvements in processing, there’s practically nothing that the desktop can do that our smartphones can’t keep up with. So not surprisingly, well over half of all the traffic on the web comes from mobile devices, and for the first time ever, we have “smartphone-only” internet consumers in the United States, who constitute about 20% of the lot.

This trend will continue to grow, with the Ericsson Mobility Report predicting a 25% spike in mobile traffic by 2025. Interestingly, a significant portion of this traffic will come from video and streaming on mobile devices.The world of B2B sales has wasted no time keeping up with the trends, as 70% of buyers have increased their usage of mobile devices in recent years.

How Mobile is Reshaping the B2B Landscape

The reality of modern-day life is that people are always tethered to their mobile devices. They check their phones multiple times an hour and dozens of times during the day, making them an extension of the screens on their work desk. Therefore, it would only make sense to create content that is optimized for mobile devices, as it is most likely to be viewed on them.

The emergence of mobile phones has revolutionized the way people buy, particularly in the B2B segment. There’s a new generation of self-reliant and tech-savvy buyers, and businesses need to keep pace with this changing landscape to stay ahead. Let’s delve deeper into the ways in which this shift is affecting the B2B environment and how you can adapt to deliver what your prospects are seeking.

1. Meeting needs of the mobile-first B2B buyer

Research by BCG found that 80% of B2B buyers use mobile phones at work, with 60% reporting that it played a key role in a recent purchase decision. The modern workforce, which is a mix of Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, is tech-savvy and multitasks across various screens on their jobs. Moreover, they are less likely to be tethered to their desks as they work from home and even stay productive on their phones while commuting. The numbers from early mobile leaders reflect the same, as they are able to generate higher engagement levels in terms of search queries, traffic, lead generation, and conversion.

2. Accelerating time to purchase

In their buyer journey, 80% of B2B buyers use mobile phones at various touchpoints. The same research also shows that mobile speeds up sales by accelerating the time to purchase by 20%. It does so by improving team collaboration and decision-making efficiency, particularly with complex purchases. B2B buyers who use mobile extensively while working with traditional channels take an average of 49 days to move from lead generation to purchase. Those who don’t use mobile for purchase decisions at all take an average of 84 days.

3. Capturing value

Businesses that have a mobile-first approach understand the importance of designing simplified experiences centred on smartphone users. Their mobile-friendly content has simple features such as less text, a vertical format for a better screen fit, and an emphasis on visuals such as infographics, videos, and podcasts. The resulting positive customer experience builds brand loyalty, as over 90% of buyers who have a great mobile experience say they are very likely to buy from the same vendor again, as opposed to 50% who report a poor mobile experience.

What is a Mobile-First Design?

Content is key when it comes to engaging prospective customers and piquing their interest. This is especially important given the fact that mobile devices have taken over as the primary means of browsing the internet. Research shows that website visitors only take a few seconds to decide whether they want to stay on a website or navigate away. It’s therefore imperative that your content be designed with a mobile-first approach, ensuring that it’s easily accessible and digestible for those on the go. 

Let’s show you an example of a bad and good mobile-first design (here you will see how content has to be tweaked to make it mobile-friendly).

Here are few of the points we’ve taken into consideration while deciding the best way to present the text in our mobile-first design:

1. Keep it bite-sized

Reading lengthy paragraphs on mobile devices can be a challenge, so make sure that your message is conveyed in a concise and clear manner while still retaining the essence of the subject matter. When your prospects have to endlessly scroll to read content, it’s likely that they’ll quickly become disengaged and lose interest. So whether you’re crafting a blog post or writing website copy, it’s essential to strike the right balance between brevity, substance, and style.

2. Keep the tiles short

Writing short headlines that consist of 5 or 6 words is ideal to keep it mobile-friendly. They fit well on the screen while making it easier for your prospect to grasp what the article is about. Short headlines also have the highest click-through rates.

3. Eliminate unnecessary words

Verbose content is much harder to grasp than simple, straight-to-the-point content. Using smaller words also matters, as when it comes to the real estate on the screen, it’s all about making economic tradeoffs. As long as the information conveyed is good, it’s better to use simpler words.

4. Make the CTA compelling

Mobile users looking for information are always in a hurry to skip through to find what they need and move on to the next step. This is where writing compelling CTAs and placing them strategically throughout the article or website helps. Ideally, make your CTA bold and obvious so it remains visually distinct. Missing out on the opportunity to provide a CTA within a few seconds of browsing can quickly turn out to be a missed opportunity.

See how we have used multiple CTAs within one webpage?

Role of video in mobile B2B sales

Video is the next important factor to look into while designing a mobile-first design. With video being the most consumed form of content on the internet and 90% of consumers watching videos on their mobile devices, creating crisp and personalized videos helps buyers watch them on the go. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind.

1. Keep it short and crisp

As mentioned earlier, short videos have the highest viewer rates of all. A general rule of thumb is to keep your videos shorter than 2 minutes, because after that the engagement on the video goes down like a waterslide.

2. Use a catchy thumbnail

Despite the cliché being around for so long, people do tend to judge a book by its cover. Video optimization for mobiles begins long before the video is played, and the thumbnail can make all the difference. Incorporate text and visual elements along with facial expressions that reflect the vibe of the video.

3. Optimize for audio independence

Hubspot realized that 95% of their viewers watched their videos on mute. If your video utilizes excessive voiceover to communicate the message, it will surely miss its mark. It’s essential to incorporate visual, textual, and infographic messages in your video so that even when your prospects watch it on mute, they will get the gist of it.

4. Optimize the aspect ratio, resolution and bitrate

Most prospects won’t be watching your video in full-screen mode, and they won’t be pleased with it if they have to turn the phone to let it fit the screen. Therefore, it’s essential to get the aspect ratio right, depending on your content and the platform it is being uploaded to. Some of the well-known aspect ratios and resolutions include:

• Landscape 16:9 (resolution: 600×315)
• Vertical video 9:16 (resolution: 600×750)
• Square video 1:1 (resolution: 600×600)

There’s no magic number for the bitrate of the video if you are uploading it to different platforms. It depends on a number of factors, such as audio, resolution, and frame rate. The rule of thumb is to make a manageable-sized file without losing quality.

Closing Thoughts

In a mobile-first world, text and video content are not only here to stay but will drive significant business. As indicated by numerous studies mentioned in the article, short videos are set to become the go-to content format for most B2B sales communication across various touch points. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to learn how to make compelling sales videos for your prospects at different stages of the sales cycle. To pull it off, a versatile video creation tool is needed that can create highly personalized videos at scale. Visit Hippo Video today to learn how it can be done!