Video length is crucial in creating a video, but what is the ideal length of video content to retain your audience and viewer’s attention ? This question has no standard answer, but there are guidelines and best practices that you can follow for specific social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others.
Let’s look at some general guidelines that can help you determine the appropriate length for your video content before working with Captiv Creative on your next project.
What is the Optimal Video Length?
The success of your video is not determined by its length, but how long should a video be? Optimal video length can vary depending on the specific purpose and target audience. Research showed that the average video length on YouTube is 11.7 minutes. The length of music content per video averaged 6.8 minutes.
On social media, the current ideal video length is two minutes, according to multiple marketing surveys. A HubSpot survey showed that the interest and audience engagement went down after about one minute of watching long-form videos. So, keeping your video within the 1-2 minute range is ideal.
Know your Audience
Before we start creating any video or and determining the optimal length, we ask our clients four key questions.
- Who is your target audience?
- What do they need to know?
- Why would your audience watch your video?
- How can you present the video concisely and effectively?
When we have the answers to the questions, we can work to determine the video length and start creating the structure of your video.
Start With a Single-Focused Message
What specific message do you want to share in your video? It’s easy to get distracted but focus on what you want your viewers to think, feel and do after watching your video. Hit the point, and don’t drown your viewers with information overload.
Plan Your Video Length, Based on Your Platform
The different social media platforms have set their own best practices on length and output guidelines. Where do you plan to post the video you want to create? Trim away all the unnecessary information to create a more effective video.
Video Length for Each Social Media
Instagram (1 minute)
Unlike Facebook, the attention span of video watchers on Instagram is short. Users tend to scroll down fast. To catch the viewer’s attention, create less than a minute-long high-quality video, but stick to around 30 seconds to stay in the user’s sweet spot.
- IGTV Instagram videos – up to 10 minutes
- Instagram Story – up to 15 seconds
- Live Streams – from 10 minutes minimum to 60 minutes maximum
- Facebook – (less than a minute)
Facebook (less than a minute)
Facebook is the world’s most active social media platform, with over 2.9 billion users. It’s interesting to note that videos make up 15.5 percent of all content on Facebook, and video posts have an average of 59 percent engagement.
The numbers show how vast an outlet Facebook is for your videos. Here’s the ideal length of videos posted on Facebook:
- Facebook video posts- less than 60 seconds
- Facebook ad- 15 seconds or less
- Facebook Livestreams- at least 10 minutes, but the longer, the better.
LinkedIn (30 seconds)
A survey showed that 91 percent of LinkedIn members watched videos from their mobile devices. Longer content is effective on LinkedIn, but keep your videos from 30 to 300 seconds and try not to exceed 10 minutes. For LinkedIn live streams, aim for 15-minute-long streams.
Twitter (less than a minute)
Video is reshaping the marketing strategies for business on Twitter. With two billion people watching videos on Twitter daily, your chance of reaching out to potential customers is excellent. Tweets with videos attract ten times more engagement than those without.
The average video ads and tweets are ideally between 20-45 seconds up to two minutes and 20 seconds long. Remember that Tweeters are usually there for a quick scroll, so consider keeping your video short.
YouTube (Under three or Over 10 minutes)
In 2021, there were 2.240 million YouTube users around the world. YouTube’s advertising revenues globally reached about $US28.84 billion. What does this tell you? It means the market is extensive, and your videos have the potential to get you what you want.
The length depends on what your end goal is. For some videos, two minutes is the best, but for others, videos under three minutes or over 10 minutes work best to retain user views. Six-second videos are ideal for YouTube video bumper ads to get your brand out there. For pre-roll adds, the ideal length is 15-20 seconds.
Work with a Production Company
Videos are an essential business tool that have the power to convince potential clients to purchase your product or get to know your brand in-depth. Whether you choose long-form or short-form video content, it’s important to consider your audience and the message. We help businesses utilize storytelling to bring their brand vision to life and specialize in creating video concepts that quickly drive viewers to your website or brand platform. Contact us today to start your video project.
