You must have heard about the disruptive power of explainer videos. More and more brands are now incorporating explainer videos in their video marketing strategy to stay competitive.
But most of the people in the industry you’ll find often question the explainer video length. How lengthy should your explainer video be to maintain the audience’s interest while also delivering the brands’ core message?
Coming to the main point, this is a pretty challenging question to answer.
If you’re in the same boat, don’t worry a bit.
Today, we’re going to share some great ideas with you on how lengthy your animated explainer videos should be in order to be both amusing and successful.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started!
Video Length And Engagement
Do you know the attention span of a human being is shorter than that of a goldfish? This fact might seem funny and beyond belief at the same time, but it’s true.
The attention span of a human being has massively decreased to 8.25 seconds. This signifies that if you want to grab the audience’s attention and retain it, you need to create highly engaging and interesting video content that can appeal to your audience and hold their attention throughout the explainer video.
We don’t force you to believe our word of mouth; you can see it yourself. Please take a look at the explainer video we have created for One Globe.
Because you have only 8 seconds to generate interest in your audience, you need to closely pay attention to the length of your explainer video and engagement.
And it’s not our word of mouth. You can check out the stats Wistia has covered in one of their studies.
Two-minute videos can generate a lot of interest. If you can keep your video under 120 seconds, you will fascinate your visitors.
- Between minutes 2 and 3, there is a noticeable decline in engagement.
- Between minutes 6 and 12, you have another unique opportunity to engage your audience.
- From minute 12 on, maintain vigilance, since each minute passes results in a loss of viewer attention.
The Perfect Explainer Video Length
We have shared some intriguing findings from Wistia’s study in the above section. However, do not put yourself in the situation of believing that each marketing video you create should be no longer than two minutes! That would be a grave error.
Reducing your eight-minute video to seven minutes would be a mistake. Similarly, you can reduce your ten-minute essay to a two-minute video in order to adhere to the “ideal standard.”
Just as a TED talk video is typically 15 minutes long, a pitch video is two minutes long, and a video advertisement is less than 60 seconds long, each video will have a particular duration dependent on elements such as the topic content, the audience targeted, and the general context of the piece.
Let’s understand each of these components in-depth:
The content:
As we know, video marketing has the competence to communicate your complex ideas in an engaging way. If you want to create a video for any purpose, bear in mind your content determines the length of your video.
The target audience:
Before running any marketing campaign, it’s essential to know your target audience, who they are, what they want, and how you can give it to them. It’s the only way to deliver your message through your video effectively.
You also need to identify their pain points and offer solutions accordingly.
The content:
First, discern which type of platforms and devices your target audience uses to search video content. If you consider this, it will help you determine the explainer video length.
All the components we have discussed above highly impact the length of a video. For instance, Hubspot discovered that videos under five minutes in length are frequently viewed on smartphones
So, keeping all these facts and figures in your mind, you have to decide the length of your video.
What Is the Optimal Video Length?
The first thing you need to keep in mind is to keep your video’s length under 2 minutes, which is the ideal video length. However, the perfect length of a video depends on various factors, for instance, the target audience, the platform you’re choosing to upload your content, the intent, and the format you choose.
We have gathered some useful information on the length and format of a video along with examples:
Creative commercials: the optimal length is between 16 to 58 seconds.
What Should Be An Explainer Video Length?
Generally speaking, the ideal length for an explainer video is roughly 90 seconds. Bear in mind that explainers have a single primary objective: to convey a business concept or message in a couple of seconds and do it in an attractive, convincing, and captivating manner.
As a result, it comes to reason that these videos must be brief or risk losing their efficacy. Because your objective is to alleviate a viewer’s pain point, you must accomplish it before they lose interest. You cannot afford to squander any time.
Naturally, the duration of each explainer video will vary based on various factors, including the sort of animation video you choose, the niche of your company, etc.
Nonetheless, and based on our experience, the ideal length of an animated explainer video is between 60 and 90 seconds in duration. Within that timeframe, you can successfully communicate your message without losing engagement.
Why Should You Make Short Explainer Videos?
You might be unfamiliar with this, but keeping your videos short makes them more effective and improves retention rates.
The shorter the video, the more likely viewers will stay till the end.
The majority of search engine algorithms have been changed to prioritize video content with a high level of interaction. Interestingly, the more people who view your video, the more likely your message will reach them and spread it.
Obviously, these are not the only factors affecting the efficacy and length of videos – an exceedingly short video will accomplish little if the necessary information is not presented well! However, it does imply that, within reason, the shorter a video can be, the better it will perform.
Explainer Video Length: Top Practices
If you are still struggling with the length of your video and can’t figure out how to shorten the length of your video, consider these general practices. We as an explainer video production company incorporate these in our own projects. So, you’re getting pro tips on video editing here.
Make sure to read on.
Research your audience: Determine what type of content your target audience enjoys watching.
Be specific: If you’re making a Hollywood video, adding the element of suspense is a great idea. But when you’re creating an explainer video, be straightforward and don’t beat about the bush – in short, get to the point.
Put all of your attention on a single thought or notion at a time: Don’t overwhelm your audience by giving out too much information. Make use of the rest of the time to go into depth.
Don’t cram everything in one video: If you’re covering an extensive topic, don’t add too much information in one video. Instead, make a series to make it easier for your audience to understand what you are talking about.
The Ideal Length Of Social Media Videos – Facebook, Instagram, & YouTube
Context is everything. You might have heard this from people. Well, it’s pretty accurate. When talking about the optimal video length of social media, context matters a lot.
Each platform is different. Everything varies on each platform, including ideal video length. Even on the same platform, the video length varies, depending on the type of video.
So here comes the billion-dollar question,
“How long should be explainer video for social media be?”
Any idea? Well, if you have no clue about this, keep reading because in this section we’ll explore what should be the optimal length of social media videos. So, let’s begin with Facebook.
Facebook Videos:
Video duration is an important consideration for each of Facebook’s several video offerings. Let’s have a look at them:
Facebook organic 90-second video gets the most attention.
20 seconds is the maximum length of a Facebook narrative video
If a Facebook video ad appears before or in the news stream, it should be no more than 15 seconds in duration. The higher the completion rate, the shorter the video ad.
Instagram Videos:
If you’re looking to consume visual content, this platform is for you. This social platform prefers short videos over long ones because of it. How much short? Depending on the feature, it might be either:
The ideal video duration for an Instagram post is less than 30 seconds. According to HubSpot, 26-second video postings are the most popular on social media.
Each Instagram story can have a video that lasts up to 15 seconds. To generate a longer explainer video, you can use as many cards as you wish, but it’s best to use less than 3. Your video should be no more than 45 seconds long.
YouTube Videos:
In order to keep users on the site longer, the YouTube algorithm prefers lengthier videos. As a result, videos on YouTube are now an average of roughly 10 minutes long.
However, this does not obligate you to produce a lengthy video. Making your 2-minute video longer by cramming it full of filler is a waste of time. Even if it loses viewers and is disliked, it won’t get to the top of YouTube’s search results.
For this reason, it isn’t easy to decide how long YouTube videos should be. The appropriate runtime varies from video to video, depending on the intended audience and genre of video.
In Essence
According to all the conducted research, a two-minute video is a sweet spot. In other words, does this mean that all of your videos have to clock in at 120 seconds?
If you want your marketing efforts to be successful, you must consider certain factors. Here are a few of the most critical. Consider the duration of your video since it depends on several aspects.
It’s important to note that there is a sweet spot where the video length is just ideal when it comes to explainer videos. To obtain the best results, you’ll need to use a combination of best practices in the explainer video creation process, such as the ones we outlined in this blog article.
Moreover, if you’re looking for explainer video production companies to get your video project done, consider BuzzFlick. Our video animation agency offers outstanding video production services including, animated explainer videos, demo videos, whiteboard animation videos, to name a few.
Now that we have reached the end, we hope this blog will be of great help to you.
Explainer Video Length – FAQs
- How long should be an explainer video?
An explainer video should ideally be between 60-90 seconds.
- In how many hours can you make an explainer video?
There’s no definitive answer to this question, but generally, it takes 6 weeks depending on the style and complexity of the video.
- Is a 10-minute explainer video is too long?
How-to videos are often 10-minutes long. Such videos aim not to entertain the audience but to teach them something.
- How many words is a 90-second explainer video?
A 90-second explainer video contains 180-240 words approximately.
- What is the cost of a 1-minute explainer video?
The cost of a 1-minute explainer video is between $3500 to $5500. However, if you want more information on explainer video production cost, check out how much it cost to create an animated video.
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An animation enthusiast who enjoys explaining complex animation techniques, mediums, and videos. Her love for animated films drives her. In her spare time, she enjoys watching animated films from Pixar, Disney, and Illumination productions.
