The Best Twitter Video Format You Should Be Using

Twitter video has been booming. Not only is video Twitter’s fastest growing ad format, but there’s also about 1.2 billion video views every day on Twitter. Considering that Tweets with videos get about 10x more engagement than those without, it’s clearly to see why marketers and advertisers are prioritizing video on the platform more than ever before.

A lot of these marketers, businesses, and advertisers, however, are a little in the dark about how exactly to get the kind of results they want with Twitter video. They aren’t sure how long their videos should be, what type of file format they should be using, and even what size video dimensions to upload.

With so much potential for Twitter video, we don’t want you to leave any potential engagement, clicks, or conversions on the table. In this post, we’re going to go over everything you need to know about the best Twitter video format and technical requirements that you need to know.

What We Mean by “Video Format” And Why It Matters

All platforms that allow for video uploads allow users and creators to upload video natively through different types of video files. Many platforms– Twitter included– only support and therefore accept certain types of these files, which are often referred to as “video formats.”

The video file type does matter. First, if you create a video type that isn’t supported by Twitter, you’re not uploading that video until you convert it to another format, which can take a few extra minutes and slow you down. Second, the wrong video format in general can result in lower-quality video. This can lead to a direct decrease in user engagement and, if the quality is poor enough, could even potentially reflect negatively on your brand.

The video format matters, therefore, as does following all of Twitter’s other technical requirements and recommendations that we’ll look at a little later on.

So What Is the Best Twitter Video Format?

The best Twitter video format will hands down be the MP4 video file type. This is what Twitter recommends, and it’s supported on both desktop and mobile. As a note, you can also upload MOV files, but only through the mobile app, so sticking to MP4 gives you a little more flexibility, and it also can yield slightly higher video quality than its MOV counterpart.

Specifically, you’ll need to have an MP4 video format that has H264 codec (which is the quality of compression and decompression and can significantly impact the quality of the uploaded video), and AAC audio. The H264 codec and AAC audio is standard for many MP4 videos.

Most other platforms do support significantly more video format types than Twitter does, but Mp4 is really pretty much the gold standard for video formats and is a top choice for most platforms. If you opt for MP4 video formats, it will likely be compatible with most major platforms, saving you a headache since you’ll only have to create it once.

The Other Technical Requirements You Need to Know

Having the right video format is a good place to start, but it’s definitely not the only thing that you need to be taking into consideration when creating your video content. Twitter has the following technical requirements that you should keep in mind, too:

• The maximum video file size is 512MB, but your videos can’t be more than 2 minutes and 20 seconds long. Make sure that both of these requirements are met. If the file size is too big, Twitter won’t accept the upload, and if the video is too long you’ll be required to edit it.
• The maximum Twitter video resolution is 1920 x 1200, while the minimum is 32 x 32. You should always opt for as close to the maximum resolution as you can, because it will mean a higher quality video and a better experience for your viewers.
• The maximum Twitter video frame rate is 40 fps, which most video editors will stick to on their own.
• Aspect ratios range from 1:2.39 to 2.39:1. Opting for strong aspect ratios will allow you to maximize the amount of space your video can take up on the platform, and the bigger the better. More visibility means more views and hopefully more engagement.

It’s always easier to create videos with these technical requirements in mind than it is to go back later and edit. I’ve been the person who gets to edit someone’s five-minute-long brand video down to two minutes and twenty seconds, and trust me when I say that it’s hard to see your video with so many cuts after you’ve paid a production company a ton of money for those extra minutes. Getting it right the first time is the way to go.

Conclusion

Twitter video has so much potential that the last thing you want is to be missing out on the platform altogether, or (perhaps even worse) to be putting out content that doesn’t perform well because it’s not optimized correctly. Ensure that your videos are using the best format options possible to maximize success and give your audience content they’ll love to see.

As you’re creating video content, your best bet will be to mix it up. You can have video series campaigns, where you upload a single video in a series at relatively regular intervals, like a Q&A session or a tutorial of one of your products. You should also make sure to include live content into the rotation, which is gaining popularity on the platform and allows you to stream directly through their sister app Periscope without ever having to worry about Twitter file formats.

Remember that not every post you upload needs to have a video, and that it really shouldn’t. It’s best to utilize a mixture of content, including plain-text tweets and those featuring images, even if they’re simply great quotes overlaid on colorful backgrounds. When it comes to the images, we’ve got you covered there. You can learn more about how Snappa can help you great gorgeous images to help you build brand awareness here.

What do you think? Do you always stick to the MP4 video format on Twitter, or do you have some MOV files thrown into the mix? How do you optimize your Twitter video content to get more results and engagement? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!