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Time is money, so it’s no secret that the amount of time you have to tell your story matters. When thinking about turning your product or service into a video, how much time do you want to spend talking about it? After watching, what do you want the audience to take away? Let’s break down the most common lengths of videos and how they can impact your story.
A 30-second video is great for social media – quickly grabbing an audience in a world where attention spans are less than 8-seconds. These short videos get right to the point of their content and can be consumed by viewers easily. Oftentimes these videos are best for raising brand or cause awareness. Since they’re shorter and can live on most social platforms, it’s easy for users to share them with their own following.
People are 1.5x more likely to watch something on their smartphone, and this lends itself to the social media aspect of shorter videos. (Facebook, 2020) While scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, and other video-sharing sites, users are grabbed by content they can watch and respond to quickly. If your goal is to quickly snag someone’s attention for your brand, 30-second videos are the way to go.
60-second videos are versatile and effective across a variety of platforms. Most social media hosts like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter allow for videos up to 60 seconds in length. Videos like these deliver impactful storytelling in a short amount of time. With a 60 second video, you can get more to the value proposition of your content – selling your product or service.
Although 90-second videos can live on most social media platforms, videos this length (and longer) excel on company websites and Youtube. Typically, in a 90-second piece, you’re trying to provide in-depth knowledge about your service, product, or company. With 90 seconds, your ability to dive deeper into a topic grows.
With YouTube being the second most visited website in the world, a longer video will thrive with vast audiences who are ready to watch. Plus, posting longer videos on YouTube means you reach multiple age groups, like targeting young people ages 18-34. (Hubspot Marketing, 2020) If you have a meatier subject to share more information about, a 90-second video is a great fit.
Your story matters, so at the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide which video length will best suit your needs. Do you want to generate brand awareness? Are you hoping to share the value proposition of your product? Or, do you want to engage your audience with something longer? These are all important questions, and whichever length you choose your story will have an impact.
