This is a question we are often asked. While it is pretty much understood that people’s attention spans are now almost comparable to a goldfish, optimum video length remains an important consideration, as ultimately the ROI of your video can be impacted.
Unfortunately, optimum video length is not a one size fits all approach. It depends on the objective of your video, the audience you are targeting and the platform you are rolling out on. However, based on some great studies, and our own experience, below are our top tips on best practices for optimising the length of your branded video across platforms (live video excluded).
Optimum length for your website
Stick to 90 seconds.
If someone is visiting your website, they are likely to be already interested and engaged with your company or brand. They have, no doubt, come with a purpose; to find out more about your company or your products. With videos of 90 seconds and under having an average retention rate of 53%, we believe it’s the optimum length video to get across your message on your website.
ADEY’s animated video demonstrates well what can be achieved in 90 seconds. The video, on their website homepage, concisely explains ADEY’s product range, its applications, its award winning processes and its nationwide coverage.
Optimum length for YouTube
Stick to 2 minutes, with a caveat.
YouTube is the one platform that is perfect for longer, more in-depth video content. Often, YouTube is turned to for product demos, or to learn how to do a task or activity, or for simple entertainment and these videos can command more than 2 minutes. Equally, visitors who are expecting to learn something or be amused are more engaged to watch longer videos. With 56% of all videos published in 2017 running at 2 minutes or under, we believe the optimum video length is 2 mins, but with a caveat to bear your video’s objective in mind.
De’longhi’s Dinamica product demo demonstrates well what can be achieved in approx. 2 mins. The video, destined for their YouTube channel, explains in detail each feature of the coffee machine, giving tips and Do not’s along the way, to help consumers make the perfect cup of coffee.
Optimum length on Facebook
Stick close to 60 seconds.
With interactions for videos on Facebook peaking at 60 seconds, we believe around the 60 seconds mark is the optimum length for this platform, with it better to go under 60 seconds rather than over. We commonly view Facebook on our mobile, we scroll faster and our expectation is for brevity not depth. The punchier these videos are the better likelihood of retaining viewers and engagement.
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With food content a top scorer on Facebook, Branston Pickle’s recipe how-to video taps into this perfectly, demonstrating how to add a twist to the traditional Mac & Cheese.
Optimum length for Instagram & Twitter
Stick to 30 seconds.
Twitter is fast moving, providing real-time updates. Instagram is renowned for short content. Viewers want snappy videos that they can quickly and easily like and share before scrolling down to the next piece of content on their mobiles. On Instagram, videos of 30 seconds and under get more views, likes and comments, and this is broadly mirrored on Twitter too, making it the optimum length for these platforms. This time length is ideal for snappy teaser videos, with links to brand websites or Youtube for longer form content. Ben and Jerry’s provide a perfect example of this.
Video length shouldn’t ever be considered in isolation when creating a video. Length goes hand in hand with its objective, audience and rollout plan, which in turn drives its creative execution. However, using these best practices will help you create video content that is platform centric, which in turn can aid your video ROI.