Video is usually a big deal in social media sites and these companies know that it leads to higher engagement on the platform which is a plus for them. That is why they continuously upgrade their video platforms for people to use them more and more.
Twitter introduced its video platform rather late and it allows people to upload 30 second long videos (albeit a section of users can upload longer videos). Today the company has decided to make a change on their video platform and it affects also one of their subsidiaries: Vine.
From today, you will be able to upload longer videos on Twitter where the cap has been raised from 30 seconds to 140 seconds, which funny enough mimics the 140 character rule Twitter is popular known for. However for some select publishers, they will be able to post videos that are up to 10 minutes long using specialized tools Twitter will offer to them.
The company also decided to give the same treatment to Vine, which is famously known for its 6 second looping videos. Now you might be seeing longer looping videos on the site since they have upped the limit too from 6 seconds to 140 seconds. However, this will be effected to a small group of creators first where they could be able to post Vines as long as 10 minutes! This update will be rolled out to the iOS, Android, twitter.com, Mac and Windows as well.
The big news is that Twitter is exploring monetization opportunities for creators. “We’re investing heavily in videos and creators,” Jack Dorsey said in a statement, “we want to be the best place for creators and influencers to build an audience and make it easier for creators to make money on Twitter, and soon Vine.” In addition, Twitter also introduced Twitter Engage which will give influential creators connect better with their fans by giving them insights about their content. They will be able to see data like the number of retweets, likes, mentions, impressions in a colourful layout which is described here.
The other significant update Twitter announced today is in viewing of videos on the site. When you tap on a Vine or a video on Twitter, you will be ushered with a new full screen interface where you will see other suggested video below. This is reminiscent of what Facebook did with their Live platform and will make people watch more videos on Twitter.
This new update is a huge win for content creators and especially the popular ones. We have seen really great videos being uploaded by people on Twitter and the fact that they will get a share of the revenue cut might persuade them to keep their content on the network. Twitter revealed that video tweets have increased by over 50% since the beginning of this year and we are glad the company is now taking video seriously.
