The good thing about summer is that it gives me a chance to catch-up.
I’ve spent a lot of time updating data, reports and upgrading the training decks.
One of these areas I thought I’d share with you is optimum lengths for short-form video.
On the face of it, here’s not really been much change over the last.
But digging into it, yes there has.
For optimum video lengths, keep it short and simple.
So much is in and around the 30-second mark. That’s the case with Reels on Instagram and Facebook as well as X and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn sometimes surprises people. Only 30-seconds? But remember, you are chasing busy professional people who are time poor.
How these figures can be helpful
The job of a comms person is to educate the client in a rapidly changing landscape. Having these stats should help you bat away a request for an eight-minute clip of a middle manager talking about an arcane project only he or she cares about.
Like the Schleswig Holstein question, only three people ever understood it and one of those became insane.
Why optimum lengths don’t matter so much
When digging into the research it’s clear that the algorithm isn’t chasing a pre-appointed length and pushing those.
There is no magic length number.
What matters most of all is retention. How many people stick around?
So, make a longer film if you need to but you need to deliver something of value.
A three-minute TikTok that retains 50 percent of people is classed as ‘good’.
Retention rates for short-form video
The idea of retention being important means there’s no a post-posting phase for the video. You posted it. But how is the clip performing?
Go back into the data and see where people switched off. What was it? A person? A lack of cutaway? The subject?
Bring that forward for the next film you make.
There’s upcoming dates in Birmingham, London and Edinburgh as well as online. I can also come to you to deliver training to you and your team.
For more information head to the ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED training webpage.