How long should your corporate video be in 2023?
Growing numbers of corporations and businesses are discovering the value offered by video to their brands.
Whether it’s showcasing a new product or service for customers or lifting the lid on their culture, values or mission for potential investors or employees, video content is helping them reach a wider audience.
One of the first questions many of our clients initially ask is: “how long should my videos be?” The answer depends on several factors, so let’s explore how that plays out, and how we can help.
Factors influencing video length
The duration of your corporate video will be determined by three main issues: the subject, the budget and where the finished product is going to be published.
The objectives of your corporate video
A product demonstration video is sometimes going to be shorter than one exploring your company culture or training opportunities. A great example is this product/software demonstration we did for HSBC.
Longer videos
In 2021, the average number of videos lasting more than 20 minutes increased by 200%, suggesting there is a growing appetite for longer video content.
However, while it’s not 100% certain that longer-form video content will be more expensive, it’s a good rule of thumb. A bigger-scale video marketing project needs an expanded cast and crew, covering pre- and post-production.
We can ensure that investment is worth every single penny.
We have years of experience working with a wide range of corporations. Our team creates perfect-length video content that will grab your audience’s attention and move them further down your sales funnel.
What’s the optimal video length for social media?
There’s a platform for almost everyone these days, and while they all have a slightly different ideal video production length, short content is definitely king.
Above all else, marketers know their corporate video content has to be engaging. They translate that understanding into all aspects of business related videos and tailor them for each social media site.
However, not all social media video lengths are the same. Knowing how long your ideal customer will linger to watch videos is crucial to the success of your video marketing strategy.
Facebook video length
Facebook may be the granddaddy of modern social media but as many businesses already know, video is thriving on this platform. Considering half a billion people per day use it to watch videos, that’s no surprise.
Did you know you can post anything from a few seconds of footage – Facebook Stories cannot exceed 20 seconds – to up to four hours for a Facebook Live video?
Facebook’s video length flexibility can be your friend, enabling you to mix up your content and ensure it’s always fresh and appealing to your target audience.
What’s the best Facebook video length?
For an organic video post, aim for between 24 to 90 seconds. Facebook video ads should be no longer than 15 seconds to maximise that completion rate.
If you want to generate longer videos, then Facebook Live is the ideal solution, as it gives your target audience a chance to engage.
Instagram video length
The second superstar in Meta’s social media stable also offers marketers a range of options for video length, with Instagram Reels, Instagram TV and Instagram Stories.
No matter which you choose, it’s worth bearing in mind that as a primarily visual platform, quality and creativity are crucial ingredients to the success of your company video.
What’s the ideal length for an Instagram video?
For Instagram in-post vertical videos, although you can have up to one minute, the sweet spot for video marketing is 30 seconds. The platform will stack your ads like a carousel too.
Instagram TV or IGTV videos provide an outlet for long videos. It allows up to 15 minutes’ promo video length when posting from a mobile device and an hour from a desktop.
In contrast, the ideal Instagram Story video length is 15 seconds – more than enough time to get your brand’s key message across – while for Instagram Reels, your sales video length should be no more than 60 seconds.
Video for Instagram Live can run for a maximum length of 60 minutes, but you can start another broadcast as soon as the hour is up.
YouTube video length
An impressive one billion hours of video content is consumed every day on this platform, outstripping both Facebook videos and streaming giant Netflix.
That means every business that is serious about using a social media platform to increase viewer engagement really ought to include YouTube in its video marketing communications.
YouTube is a vast repository of video entertainment as well as informative content, offering more than a quick snippet while scrolling our mobile devices.
Creators on verified channels can, if they wish, post up to 12 hours of video but it would be rare for branded content to run for that long.
As well as getting the YouTube video length right, it’s also important to create a thumbnail for your online video that will catch your target audience’s eye and boost engagement.
Our team can help you do that.
What’s the best video length for YouTube?
The ideal Youtube video length for bumper ads, aimed at increasing brand awareness, should be around six seconds long, while as a general rule, pre-roll ads should run for between 15 and 20 seconds.
Our analysis of video length stats has also shown that crisply produced, well-edited content lasting around 10 minutes is among the most popular short videos on YouTube.
Twitter video length
Did you know tweets with videos see 10 times more engagement than those without on this popular platform? That’s just one reason why you should include Twitter in your next video campaign.
The platform embraces all types of video short content, from product and service launches to how-to guides and interviews. But what’s the ideal video length to attract a Twitter viewer’s attention?
The ideal length for a Twitter video
It’s understandable that a platform limiting posts to a maximum of 280 characters isn’t in the market for hours long videos.
The maximum run time Twitter allows is two minutes and 20 seconds, but we think the ideal duration for short length content is between 20 and 45 seconds.
If that doesn’t sound a lot, remember 62% of people will watch a less-than 60-second business related video all the way through.
Linkedin video length
Unlike other social media platforms, Linkedin is aimed at professionals who have just as big an appetite for video content as other social media users.
According to studies, 75% of executives on Linkedin watch social videos related to work every week. They are your ideal audience for corporate and business video type content.
What’s the optimal length for Linkedin videos?
Bearing in mind the majority of Linkedin users are busy professionals, the right length for an in-feed video is between three and five minutes.
The maximum run time for a Linkedin video is 10 minutes, but there’s an argument for corporations creating longer content, particularly if there’s a strong story to be told.
Remember the recent uptick in appetite? Combine that with the platform’s own research suggesting it fares as well as shorter video and suddenly it looks every bit as compelling.
Our team will help craft social videos that break through the noise and elevate your brand message.
TikTok video length
This platform may be the new kid on the block, but it has quickly gained considerable clout when it comes to sparking global trends, thanks to its sometimes jaw-dropping video content.
Launching a TikTok video strategy is a smart move for corporations. The site thrives on shorter videos but its real USP is the innovation and creativity that boosts video engagement.
Tap into that with a viral vertical video and it’s a win-win.
The ideal TikTok video length
As with Instagram Stories, short videos are the way to go with TikTok. There’s a 60-second limit for native content, but you can exceed it for non-native online videos.
Our optimal video length is between nine and 15 seconds, but the duration of your videos depends on what brand message you’re trying to get across.
How long should corporate videos for digital channels be?
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to creating corporate videos for digital channels. Much depends on the audience, the purpose of the video and its format, among other factors.
Websites/landing page videos
If Twitter, Linkedin or IGTV videos tell an entire story to engage the audience, a homepage video can be a bit more of a tease.
They can be used to offer an overview of a product or service without providing complete answers, prompting viewers to take action to find out more. But how long should these videos last?
The ideal length for a website or landing page video should be between 30 and 60 seconds. Any longer and you risk losing your audience – 20% of viewers leave the page after 10 seconds.
Marketing email and sales videos
Also known as embedded video, this is a great way to increase open, click-through and conversion rates.
High-quality, relevant videos sent via an email blast can be a fantastic way to introduce new products or services.
Likewise sales videos, which can be a boost to each stage of a marketing or outreach strategy.
For marketing videos, our sweet spot is 45 seconds, while for early-stage sales ads, make the video shorter: 30 seconds maximum. They can be extended for mid and late-stage sales outreach.
How Bouche Media can help with your video content
We are an independent, London video production company, and we always aim to bring something fresh to the table.
The success of your video depends on how it looks and sounds, but also the tempo and timing.
You want to inform or entertain your audience across the social channels as well as on your website. That means your videos have to work everywhere so instead of trying to make sense of video analytics, call us.
Our team will draw on their years of experience to create videos that not only hit your brand’s nail on the head, but are at the optimal length to engage your entire online audience.
Specialising in short video creation
There’s something incredibly creative about having to get a brand message across really quickly. It’s a challenge everyone at Bouche Media relishes.
We’re experts in scripting, planning and producing live action, animation and motion graphics for corporate brands and agencies.
Our company is shaped by our commitment to being innovative and progressive, while always offering excellence to all our customers.
We love bringing new ideas to every project and produce videos that stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons.
If you want to chat about an upcoming marketing project or advertising campaign, we’re all ears. We promise to give you honest advice based on our expertise, and guarantee there’s no hard sell.
Contact us
Whether you are keen to try something a bit different for your next corporate video, or want to increase viewer engagement using Instagram Reels or Linkedin video, our team can help.
You can email us at info@bouchemedia.com or fill in this contact form and we’ll get back to you straight away.