Social networks are a great place to upload and share video content, especially if it is really engaging for the audience that you are trying to reach and Twitter is just one of the many fantastic platforms to share your video content on.
When it comes to sharing your video out on Twitter, you will more often than not have the choice of either uploading your video to YouTube first and then share the link via Twitter, or uploading it directly to Twitter itself and there are pros and cons to using each of the methods.
One benefit of using YouTube to upload your videos is that it makes it much quicker and easier to then share your video on multiple social platforms using a single video link, which is great if you use several different social networks. One of the downfalls however, is that when your video appears on someones feed on Twitter, they have to physically click on the video link to play it. If you upload directly to Twitter however, the video will start playing automatically as viewers scroll onto it. Yet a downfall of uploading to Twitter is that your video will very quickly disappear down a long list of Tweets and could become difficult to find after a short time.
You can find out how to upload videos directly to YouTube in an earlier blog of ours, but today I will be showing you how to upload video to Twitter via a web browser and the mobile app.
Uploading video to Twitter using the Twitter mobile app
The general rule of thumb when uploading video to Twitter is to keep it a short as possible, without losing the key message that you wish to portray. Similarly to sharing video on other social channels, the videos that you share don't need to be overly planned or polished. The main thing is that they are engaging to your audience.
1. Capture your video
The first and most important step is to capture the video that you want to share if you haven't done so already. Smartphones are a great tool for capturing high quality full HD video content.
2. Add video to a new Tweet
Open up your Twitter app and start a new Tweet. At the bottom of the screen you will see a little camera icon, press on this button and then locate the video that you would like to upload and add it to your tweet. Twitter will automatically shorten the video to 45 seconds long as this is the optimum length of a video for Twitter. Don’t worry if your video is more than 45 seconds long though, just drag the sliders on the screen to the left and to the right to upload the full length video. However keep in mind that if your video is too long, people will lose interest.
3. Complete and send your Tweet
Once you have added the video to your Tweet, all you need to do now is add a bit of text, hashtags and tag any other Twitter users that you feel are relevant to it and send it out for the rest of Twitter to see.
Uploading video to Twitter through the web browser on your computer
1. Capture your video
Similar to the above, the most important part is to capture the video that you want to share. The great thing about uploading a video to Twitter from your PC or laptop is that it gives you the opportunity to spend a bit of time editing and tidying up your video prior to uploading it if you feel that it is necessary. Make use of the free tools that are available such as Movie Maker for Windows based systems, or iMovie on your Mac.
2. Add video to a new Tweet
Navigate to Twitter via your web browser and start a new Tweet. At the bottom of the new Tweet box you will see a little camera symbol. Click on this and navigate to the video that you wish to upload and double click on it to add it to your Tweet. Again, what Twitter will do is automatically shorten the video to 45 seconds. Just apply the same process as on the mobile app by dragging the blue sliders at each end of the video to use the whole clip.
3. Complete and send your Tweet
Once the video has been added to the Tweet, add the relevant text, hashtags, and anything else that you feel is needed and send your Tweet. You will see a blue progress bar as your video uploads. This may take some time if your internet speed is fairly slow or if the video file is fairly large.
If you need any support with your video content requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01404 548405 or jack@cosmic.org.uk