How long should your web video be? Most marketers don’t know.

One of the great things about creating television commercials or television programs is there is only one length they can be. Not so for most web video. Most of the time it can be whatever length you decide. So how long should your web video be?

Not surprisingly, length is the most discussed topic and often is the least understood by corporate clients, even ones with experience creating television commercials.

Often marketers think of length in terms of entertainment. A half an hour is a short television show. So a 40 minute web video isn’t horribly long for an informational video? Wrong.

Informational pieces need to get to the point. Your audience won’t invest their time to watch a video hosted online unless it’s only a few minutes long. Sure they’re exceptions. But that exception probably won’t be your video.

If you’re presenting to a live audience, your dynamic will be different and the video can be longer since you have a willing audience that has allowed you to control the presentation. Also, if your material is not purely informational your audience is much more likely to engage with it for more than a few minutes.

We find the best way to keep your online audience engaged is to break the content up into bites no more than a few minutes long. You can then create a gallery of information that a customer can watch bit by bit. Picking and choosing from 10 to 15 different videos is a lot less intimidating for someone with limited time than clicking play on a 15 or 20 minute video.

Of course, every project is different and if you would like to discuss your next web video production with us, please don’t hesitate to contact us.