Length is an important factor to consider when creating online video content. Viewers will only stick with your video for so long, but the optimal video length tends to vary depending on the purpose of your content.
What’s the ideal online video length for marketing?
There are so many different rules of thumb when it comes to the length of online marketing videos, it’s difficult to come up with a steadfast strategy. It’s pretty clear, however, that when it comes to on-demand video content, shorter is better.
Most experts will tell you that studies show viewer retention tends to drop off around the 90-second to two-minute mark. But does that necessarily mean that all of your marketing
videos need to stick to a 120-second cutoff? Probably, but not necessarily.For example, according to ReelSEO, the average length of the top 10 most shared global video ads is 4 minutes 11 seconds, which helps prove that if your content is compelling, people will spend more time with it. Others, like Skyworks Marketing, will tell you that video length often depends on the focus of your content (“intro” videos can be as short as 30 seconds, while more detailed content can go as high as 10 minutes in length).
The general online audience has a lower attention span for business-focused video content than it does for the typical entertaining YouTube fare. (For example, here is a
nearly eight-minute video of cats doing funny things. It’s been watched over 48 million times.)
So, tend to abide by the two-minute rule for most marketing messages.At the end of the day, however, the most important thing is that your marketing content is
long enough toA) get your message across sufficiently, and
B) include an appropriate call to action