How Long Should an Explainer Video Be?

What’s the sweet spot for an explainer video?

So you’ve decided that an explainer video is going to help you get your ideas across to thousands of new potential customers – if not more. You know the topic you want to cover, you’ve selected the points to get across, and now you’re sitting down to write your script. You don’t know it, but you’re also about to make a big mistake.

It’s a simple mistake and a common one: you’re going to make your video too long. It’s easy to see why this can happen – almost by definition, no one is going to make an explainer video without being enthusiastic about the subject. Add to this that people tend to be bad at estimating the length of a speech or conversation and it’s no wonder that most videos run over their optimum length.

What may surprise you is just how short that optimum length actually is. Video hosting firm Wistia studied the average length of time viewers were willing to watch the business videos on their site. The results showed that viewer attention dropped off sharply the longer the video was – fewer than 10% of viewers made it to the end of hour-long videos. But, strikingly, the numbers were relatively low even for much shorter videos. Fewer than 50% of viewers made it to the end of videos in the 2-3 minute range.

In fact, the data suggests that the optimum length for an explainer video may be in the 30-60 second range. It may not be much, but you can fit a surprising amount of information into a minute – and you have a much better chance of communicating your complete message to the viewer. This is especially important for business videos, which are typically trying to convey a single unified message. An explainer video abandoned by the viewer halfway through is as bad as one not watched at all.

If you have decided to create a short video, then, you’ll need to use some simple techniques to package your message in a manageable format. The simplest – and one of the most important – is to break up your message into as many smaller chunks as possible. The second is to front-load the video with material that keeps the viewer interested. Even short videos run the risk of losing viewers part of the way through, so beginning with the point will help you grab the viewer’s attention.

In some cases, of course, it simply isn’t possible to compress your message into the short space of a one-minute video; if this is the case, you’ll simply have to run the risk of losing some viewers, trusting that the ones who do make it all the way through your explainer video will come out the other end well-informed.

If you’re looking for explainer video production then contact the friendly experts at Stormnet Media. We create persuasive and powerful explainer videos that boost sales. Contact us today on 01527 910050 – we’d love to help.