Don't make it too long.

If you're thinking about posting a video to your Facebook Page, keep this in mind:

Shorter is better.

It really boils down to basic UX and common sense. People generally dislike video ads – proven time and again whenever a social media platform rolls them out for the first time.

Think about it this way too: in which case is it more likely that you hit the play button for a video in your newsfeed?

When the length shows:

  • A) 0:xx (less than a minute)?
  • B) 1:xx?
  • C) 2:xx?

You got it right. “A” is the big winner, while over two minutes will be (for the most part) the big loser.

This is supported by each analytics study that I read. The data pretty much always shows that longer videos result in lower engagement.

Notice Social Bakers numbers:

Shorter is better

Social Bakers mission is to be the industry standard for the way social marketing is measured and optimized. They're members of the Facebook Marketing Partners program, and serve over 2,500 clients across 100 countries. Tracking, analyzing, and benchmarking over 8 million social profiles across all the major social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin, Instagram, Google+ and VK – they know a thing or two about such matters.

Videos that were less than ~21 seconds performed in the Top 25% for completion rates.

As Yoav Hornung, co-founder & CEO of the video production marketplace Veed.me says:

Different videos have a different optimal length but in each one of them the rule of thumb will be   make it as short as possible.

Remember, some of the best ever commercials are those we are used to seeing on the Super Bowl, where the spots are the most expensive and the average commercial stands on 30 seconds.

YouTube videos are also, in general, a different breed. The practices there should not be carried over to other social platforms such as Facebook or Twitter where native videos should be the goal – and where shorter is indeed better.

Contact TeazMedia today if you need a personal social Sherpa to help guide your business story on the web.

Tip: 59 seconds look much better than 1:00.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content