Video Marketing: How Long Should Your Videos Be?

 In today's blog post, we are talking about video marketing in 2021.

And if you haven't heard yet the video is kind of ... awesome.

Listen to some of these figures ...

Video advertising is the number one way consumers discover a brand they later buy. (Animoto)

5% of video marketers say that video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. 

And at our agency, we often ask questions such as "What kind of videos should I make?"

Or "How long should my videos be?"

... and that's why in this post, we want to make some suggestions about the length of video marketing for 2021.

So we are going to go to two specific points, and then we will share some recommendations.

Why are people afraid of doing video marketing?

So our first point is around a big mistake that we see people making for video marketing in general.

Read this:- 7 Ways to Increase Facebook Engagement

And thinking that your video should have high production quality.

Okay, many people think they need high-quality, grade A, Hollywood-like video production.

And it is very difficult to do something because it requires a lot of resources.

Because of that, many believe that the barrier to entry is so high that they never decide to do any video marketing.

But this is a big mistake.

You don't need an enormous production set to form good videos.

One of our customers generated thousands in purchases and sales with a video that took little or no time to supply.

So as you can see, the video is relatively simple and still produces great results.

In fact, the embedded video at the top of this post was made entirely by one of our founders.

So the main key in this first point is this: Fear of video quality does not stop you from getting started.

Most people can avoid taking video footage directly from their smartphones.

How long should your videos be used for video marketing?

The length of your video should be determined by issue + platform.

(Video length = the problem you are solving + the platform you are also publishing)

Okay, we're getting a little darker here, but this is necessary because we're tired of giving blogs and people just normal or arbitrary video length limits.

In fact, when you Google "how long the video should be", you'll get a recommendation that your videos should be 2 minutes or less.

And while it is still a fairly decent recommendation, it does not take into account other important factors.

So break them down.

Consider factors to determine how long your videos should be

                                                  Photo by Sticker Mule on Unsplash

1. Problem

You need to be consistent with your audience's problem because the only reason that anyone would want to watch your video is that you are helping them solve a problem or question.

Really think about the "why" that people are watching your video.

Maybe they want to entertain.

Maybe they want to learn something new.

Perhaps they want to discover new products or services.

It is up to you to determine what their problem is and make a video around it.

Now the scope or complexity of the problem should determine the length of the video.

So suppose someone has a problem and is trying to decide what T-shirt to buy next.

Compared to the new car that is in the market, it is much less complicated.

Because cars have many distinctive specs and features, you need to present more information.

Read this:- 8 marketing predictions for 2021

And hypothetically, clarification is now needed. This is why most car dealerships have salesmen.

But you can also accomplish this through video marketing.

In short, your video should be as long as it is necessary to get your information and not even a minute long.

Note that the spans are short. And to make your video valuable all the way, you'll be more likely to keep viewers engaged.

Okay, so we've determined what problem we're solving with the video, now the next part of the length equation in this video is the platform.

2. Platform

Some platforms can grab attention longer than others.

For example, users who are on TicketLock or Snapchat will be accustomed to watching very few videos.

While on platforms like YouTube people are accustomed to watching videos for much longer.

And if you can commit people to live chat or join a webinar, you can get people to watch videos for longer.

So let's look at some common video length recommendations for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

It depends on some factors. First, we'll break it down to organic Facebook videos and then Facebook video ads.

Read this:- Social media marketing trends and predictions for 2021

Facebook organic video

Now Facebook Organic Video is a video posted on your Facebook page without any advertising expense.

Facebook is recommending Insight and sharing that "videos are systematically shown to more people when they are at least 3 minutes long."

But should all your organic Facebook videos be 3 minutes long?

Well, if you want to break long stories or complex concepts, then there is a possibility.

If you are in the business of entertaining and creating bi-worthy content, making videos at least 3 minutes long is a good idea as well.

However, it is still important that you focus on the message of your video rather than the duration. And Facebook gives the same advice.

Publishing videos on Facebook for 3 minutes or longer does not necessarily give you greater reach, as Facebook's algorithm provides engagement during periods.

So if you keep the audience engaged and comment, you will probably reach more people by getting an increase in their algorithm.

Facebook video ad

If you want to reach more people on Facebook, you can pay to promote your video.

Every time someone watches your video for 3 seconds or longer, Facebook will charge you for a view.

When advertising Facebook videos, cut to the chase and get your main point as soon as possible.

When you pay to promote a video as an advertisement, you show up in an audience feed, which doesn't necessarily know who you are or are looking for your content.

                                            Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

So keep it short.

Instagram video

Let things break for feeds and IGTV because currently, Instagram stories and reels have deadline restrictions that force you to shorten your videos.

Now videos in Instagram feeds can be up to 1 minute before they are converted to IGTV videos.

But we suggest keeping the video under one minute.

Why? Because according to HubSpot research, videos get the most comments on Instagram on an average of 26 seconds.

But why is this?

For one, people are used to quickly scrolling through their Instagram feeds, and stopping to watch a long video is going against some muscle memory.

Also, since you cannot rewind, some people may simply go ahead if they miss a part of the video.

So how long should a video be on IGTV?

Well, Instagram created IGTV for long-form videos. They really wanted a place where users could enjoy the content for a long time and form a deep connection with their favorite brands and people.

Therefore we have to withdraw from the general rule. Your IGTV video should be as long as it is necessary to cross the point.

Youtube videos

The main difference between YouTube and platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is that people on YouTube want to watch videos.

They are searching for video content rather than scrolling through feeds on other social media platforms, so they are ready to watch longer videos.

It is important to know that YouTube's algorithm gives more time-consuming videos by displaying them in search results and recommendations.

So uploading videos for long periods of time gives you the time to watch, but if your videos are engaging and viewers really stick around, you can watch them.

But clearly, on YouTube, you have many more opportunities for storytelling, or jokes, or just entertaining skits.

Read this:- Marketing Vs Advertising

The key is to keep users busy.

We are actually recording more YouTubers' longer videos and they rank higher in long video search results.

But try to avoid too much sparkle.

Twitter video

On Twitter, your videos can be up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds long - matching the number of characters that can be a tweet.

But Twitter users are accustomed to small updates so we recommend keeping your videos short.

Originally, there was a 30-second limit for video uploads to Twitter.

Although it has been extended, we still recommend less than 30 seconds for this platform.

All we do is make short videos and link people to make long-form content on YouTube or Facebook.

here you have it! Some guidelines on how long your videos should be.

Tips To Help Your Video Marketing

Now that you've overcome it, we've got some bonus tips to help you with your video marketing in 2021.

As we have explained, video engagement is important to reach more people.

Remember, video engagement is primarily measured by how long people have been watching your video and if they are creating a conversation around it by sharing or commenting.

So here are our suggestions!

1. Go Live

When you stay with the audience, you have a better chance of instant engagement because you can talk directly to your audience.

Instead of thinking about what they might consider valuable, you can answer their questions and create conversations in real-time.

This is an easy way to promote engagement.

2. Save the best for first

Put your best screenshots and clips at the beginning of your video to attract attention and watch people.

3. Optimize for sound off

85% of people watching videos on Facebook are turning off their voices.

Perhaps they are in a public place, or simply enjoy a better experience without distracting audio.

Either way, we like to add close captions to all of our videos, so that people can follow along with Sound Off, and for people who are not in the camera, you can do text stories.

Hopefully, those tips will help.