The experts at Crystal Media are always recommending that retailers continuously test the length of their videos to see which length works best for their particular audience! There’s no secret formula for exactly how long your videos should be to go viral or retain audience attention. Also, the perfect video length is always changing based on updated audience members and algorithm updates.
However, we do know exactly how long your videos can be on each platform and for each type of content on different channels. Here’s a helpful video length guide, along with our test recommendations for small business owners.
TIKTOK:
On TikTok, most accounts currently have access to post up to a 3 minute long video (although they’re testing TikToks up to 10 minutes long). That tells us that TikTok is interested in long form content and may be progressing in that direction.
Currently, we recommend alternating your video lengths to see what works for your audience. When posting our own content, we’ve found that the average watch time on our videos seems to be less than 10 seconds. This means we need to get our point across QUICKLY without any introduction or “fluff”.
Try out videos under 15 seconds long, and test a few longer videos to see what your audience is interested in.
INSTAGRAM:
Instagram Reels have all but taken over the platform, so we strongly recommend focusing on that video format on the Instagram app. Reels has recently extended their video length to 90 seconds, but we still recommend keeping the video as short as possible (even under 30 seconds if possible).
On IG Live, consider different video lengths—such as 10 minutes and then 30 minutes—to see how long your audience remains engaged!
FACEBOOK:
For many years now, Facebook’s been a very popular place for retailers to post videos and go Live. For video length on Facebook, we recommend under 10 minutes long. For Lives, our mantra is to go Live for exactly how long you need and not a second longer. Test how long audiences are watching your Live videos and adjust from there. Once you’ve gotten your point or message across, end the Live. There’s no need to extend it out, as audience attention spans are getting shorter each year!
Also, be sure to test Reels on Facebook as it’s one of the latest ways to create videos on their platform! Reel videos can be up to 60 seconds long, but we recommend creating Reels that are less than 30 seconds.
What I Want You To Take Away From This Blog:
- Try to keep your videos as short as possible.
- Test your social media video lengths and see what works best for your audiences.
- Re-evaluate your video lengths at least every 6 months, as the algorithm is always changing and pushing new formats and features.
Okay, over to you…
Have you found your sweet spot for social media video lengths on each platform? Let us know what’s working best for you in the comments below!
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