How long should my campaign video be?
It all depends what the goal is, but the main reason I’m asking this question is to challenge the default response.
Conventional campaign wisdom says that video content should be cut into 60-second, 30-second, and 15-second spots. Why? Well, for one, those are the options that conventional TV stations have always given clients who reserve advertising time. TV stations pre-program their broadcasts down to the frame, so requirements are strict and even millisecond-long deviations are prohibited. Then there’s the content that’s shorter than 15 seconds, made for Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube (unskippable bumper ads on YouTube, for example, tend to last 6 seconds). However, not enough people are thinking about the universe in which things are longer than one minute. I think that’s a missed opportunity.
Not many people know this, but as of 2019 Facebook and its algorithm actually give preferential treatment to organic (non-paid) video content that’s 3 minutes long. “Why would they do that? I thought people’s attention spans were getting shorter and shorter.” Well, not necessarily. If I had to guess why Facebook made this decision, it would be because they see long-form content succeeding on their competitors’ platforms, namely, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Long-form on those platforms has exploded over the last five years and Facebook probably made the business decision to keep people on their platform for longer periods of time – just like their competitors – so they could sell more ad inventory.
What does this mean for your content strategy? It means you’re not time-limited like you think you are. Granular content that actually addresses the needs of its audience does better in search results, and it just provides more value to the end-user. It also gives you a chance to be authentic. People tend to let loose when they’re given adequate time to explain their thoughts. Instead of trying to conform yourself to 30 seconds that are entirely scripted, go off the cuff to deliver useful information to the people who listen to you. Be authentic. People who watch you will start to consider you an authoritative incredible resource on the things that matter to them – and this will grow your base naturally.
Some of the most successful media projects in the last 10 years have been Internet channels that spiral from tangent to tangent for hours on end. The Joe Rogan Experience (2+ hours per episode) and countless other channels have made it big doing interviews with interesting and unique personalities that have amassed hundreds of millions of views. So my point is: if you’ve got something real to say, make the time to say it.
If you’re a small business that sells a product, your next video could be a deep dive into the mechanics of your product or it’s different uses and applications. If you’re a candidate for office, take the time to explain the local tax structure, or how a recently passed bill affects your constituents – whatever it takes to give the viewer that value-add.
As a last comment, if you only show up to talk when you need something from your audience, they will notice that very quickly and tune you out. Political campaigns that send out a single piece of mail the month of an election are probably doomed to fail if the district is remotely competitive, and brands should know better than to rely on a one-off to increase sales. Make your communications a two-way street of information and learning. By creating brand affinity over the long term, you can reap the rewards of intimate, trusting relationships with your audience.
