You just spent three hours creating a ten-minute video about your business. You covered everything—every detail, every feature, every angle.
Then you check your analytics. Average view duration? Forty-seven seconds.
Less than ten percent of people made it past the first minute. Your carefully crafted ending? The call to action you spent twenty minutes writing? Almost nobody saw it.
The problem isn’t your content. The problem is you’re making videos the length YOU want them to be, not the length your AUDIENCE needs them to be.
In today’s Video Lion, I’m showing you exactly how to match your video length to your platform, your purpose, and your audience’s attention span.
Come with me!
The Algorithm Reality
Every platform’s algorithm treats video length differently, and this changes everything about your reach.
YouTube’s traditional algorithm rewards total watch time. A ten-minute video where people watch five minutes can outperform a two-minute video people finish completely. But YouTube Shorts operates completely differently—under sixty seconds, and it prioritizes completion rate and re-watches.
LinkedIn favors dwell time. Sixty to ninety seconds hits the sweet spot where people watch completely without clicking away. Push past two minutes and completion rates drop, telling LinkedIn your content isn’t engaging.
Instagram and TikTok are ruthless about completion rate. A thirty-second video that eighty percent of people finish will get exponentially more reach than a two-minute video that only thirty percent complete. These platforms actively punish longer content people abandon.
The bottom line? Algorithms reward or punish you based on how your video length affects completion rates. Fight this, and you’re fighting for visibility with one hand tied behind your back.
Completion Rate Over View Count
A video with 10,000 views but fifteen percent completion rate is getting demolished by a video with 1,000 views and eighty percent completion rate.
Why? When viewers watch your whole video, the algorithm interprets that as “this is valuable content” and shows it to more people. A tight ninety-second video that ninety percent of people finish will outperform a brilliant five-minute video that only twenty percent complete.
This is why shorter often wins. Not because people are lazy, but because you’re respecting the implicit contract you make when someone clicks play.
Match Length to Purpose—Never Sacrifice Value
Different video purposes require different lengths, but one rule never changes: every single second must deliver massive value.
Brand awareness videos should be thirty to sixty seconds. Pack those seconds with who you are, what problem you solve, and why they should care.
Educational content might go longer, but only if every second adds genuine value. A three-minute tutorial is fine if you need three minutes to help someone understand something. But if you can deliver that transformation in ninety seconds, do it in ninety seconds.
Product demonstrations need enough time to show the product solving a problem—two to five minutes. But constantly ask yourself: am I showing how this helps them, or just showing off features?
Testimonials should be ninety to one hundred twenty seconds. Long enough for a complete story with emotion and specific results. Short enough that people watch it all and feel the impact.
Behind-the-scenes content works best at thirty to sixty seconds. Give people a valuable peek that builds connection, not a documentary that tests patience.
The Series Strategy
Can’t fit everything into a short video? Good. Don’t try.
Instead of one exhaustive ten-minute video covering everything, make five focused two-minute videos, each covering one specific aspect.
Completion rates skyrocket because each video feels manageable. You create five chances for discovery instead of one. And you build reasons for people to follow you for more.
The businesses dominating video content aren’t making the longest videos. They’re making series of targeted, valuable, short videos that keep audiences coming back.
The Twenty-Five Percent Rule
Try this with your next video: create your first draft however long feels natural. Then force yourself to cut twenty-five percent of the runtime.
This exercise is painful at first. You’ll think everything is essential. But as you cut, you’ll discover which parts truly matter and which parts are just you loving your own voice.
Tighten your opening. Eliminate redundant explanations. Cut tangents. Remove filler phrases.
What remains is sharper and more engaging. Tight, focused content feels professional and respectful. Loose, rambling content feels amateurish and inconsiderate.
The Mobile Reality
Over seventy percent of video views happen on mobile devices. People are watching while waiting in line, during their commute, or between meetings.
Mobile viewers are inherently more impatient. They’ve got three minutes before their coffee’s ready, not thirty minutes to invest in your comprehensive guide.
Design your video length around these micro-moments. When someone has three minutes, give them something valuable they can complete in three minutes. Don’t give them the first three minutes of a fifteen-minute video requiring them to come back later.
You know what people do when they realize a video is too long? They don’t bookmark it. They leave and forget about it.
The Real Truth
You’re making your videos too long because you’re trying to be comprehensive. You’re afraid of leaving something out.
But your audience doesn’t want comprehensive. They want useful.
They don’t need every possible scenario and exception. They need the core concept that solves their immediate problem. You can always make follow-up videos covering edge cases.
Stop trying to create the “definitive” video on your topic. Create the “most helpful for someone who needs this right now” video. Those are very different goals.
The best video isn’t the one that covers everything. It’s the one people actually watch all the way through and take action on.
That’s it for today. Before you go, don’t forget to give us a like or leave a comment, and, if you haven’t done it yet, subscribe to our channel to stay informed about everything related to video for business.
See you in the next Video Lion!