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Is My Video Too Long?

The never ending question seems to be: ‘Is my video too long?’  Do we have a chart that we must follow that details the  appropriate length of a video?  The answer is obviously ‘No’.  However, the latest statistics show that the average length of an online video is 3 to 3.5 minutes.  However, we have come across videos that vary in length.  This is evident from the videos we are attracted to on YouTube and even some clips found on Hulu.com.

We’ve always heard that in order to keep the attention of your audience that less is more.  The entire concept of making videos is to entertain or to attract your market to your service or product.  But lengths of videos will vary depending on the message you are trying to send out.  In order to know the answer to the length question is to test out your videos.  View the statistics of your longer videos vs the shorter videos.  Another solution is to re-cut your video and reduce the length by 30%.  Most importantly you want to keep track of the views of your videos.

If you find that your video is longer that anticipated, perhaps you can shorten it by adding sequels.  If your information cannot be condensed to 3 minutes; make several videos with a Part 1, 2 and 3 if needed. You need to keep in mind that you want your audience to be enticed, intrigued and simply interested in watching your video.  The last thing you want is for them to fall asleep, continuously yawn and completely forget you and your message.

Be creative by adding background music, text within the video or breaks with messages.  Keep your audience alert and they will enjoy your videos and come back often.  Most importantly they will remember your message and share that message with others, which of course is your ultimate goal.