One of the most popular phrases we are getting lately in both tenders and requests from our clients is a “1 minute video”. This time stipulation is something which absolutely fascinates me and seems to have become very trendy in the past year, but is actually quite unproductive for a number of reasons. In its simplest form, we as publishers on digital platforms are not broadcasters, we are not restricted to time or length like most commissioned television productions are, so why are we so hung up on the idea of 1 minute videos?
People say that poor concentration levels dictate the short length for videos yet, Avengers: Endgame is 3-hours long and I don’t recall anyone of that same demographic nodding off after 1 minute or switching seats for a different screen. Because people are saying “keep it to 1 minute” people seem to be following this “opinion” as the golden rule. It’s not. The length of a video should really be dictated by the story, the pace, in its most basic form – getting the message across as effectively as possible. This could be 10 seconds or even 10 minutes.
I have watched videos that are 10 minutes long that felt like 1 minute, and I have also watched 1 minute videos that feel like 10 minutes. Do not focus on getting the video to under 1 minute, instead just focus on making a great video, because as I stated, we’re not really restricted by length on most platforms. I always recommend a long form video for Facebook, LinkedIn and or YouTube and short snippets or even teasers for social media channels like Twitter, Instagram, etc. It’s all about getting the most recyclable content from one video for multiple platforms in a creative manner that still delivers the same key message throughout.
Even Facebook are now pushing for more long-form videos clearly stating that videos over 3 minutes in length tend to do better on their platform, yet this is being entirely missed by most “experts”.
Finally for those caught up on numbers, here are the current time limits for certain social media video postings.
• Facebook = 45 minutes max
• Twitter = 2 minutes 20 seconds
• YouTube = 12 hours (15 minute pre-verification)
• Instagram = 60 seconds
• IGTV = 10 minutes (9:16)
So the next time someone says the video needs to be 1min, simply ask them WHY?!
