One of the common questions people have about explainer videos is: How long should an explainer video be?
While some people think that short videos are better, on the other hand, some think that long videos have more potential to convert a customer or at least share your message to your potential customers.
But no one exactly knows the perfect ideal length of an explainer video.
And because of this most explainer videos fail to provide massive success for the business.
While it’s impossible to find out the ideal length of an explainer video, there are some thumb rules that you can use to find out the perfect explainer video length specifically for your business.
So without wasting any further time let’s dig into the article and find out the answer to this question.
How Long Should Your Explainer Video be?
Explainer Videos have attracted an immense amount of popularity, especially in the last few years because of its ability to attract and engage someone’s attention in this busy distracting online world.
Thanks to the growing popularity of online video consumption.
In fact, according to statistics, 95% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
And more than 76% of marketers say explainer videos have helped them to increase sales.
Explainer videos are not an option anymore.
It almost became an integral part of video marketing for any kind of business.
But still, a lot of people don’t have any idea about explainer videos.
On the other hand, while some people know about explainer videos, they don’t have much knowledge about it.
And because of this people have lots of questions and doubts about explainer videos. The most common question among them is how long should an explainer video be?.
Usually, for most businesses, the ideal length of explainer videos is between 30 – 90 seconds.
From my personal experience, I would definitely suggest you to keep your videos as short as you can. The reason for this is short videos tend to have more retention time than longer videos.
In fact, in a case study by breadnbeyond, they found out that explainer videos shorter than 60 seconds length have the highest audience retention rate.
And when the length of the video goes beyond 2 minutes, the average views drop straight from 77% to 57%.
So it’s quite clear that the length of the video directly impacts the retention rate and attention span of the audience.
Why Explainer Video Lenght Matters A Lot?
There are quite a few reasons why explainer video length matters a lot.
And among them, two of the biggest reasons are cost and audience retention rate.
You might know that the biggest cost deciding factor of an explainer video is the length of the video.
In simple words:
The longer the video, the higher it costs.
So if you already have a limited or fixed budget for your explainer video then the length of your video will be sorely dependent on that.
However, if you’re going with an open or very high budget in mind then this should not be an issue for you.
But if you’re a small business, mid-size corporation, or someone who likes to move ahead with a clear budget in mind then you have to choose your video length that fits your pocket too.
Besides that the second most important reason why explainer video length matters is audience retention rate.
Usually, short videos are better than long videos because these days people don’t have much attention span or time to spend 5 minutes on a single video.
In fact, when a video goes beyond 2 minutes the audience retention rate starts to fall down very quickly.
Especially if you’re making an explainer video then make sure you’re keeping your video length below 2 minutes and try to make it as short as possible.
But remember that, just for the sake of making your video short, never miss out on any important message or point because it will cost you heavily and completely destroy your video.
In short, keep your message on point and don’t add any unnecessary message into your video that isn’t relevant to your business and audience.
So these are the two main reasons why you have to pay extra attention to your explainer video length.
4 Tips For Figuring Out The Ideal Lenght Of An Explainer Video For Your Business Or Product
Till now we’ve discussed an overall ideal length of an explainer video and why explainer video length matters.
But as I mentioned earlier, every business, every product, and every audience is different.
So you have to figure out the ideal explainer video length for your business on your own.
And to make it easy for you I’m going to share with you 4 proven tips that you can use to figure out the ideal explainer video length for your business.
Get Clarity On Your Goals
Why you want an explainer video?
You have to know the answer to this question.
If you don’t even know why you are making an explainer video and what is the ultimate goal you want to achieve through that video then you can never figure out the ideal explainer video length for your business.
So firstly, get clarity on the goal that you want to achieve through that video.
For example, if your goal is to create an ad video that will increase your sales then videos between the length of 30 – 60 seconds would be perfect for you.
On the other hand, If you want to increase your brand awareness, spread awareness about any cause or want to explain how your product works then longer videos usually between 60 – 120 seconds would be preferable.
Have a Clear Budget in Mind
Your budget directly impacts the length of your video.
Generally, explainer video costs are dependent on the duration of the video.
For example, If normally a 30-second video costs $3000 then the 60-second video would cost almost $6000. In some cases, explainer video companies might give you some discount if your video goes beyond 60 seconds but still, you have to pay a huge amount of money whenever the video duration increases.
Here’s why if you want to know what would be the ideal explainer video length especially for your business then at first you should definitely have a clear budget in mind.
If you have a budget of $5000 or less then you can expect your video duration to be 60 seconds.
Remember that the pricing varies a lot depending upon the type of video you want and the company you choose. However, as a thumb rule, you can take the average explainer video pricing and make your initial calculations on that.
Choose The Ideal Length For The Platform
Every platform is different and the preferable video length for each of those platforms is different as well.
Along with your goal and budget, you also have to know on which platform you’ll use or promote the video.
It’s a very crucial part of figuring out your ideal video length because if you choose the wrong video duration for the wrong platform then your video isn’t going to do well.
For example, If you want to use an explainer video on your website’s home page then you can choose your video length anywhere between 30 – 120 seconds.
While on the flip side, if you want to use an explainer video as a Facebook or Instagram ad then your video duration should be between 30 – 60 seconds.
You can see both of these platforms takes different video duration and that’s why I always recommend keeping the platform in mind while selecting an ideal explainer video duration for your business.
Type Of Explainer Video
There are many different kinds of explainer videos available on the market.
Among them some of the popular types of explainer videos are:
- Motion graphics explainer videos.
- 2D Animated explainer videos.
- Infographic explainer videos.
- 3D Animated videos.
- 2.5D Animation.
- And many more…
Now you might be thinking what is the connection between the type of explainer video and video duration.
Well, it’s important because each type of explainer video is different and used for different types of purposes.
So in case if you choose the wrong video type for the wrong purpose then you can’t really measure the ideal duration for your video.
Overall I think 4 of the tips that I’ve shared are somewhere synchronized with each other and you can only find out the ideal explainer video length for your business using these 4 tips altogether.
Are Short Explainer Videos Effective?
The simple answer to this question is – It depends.
Generally, short videos are always a better option for most of the businesses out there because short videos can hold audience attention and it also has the highest audience retention rate.
But still, short videos are not effective for everyone.
I’ve said it many time and I’ll say it again that every business is different and have a different audience set and goal.
So you have to figure out on your own what is good for your business.
Let’s take a simple example:
If you want to create an explainer video for spreading awareness then short videos wouldn’t be much effective because you won’t be able to cover all the information in a 30 seconds short video.
Again on the other hand, if you want to use an explainer video as a social media ad then short videos would be much more profitable and effective as well.
30 Second Vs 60 Seconds Vs 90 Seconds: Which One Is More Effective?
The duration between 30 – 90 seconds is the most popular length for an explainer video and you’ll see most of the explainer videos are somewhere between this time frame.
It’s quite difficult to tell that which time frame is more effective the reason being which works for my business might not for yours.
However many studies and experiments were done by marketers have found out that explainer videos with a duration of 60 seconds or less perform better.
So try to keep your videos within 60 seconds for better performance.
Conclusion
Overall I would say rather than listening to any general advice, use these 4 tips that I’ve shared with you to find out the optimal explainer video length that suits your business.
However, try to limit your explainer video duration to 120 seconds because beyond that the audience retention drops by a large number.
I hope now you have a clear idea about how long should an explainer video be.
What explainer video length is working great for your business? Let me know in the comments below.
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