Video is a great way to communicate with customers and clients, but one of the most common mistakes a company can make is overestimating the length of the video.  It is a well-known fact that long videos are more likely to attract fewer viewers compared to short videos. Check out this graph from wistia.com which shows completion of percentages across thousands of videos that the site hosts:

Shorter appears to be the way to go. However, when truly thinking about length of video, content is the most important factor. If your video is compelling, viewers will spend more time with the content. The general online audience has a lower attention span for business-focused videos compared to watching goats cry like people and dogs playing nice with cats on YouTube.

How to determine the best length for your video based on content:

Intro videos range from 30 seconds to four minutes.  If a company wants to get out a brief message to people who may not be familiar with, the shorter the better.  If people like the shorter video then they may be more likely to watch a longer video by the same company.

Marketing videos are one of the most common types of videos available.  These are most often less than ten minutes and should offer new and insightful information.

Training videos can span a wide variety of lengths.  These can be most anything from educational videos to how to use software videos to a TED talk. However, it is still important to keep in mind that if the video is excessively long the viewer will likely not stay focused. Psychologists say that the average human sustained attention span is 20 minutes and this is likely a lot shorter for training videos.

Things to Keep in Mind:

• Put your message at the beginning: Audiences are more engaged in the beginning of a video If you use the last 10 seconds, the viewer is not likely to watch.  So don’t save the best for last!
• Make sure to be specific:  Get your point across with specific and valuable information. There’s no room to be vague here, you want to engage people with new information.
• And most importantly: Be real and compelling and you are sure to hold your audiences attention.