You ever think about how your video length vs. viewer attention span could make or break your success?

When you post a video to social media, it's going to be competing with other videos for the attention of viewers.

When you post an instructional to YouTube, it's going to be competing against all the other “how to do this super special thing” videos out there.

When you put a product video on a product page, it's going to be competing with other retailer’s websites, ticking away in the background waiting for your UX to slip up and cause just enough friction in the journey that the prospect will dive back into a search engine

Because of this, making sure that you’re outputting the ideal video length will give it a fighting chance at getting the views and engagement it deserves.

If you're not sure what the ideal length is, this post will help walk you through some best practices for choosing optimal lengths for different types of video content.

By following these guidelines when creating and posting video content, you'll increase the chances that people see what you've created. And maybe even watch it long enough for you to deliver that killer CTA

Messaging

So you have a great video idea: the treatment is flawless, the storyboard should be hung in the Tate Modern, and you’ve got a sneaking suspicion that the client could probably rustle up enough budget to cover the drone sequence, but a quick timing of the read-aloud of the script tells you that it's too. darn. long.

what can you do?

Well, the first thing to do is get the messaging right.

Your audience needs to know what you want them to, and why they should care about.

this needs to happen within the first 3-5 seconds

In fact, if they don't know by then--and why not--then there isn't much hope for them sticking around for another 20 seconds. you need to explain your product or service or message as quickly as possible so that people understand its benefits and how it makes their lives better than before (or better than using somebody else's product/service)

Sound like common sense right?

But getting all those ideas crafted into a one concise and effective sentence will take time and good copywriting.

When most companies think about creating videos for social media platforms like facebook ads or instagram stories, copywriting and time are not always respected resources on the list.

here are some things to consider:

• reading speeds in english average about 3 words a second for text on screen- this is a good yardstick to use when counting up words in a script
• don’t forget the time required in between the sentences to actually watch the video/admire the product/be taken in by the warm smile of a stock footage elderly person
• don’t ask the viewer to “read” your video
• if you can clearly see something on screen then it’s not necessary to describe it in text- footage of somebody easily cleaning something does not require the text “easy to clean” to fly onto the screen

Don't cram loads of info into a tiny timeframe; break it down into bite-sized chunks that your audience can digest easily. remember, you don't have to say everything in one video—let your messaging breathe, and your viewers will thank you for it.

Shorter attention spans = shorter videos? ⏱🤯

Our attention spans are shot to pieces, so when it comes to videos we've gotta keep it snappy, yes? shorter is better yeah?

Apparently not necessarily: the average human attention span had been declining since 2000, but the trend has been reversing since 2015. in fact, the average human attention span is now up to a whopping 8 seconds--the same as it was in 2000. Not quite long-form videos territory but still a

Touch.

Having said that if you’re looking to get across a message in a bit of paid video content on social, you would still be looking to keep it under ten seconds, preferably six. But these short activations will not work across the board, when it comes to emotion and connection…

• longer videos are more effective: a study by the researchers at ohio state university found that longer videos are more engaging, persuasive and memorable than shorter ones.
• why? it's all about emotions: when we watch something for longer periods of time our brains begin to process it more deeply and emotionally than if we were watching just a few seconds of footage.
• how does this apply to marketing? if you want your audience members to feel something after spending time watching one of your videos then consider how long they'll need in order for their emotions to build up enough steam so that when they're done watching there's an impactful feeling left behind

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it all depends on what you want to say and who you're saying it to. the key is to get your message across without losing your audience's interest. the big budget-devouring question is: can you do it in 10 seconds? 30 seconds? a minute? two minutes??!!

tl;dr

There isn’t one perfect length for all videos. The ideal video length largely depends on the product, the objective of the video, and the target audience's engagement level.

It's crucial to keep the video engaging and concise to effectively get the message across; by understanding the importance of video length (especially longer video content) and implementing some of the suggestions above, you'll be better equipped to create the right length video for the right channel, and your viewers will reward you with their attention (and maybe their coin as well!)

Are you ready to take your video content strategy to the next level?

Do you have any questions about lengths of video format?