There are two major dimensions that you can use for your videos
Most videos are automatically horizontal
But if you want to post clips on TikTok, Reels, YouTube shorts, or anything similar, then it is important to make your videos vertical
It is possible to have a successful horizontal video on those platforms, but it is harder and not recommended
You can change the dimensions of your videos by clicking the video ratio button in your editing software and changing the dimensions. You will likely see the default dimensions as 1920px by 1080px. To make the video vertical, switch those numbers to 1080px by 1920px
You will have to adjust the size of the video by moving the squares in the corner of your video in the preview
If there is a specific part that you want to adjust what shows as a default, you can cut that clip separate and adjust what shows in the vertical video
There is a lot of freedom in good editing software
The pictures I share are from the software that I use, which is Filmora
But it should be pretty similar to most editing software
What platforms do I use horizontal videos for?
The horizontal video was the default before TikTok came along
Every platform that offers video, except TikTok, has horizontal video
The regular videos on YouTube are all horizontal
The videos in the ‘Watch’ section of Facebook are all horizontal
LinkedIn prefers horizontal video right now
Horizontal may be the most popular video to watch right now (2020-2022), but it is still very popular, and the default video dimension
If you create your videos horizontally, you will have many options for posting
But most of the same platforms also have the vertical video
So learning and posting both is the best option
What platforms use vertical videos?
The vertical videos started on TikTok, but the other platforms are rushing to copy them because of the success that TikTok achieved
Almost every platform has a vertical video option now
On Instagram, the vertical videos are called Reels
On Facebook, the vertical videos are called Facebook Reels
YouTube calls them YouTube Shorts
And of course, they are TikToks on TikTok
So it doesn’t matter what platform you are growing, you will probably have the option to post vertical videos
It is also very beneficial to do it right now
TikTok and vertical video is huge right now so the reach you can get is amazing
Normally a Facebook post gets no more than 100, but usually closer to 10-30, views
But I regularly get 500 or more views on a single Facebook Reel
It is a good idea to take advantage of the organic reach when social media platforms offer it
TikTok is still offering amazing organic reach in general
So learning to create and post vertical videos is going to help you reach your online goals
Does it really matter?
Right now, vertical video is very popular so it is a good idea to take advantage of that
The longer a platform or feature is available, the less you get organic reach
The end goal of these platforms is to get people to pay them
The best way to do that is by getting creators to pay for ads
As someone who got trapped in that with Facebook, I am lucky I only spent $5k
If you cannot get success with an organic post, it isn’t worth paying for
But that isn’t what we are told
We are told that ads will fix all of our traffic problems
So whenever a new feature comes to the platforms you choose to be on appears, it is a good idea to take advantage of that feature while the platform is giving away free traffic
In 2022, that new feature is the vertical video
Every platform that added vertical video is giving a ton of organic traffic away with that feature
My posts have 2,500% more reach on Facebook if I post a reel instead of a video or picture
That is a huge number!
Of course, that varies, but that percentage is using the average reach I get
Sometimes my pictures and horizontal videos get more than 20 reach, but sometimes I get way more than 500 views on a reel too
I have several reels that went over 10,000 views each!
So horizontal vs vertical video only matters depending on where you choose the post
If you post on TikTok, you should be using vertical
But what really matters is that you are taking advantage of new features that the platforms want you to use
Take advantage of that free traffic and ride the wave
Someday the vertical vs horizontal video debate will be old news and there will be a new feature
When that happens, then that new feature will be important
But I don’t see horizontal or vertical videos going away any time soon
How to change video dimensions in a video editor
When you download a video or choose a video on your computer, your first step to making it vertical is to change the dimensions
Most videos that you start with will be horizontal video
That means the dimensions should be 1920px by 1080px
Add the video to your editor, I am using Filmora, and look for the little computer icon
Click that and select “Change Project Aspect Ratio”
If you are using a different editor, it may look a little different
But it should be similar
That will open a window that gives you a few options
Look for the dimensions that say 1920px by 1080px
And you want to change that to 1080px by 1920px
Then click Done
You will see in the preview that the video is vertical now
But there is black space above and below your video
That is what we need to change next
How to adjust what is showing after adjustment
Once you have the new dimensions, you need to adjust your video to fit
Double-click on the video and you will see a dotted line around your video with circles on the corners and top
Click and hold the circles on one of the corners and drag the corner to make the video bigger
Do that until all the blank space is gone
You will probably not have the part of your video that you want showing so you’ll need to adjust the video to show what you want
Do that by clicking, holding, and dragging the video until you are happy with it
If there is a small part of the video that doesn’t align but the rest does, find the beginning of that part and cut it to separate from the rest
Then find the end and cut that to separate as well
Select the clip that you want to move and move it in the preview just like that
Now you have a vertical video from your horizontal video!