Boasting a 38% higher engagement rate than images, video based content is fast gaining traction on Instagram. This number becomes all the more significant when you consider the 1 billion unique users the platform sees each month. While we can’t stress enough on the importance of video content for Instagram, this brings us to an important question? What is the ideal Instagram video length? Well, the answer to this depends on the type of videos you are uploading – Instagram Live videos, Instagram feed videos, Instagram Story videos, or IGTV videos. Let’s dive into the nitty gritty details of Instagram video size.
How long can Instagram videos be?
- The average business video in 2018 was 07 minutes long
- 73% of business videos are two minutes or shorter
- Only 2% of business videos are 10 to 20 minutes long
- Videos produced in 2018 were one-third shorter than they were in 2017
Instagram video length limit depends on the type of video content you are uploading. Before you upload a video to Instagram, it is best to ensure that it is the right length.
- Instagram Feed Video Length can go anywhere between 3 and 60 seconds. The maximum Instagram video length for this type of video cannot exceed 1 minute.
- Instagram Story Video Length cannot exceed 15 seconds per card, but you can string together multiple clips which can be shared as successive stories, averaging longer than 15 seconds.
- Instagram Live Video Length can go up to 60 minutes.
- For most regular Instagram account holders, the IGTV videos range from 15 seconds to 10 minutes, while the Instagram video length limit extends up to 1 hour for IGTV clips. All IGTV video files must be uploaded from a MAC or PC in MP4 format, not exceeding the 5.4 GB max Instagram video size limit.
How Long Can Instagram Feed Video Length Be?
As I have already mentioned above, you are restricted to 3-60 seconds when it comes to posting Instagram feed videos. Even though Instagram doesn’t restrict you from uploading Instagram videos longer than 1 minute, but it only displays a maximum of one minute of that video on your Instagram feed. Not just the first minute though; you get to choose which minute of the video appears to your followers. Suppose you are uploading a 3-minute video to your Instagram feed. Once you have selected the video, click the “Trim” button and drag your video sideways to choose which 60 seconds of the video to upload.
However, if you have a longer video that you don’t wish to trim, you can actually get around the Instagram video length limit. All you have to do is create a carousal post. These types of posts allow you to share up to 10 videos or photos in a single posting, and viewers can swipe through to view the multiple clips. Simply chop your video up into separate clips, each meeting the 1-minute rule, and save each section as a new clip. Simply upload the clips sequentially into a carousel post, change the order of the clips if necessary, and hit post!
How Long Can Instagram Story Video Length Be?
While indubitably the most engaging, Instagram videos are also the most restrictive type of video formatting offered by Instagram. The Instagram Story Video Length can never exceed beyond the meagre 15 seconds mark. Not only that, they are highly elusive as well. They disappear into thin air 24 hours after you have posted them. This means that they can only be viewed for up to a day before they are lost to oblivion.
However, the good news is that Instagram automatically splices up all videos exceeding the upper limit, but falling below the 60 second mark, into 15-second segments, and all can be uploaded at once. So, let’s say, you have an amazing 60 seconds video, you can post it by uploading 4 x 15-second Instagram videos in succession in a story. However, for stories longer than 1 minute, you can use a lot of amazing Instagram story apps to manually cut long videos into 15-second clips, such as Storeo for Instagram, CutStory for Instagram, or Story Slicer. Even better, you can use the Lumen5 Instagram story creator to create multi-scene stories.
Marketers have come out with fun and exciting ways to use Instagram stories to engage their followers. From sharing snippets of their business products, to sneak-peaks of brides in the making, you can implement a plethora of video marketing strategies with Instagram stories.
What About The Maximum IGTV Video Length?
If you have an Instagram account, you must have spotted the cool Instagram TV feature on your account. IGTV is focused on creating much more immersive content for Instagram users. If you have a lot of followers on your verified account, you can enjoy up to 60 minutes of video length for IGTV.
Anyone can get started on IGTV. You can upload vertical, HD videos in long form via your video channel. The length of your IG video must also conform to the length requirement for this video category: a minimum of 15 seconds and a maximum of 10 minutes.
You can use IGTV as a separate app or within Instagram. Akin to YouTube, you can create an IGTV channel so that people can subscribe and view your content. videos are presented in widescreen, optimized for various devices.
But What is The Ideal Instagram Video Length For Maximum Traction?
When it comes to the ideal Instagram videos length, it surprisingly comes down to less than a minute according to a study by Hubspot, ideally between 25 and 30 seconds. The study puts 26 seconds as the ideal Instagram video length, judging by the most popular posts on Instagram. Not only that, research also indicates that viewers who watch the first 3 seconds of a video are more apt to see the entire video clip through; something we like to call hook, line, and sinker!
However, “viewers have the attention span of a jelly fish” is more of a myth. There is no rule that says that longer content doesn’t work on Instagram. You just need to be extra diligent about context and content when posting videos spanning longer than a minute. Instagram sees a lot of “scrollers”. If your content fails to reel them in, they scroll past to the next. But if your content gets them hooked, they’ll keep watching. Quality trumps quantity.
How To Find The Ideal Instagram Video Length For Your Specific Instagram Page?
While 26 seconds is generally considered to be the ideal Instagram video length, what works for one business may not work for all. In order to succeed at Instagram marketing, you need to know what video length works for your business. A good place to start is to monitor the engagement received by your videos, with the help of Instagram insights.
- If you want to garner access to Instagram insights, you need to change your personal account to a business account for free.
- For at least a month, keep posting videos of varying length.
- After a month, check out the “Content” tab in your Instagram Insights to see which of your posts got the most engagement.
- The length of the video that got the most engagement would provide you with a good number to stick to. For instance, if you Instagram Insights shows that videos spanning 45 seconds generated the most engagement, then prioritize posting videos that are 45 seconds long.
