When I am talking with business owners, I am often asked how much I charge for producing a web video. In order to answer this I ask how long do they want the video to be and if they want dancing unicorns. You know, the usual stuff. Generally, they say 2-3 minutes and no. Is 2-3 minutes too long for a web video? I tell them it generally is and here’s why.
These days people have an increasingly shorter attention span (thank you Twitter) and 2-3 minutes isn’t effective in getting more views. I did some research and found, thanks to labnol.org, this chart based on a study done by Wistia.com.
The results? Shorter videos get more views, generally. People are more likely to keep watching your video if it is shorter. Basically you want a video that is short and to the point. Now a video can be short, but if you don’t state the purpose within the first few seconds, you will have a hard time keeping an audience. Now another very interesting result of the chart is this. If you make a video that is 3-5 minutes long you will have roughly the same percentage of viewers (provided the content is good) as a 2-3 minute video. Why you ask?
My unproven theory is a gut reaction I have when watching a video. 2-3 minutes can portray a good bit of info but 3-5 minutes can give more info, but it doesn’t seem to be much longer when watching. Can I prove my theory? No, not at this time.
So the takeaway from this is:
- Shorter is better in most cases
- Get to the point/front load your information
- Content is king
Want the full scoop on the results? Here is the full article by Wistia.com