Facebook video ads are a lot like street performers. They tend to occupy a crowded space, trying to catch your attention as soon as possible, but if they aren’t eye-catching or don’t deliver, you’ll just keep moving and pass them by. When it comes to performing, you want to be the main attraction—not the sideshow. To get a high engagement rate and more views on your Facebook video ads, they need to be too good to ignore—but about how long should a Facebook video ad be?
You have questions. We have answers. Keep reading to learn more!
As you probably already suspected, Facebook video ads are Facebook advertisements in the format of videos, which are great for e-commerce. Rather than writing out a long paragraph and/or uploading an image, you will need to either create a video on your own in-house, work with a professional marketer to create one or use video content that is already existing to upload to Facebook’s native video player. From there, you’ll be able to customize your video description, thumbnail, budget, and the target audience you serve the ad campaign to.
So, about how long should a Facebook video ad run, you ask? The general rule of thumb for video length is as follows:
Your video advertisement should be just as long as it needs to be in order to get your information across—and not a second longer.
You see, attention spans are pretty short, especially when it comes to social networks. So it follows that video ads should be designed to be engaging and captivating all the way through. Your ad should provide information that is valuable or tell a story that’s compelling, without any unnecessary details.
For an advertisement, just a few seconds may be all it takes to reveal a special promotion. For a how-to video ad, it could take much longer to give your audience all the information they need to do the thing that you are trying to teach them to do.
Facebook video advertisements can be up to 240 minutes long—but how long should they be? It really depends on a few factors. Below, we will break it down for organic Facebook videos and Facebook video ads.
Organic Facebook Video
Organic Facebook videos are videos that you post to your Facebook page without spending money on any advertising. As you may have heard or even seen in your own Facebook Insights, Facebook has shared that “videos get shown organically to more individuals when they are at least three minutes long.”
But in reality, should all your organic video posts be three minutes long? In some cases, a longer video ad, or even a carousel of videos, may be the right path for you to take. Three minutes or more may be ideal if you are a publisher, for example, looking to tell longer stories in video form or to break down the steps of complicated concepts.
However, Facebook suggests that small businesses try keeping their videos to around fifteen seconds as much as possible. Cut to the chase, keep it short and sweet, and get your main point across early in the short video. It should be just as long as it needs to be to convey your message.
If you’re not seeing the reach you’d like, tacking on extra time to hit that three-minute mark won’t necessarily help get you more video views. Keep in mind that the length of your video clip isn’t the only thing that Facebook’s algorithm is taking into account. Facebook won’t show a video to more consumers just because it’s three minutes. The video also has to hold the interest of your audience and spark engagement for ideal Facebook video marketing.
To help keep your audience’s attention, regardless of your video length, here are a few great tips you can try:
Make every second count. Every single second that doesn’t count is an opportunity for your audience to lose their interest. Always remember to include just the info you need to get your point across.
Save the best for first. Rather than saving the best for last, save it first. Put up your best imagery front and center to capture the attention of your viewers and entice them to watch as they scroll through their news feeds.
Optimize for mobile devices. Eighty-eight percent of users on Facebook access the social media network from a mobile device. Always preview your videos on your personal phone to make sure the text is legible and your imagery works on small screens, rather than just a full screen. This may take some work when it comes to video format so that you can be sure that your content will work as the square videos that Facebook often shows viewers.
Optimize for sound off. Another interesting statistic: 85 percent of Facebook viewers are watching without volume, especially as they come up on autoplay. Be sure to use text to make your story clean or, for longer videos with people speaking on camera or voiceovers, try uploading Facebook video subtitles along with your video.
Facebook Video Ads
If you are interested in getting your video advertising in front of a larger crowd, you can pay to boost it or run it as a video advertisement. Similar to organic videos, Facebook video advertisements can be up to 240 minutes. But even though you are given that much time, you should really keep them as short as possible.
Remember, when you pay to promote a video as an advertisement, you are showing up in the feeds of millions of viewers that aren’t necessarily looking for your specific content—and they may not even know who you are! While this can raise brand awareness among active users, it also means that you need to be careful with what you’re putting up. So you want to keep things short and sweet, and maybe include a call to action (or a CTA) to encourage Facebook users to make a purchase or check out your site.
Facebook video ads are arguably the best way to ensure consumers remember your company’s brand and come back to your website. Video isn’t just trending on Facebook—it’s a strategy that works to engage and convert visitors, to push leads down the funnel in email marketing campaigns, as well as to fuel engagement across multiple social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter.
Facebook ads may be simple to set up but believe us when we say it’s much harder to make them work to get the metrics that you want. That’s why it can be really beneficial to hire a great agency to help!
Hiring a specialist to handle your Facebook ads comes with so many benefits, such as:
Eliminating stress.
For many people, the thought of having to do their own taxes and handle their finances comes with a lot of stress. So, they hire a specialist and have an accountant take care of it all for them. Hiring a Facebook ads specialist is the same. By hiring a professional, business owners can sleep at night knowing their Facebook advertising is in good hands. You don’t have to worry that you might be making mistakes or wasting your marketing money. Your amazing Facebook ads manager will be on the case!
Keeping up with changes.
It goes without saying that Facebook is always evolving. They are constantly adding in new features and tweaking the old ones. All this makes for better ads, but it can be really tough to keep up. A Facebook ad specialist spends a large chunk of their week running effective campaigns. They will be the first to know if there has been a change, update, or new features and will be able to immediately advise you on which will work best for you and your growing business.
Saving time.
Setting up and managing Facebook ads may not be the best way to spend your very valuable time as a business owner. Hiring someone to do it for you will give you the freedom to invest time—otherwise spent on marketing—on other areas of your business.
So, how long should a Facebook Video ad be, you ask?
As we mentioned, your video should be just as long as it needs to be in order to get your information across and not a second longer.
Facebook advertising is extremely effective, but it can be really tough to do it on your own. Additionally, if your Facebook ads are not engaging or the correct length of time or in the right ad format, you could essentially be throwing money down the drain without getting the conversion rate that you’re looking for.
Consider hiring a great company like MuteSix—an award-winning Facebook ad agency. MuteSix goes above and beyond the call of duty to create Facebook ads that are timed correctly, captivating, and are sure to take your business to the next level.
Don’t settle for an agency that doesn’t have experience—call MuteSix today!
Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/business/help/942567712892076?id=203539221057259