How to Publish Video Content in a Digital Magazine

These days content creators must play a balancing act between multimedia engagement and not overwhelming their audience.

Embedded video

is an excellent way of showing what your brand offers, not just telling them. The new Story Cloud by Issuu elevates your digital content and gives you a professional workspace for video.

How-to Embed on Issuu

The process of enhancing your digital magazine with video embeds is simple and intuitive. Once inside the publishing workspace select “Enhance”. Choose a page when the link-editor opens and draw a box around the area you want video. Click the video option, copy and paste your URL and choose a style: overlay, embed in publication, or embed with autoplay.

how to add links/video on issuu tutorial, choose page, highlight image, add link

Video overlay is the default embed style on Issuu. Available on all plans, overlay presents a standalone video that your audience clicks to watch.

Embedding directly into your publication with or without autoplay is part of the Premium and Optimum plans. Creators like yourselves have seen significant increases in viewership when they include video. For example, Outsite, popular adventure and travel magazine, recorded a 400% increase in readership after adding video embeds. See the full impact of directly embedded video in the digital magazine below.

Helpful tips for working with video embeds in 2019

The Internet is changing how it deals with video content. This means you should also. If you are selling content and host video on Youtube, you must first get approval from Youtube if you intend on embedding on your free non-preview pages. You do not want all your hard work taken down because of copyright rules.

On the Issuu platform directly embedded and autoplay videos are best optimized at 210x120px or 120x210px. Anything too large will revert to overlay. Also, in portrait mode, keep your videos at least two-thirds the page width or half the page height.

Lastly, be smart about autoplay. Not only do customers generally despise videos that start without prompting, but browsers and ad blockers are shutting down videos. This is why autoplay videos embedded with the Story Cloud start on mute. However, be aware, that many blockers will not permit any form of autoplay. Make decisions best for your content and your brand.

What should be in my videos?

Give people an inside look at your creative and production process. Exclusive content keeps people coming back and inquiring for more. Interview your contributors. Ask them questions about their development as creators. Your videos should be engaging and not sponsored product descriptions.