How Long Should An Animated Video Be?

So, you’ve decided to head down the animated route for your next marketing campaign (Excellent choice!). You no doubt have a content strategy in place and may even have an idea of how you want your content to look, sound and feel. But now you’ve encountered a roadblock in the form of the appropriate video duration…

You don’t want to test your target audience’s patience with a drawn-out, feature-length video. Nor do you want to cram your content into a condensed time frame. Truth be told, you’d be better off trying to decipher the old adage about the length of a piece of string than trying to work out the ideal animated video length.

If we had to throw a general figure out there, most animated videos last around 60 seconds. However, even this run time would prove too long for certain styles of content and too short for others. So how do you work out what’s best? Well, there are a few factors to consider…

1. Who is your animated video’s audience?

This should be the foundation of every animated video that you create. Each video should be tailored to hit all the right notes with all the desired people. After all, if you aren’t hitting the spot with your target audience, odds are your videos aren’t going to be landing quite right with anyone at all.

First of all, it is important that you consider what it is that your audience is after. If they are expecting a snappy presentation of important data and are instead greeted with the next big animated blockbuster, odds are it won’t hit the correct tones. Tailor each piece of content to its specific purpose. If you are looking for a way to present data efficiently, keep your content short and sweet. If you are trying to draw your customer into an in-depth, emotional journey through your brand story perhaps a longer video would be more suitable.

It is also vital to bear in mind how your target demographic tends to consume media. For example, 75% of millennials watch videos on social media every day, so if you are targeting a younger audience then keeping your animated content social media friendly may be a smart move. Whereas something along the lines of an animated TV advert may be a better all-encompassing marketing content option. Here at The Animation Guys, we have extensive experience in how best to reach your target audience and structure your animated video around the delivery method.

2. What style of animated video are you creating?

Some research suggests that video view times generally tend to drop off after the 2-minute mark. So, it is advisable that you don’t stray too far over the 120-second mark when creating any animated video. But it is important to remember that animated marketing videos encompass an extremely diverse spectrum. With nothing limiting you but the boundaries of your imagination, animation can be used in a range of different contexts. Plus, the ideal animated video length for each genre can vary greatly.

One example to draw from is animation training videos. Given the importance of the video’s content, training videos require more time to explain what’s what. As such, they will require a longer playtime. After all, you don’t want to skip out any important details when training your staff. But even specific genres of marketing videos don’t have a specified “ideal run time”. It’s a case of suiting the work to the project in question.

Take this example of an animated training video series that we produced for Berkeley. Each of the videos that we produced runs over the magic 60-second mark. This is not a faux pas since training videos are typically longer. However, given that we needed to create a video series that could simplify an otherwise complex industry, keeping them short and snappy did the job. Overall, each specific clip should have a length that suits its individual purpose.

3. What platform are you creating your animated video for?

Animated marketing videos should be designed and created with delivery methods in mind. If you are creating content to wow a boardroom using an animated report, you should probably be looking at something that runs for a couple of minutes at least. Conversely, social media animation tends to be shorter in length to help capture people’s attention as they scroll through their feeds.

Speaking of social media, playtimes should even vary between the platforms themselves. Each social platform has its video run time limit and these should be catered to. This doesn’t mean creating entirely new content for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter individually. Rather, you should look to have different edits of the same content, optimised for each app. Again, there is no set “best animated video length” for each delivery method. Every project should be personalised to suit its specific purpose with your wider content strategy in mind. Do this correctly and you’ll be well on your way to creating an animated video that hits just right.

For further advice on animated video planning, creation and optimisation for your brand, get in touch by filling out an enquiry form on our website, sending us an email at wecanhelp@theanimationguys.com or giving us a call on +44 (0) 207 2886 319.