The first thing most people do when a video comes across their social media platform of choice is to check the timestamp. If it’s too long, they’ll decide that it isn’t worth spending time on and move on.
Attention spans are getting shorter – less than that of a goldfish according to some studies. In the world of business and marketing where social media has become so important, creating the right kind of video content to post online is crucial.
To put it into perspective, as of 2018, 85% of all internet users in the United States watched online video content monthly on their devices. 54% of consumers in 2018 preferred to watch video content from brands or businesses over reading articles by them. These numbers have consistently grown over the years, leading many to believe that 2019 will see an even greater increase, with videos comprising 80% of all consumer internet traffic.
So, with attention spans so short and the demand for videos so high, how can you strike a perfect balance? The answer depends on which platform you’re using.
Instagram limits its users to posting videos that fall anywhere between 3-60 seconds. Despite offering a minute of content, the recommended length for Instagram videos is actually only 30 seconds.
That’s 30 seconds to engage, sell, and convince consumers to explore your brand. This is because the average Instagram user will simply scroll down their feed to interact with the other content instead after about 30 seconds.
The ideal Twitter video length is only 45 seconds. Brevity is practically built into the Twitter mainframe, first marketed as a site for posting quick thoughts that occur during the day.
Although the word count has expanded over the years, it’s still a very small maximum number – only 280 characters! In fact, most tweets don’t even reach the 280-character limit.
Facebook users tend to prefer videos that end around the 1-minute mark. This is in part because of the nature of the platform and the diversity of the userbase. More of the older generations prefer Facebook over other platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Additionally, Facebook feeds don’t tend to update quite as rapidly as other sites, giving users a bit more breathing time to spend on content before scrolling down.
YouTube
When it comes to videos, YouTube has the most flexibility. Videos that fall around the 2-minute mark tend to gain the most attraction although it’s possible to go slightly over.
YouTube is literally made for posting videos and unlike other platforms, users go onto the site with the sole intent of watching videos. YouTube also has the benefit of largely appealing to userbases both of younger and older generations.
Each platform is different and requires unique methods to reach optimum potential. If you need help managing your social media accounts, Marstudio is happy to help. Call us today to set up a consultation. If you would like to use videos to promote your company, check out our BLACKWATER Promotions division.
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