One of the most frequent questions I get from clients is… how long should my video be?

There are all sorts of theories behind the answers. Yes, that’s answers with an “s” at the end. I don’t think there’s a single magic formula that’s always right, but I do think there’s some guidelines you can go by depending on where you’re showing the video.

• Social media campaigns… try to keep the video to 60-seconds or less. Social media equals super short attention spans. Give this audience something sweet and to the point to share.
• Your website… 2-3 minutes tops. Ideally, 1-minute 30-seconds. In this case, the viewer has sought you out and wants to learn about your organization. This means you get a little more time to communicate your message. Not too much time though. They’re still web surfing, so they’re just a point-and-click away from leaving your site if they lose interest.
• Live events… 5-minutes or less. Here I usually shoot for something in the 3-minute range. This is a captive audience, so you can flush out your story more than you can with a web video.

–Tony Gnau

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