“How Many Minutes Should My Videos Actually Be…?”
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we witness on a daily basis:
Some videos are 2 minutes and feel like 10...
Some videos are 3 minutes and feel like 1.5...
Some videos are 12 and don't feel long enough because the audience wants to know more...
The 'secret to the right video length' has nothing to do with video duration, it has everything to do with whether or not the audience CARES about what's happening, thus making the video FEEL short or long. We've all been there: we started watching a video, and about 10 seconds in we pause the video to see how long this is going to take us to finish. It's right-then-and-there that we lost our audience.
The goal is to tell your story and make sure your audience cares: not to think about a specific target video duration.
Long-Form Video:
See how this video (screenshot above) that's 8:12 crushes it with its audience? It's because the audience cared.
Short-Form Video:
How about this one: a one minute video that retained 70% of the audience’s attention until 0:55. It's because the audience cared.
Medium-Form Video:
And this one? It's 2:00 on-the-nose, which most folks think is the 'sweet spot' and will give them an edge with their audience. Successful videos have one through-line: the audience cares.
Ever-Moving Goal Posts:
I would be remiss to not mention how on certain Social Media platforms (ahem...Facebook), they can nudge content creators through distribution incentives. Basically, Facebook has a company-wide initiative to make sure its members stay on its platform as long as possible, and video is a key way of helping achieve that initiative. So how do they nudge? Basically, they help videos that are over 3:01 'get-out-of-the-gate' stronger. It wasn't there at first, and I'm certain that number will change as Facebook members' behaviors change. If you can 'make it' to 3:01 without hurting your story, then I suggest going for it. But don't make a 2:01 minute piece into a 3:01 piece just to please the Facebook Gods, it's not going to help that much.
The headline of this piece is the question everyone is asking, and it's actually a red herring. It's a distraction and doesn't help us ask ourselves the real question: How do I create video content that my audience actually cares about?
Lastly, my professional suggestion is to advise clients to recognize that video is merely one component of your marketing strategy. The actual goal of your video strategy is the following:
Create story-driven content that adheres to your brand's positioning
AND drives engagement
AND can be utilized as Owned Content (on self-managed platforms such as Web, Print, Email, etc.)
AND Paid Ads (Facebook, IG, YouTube Pre-Roll, etc.)
AND can be utilized in the future as evergreen content
It's not easy, and it's not supposed to be easy. Start with videos that resonate with your audience and then begin the integration process.
