How to Choose the Right Marketing Video Length for Any Goal
Discover what video length performs best for any marketing goal, backed by insights from 100 million videos.
Wondering how long your next marketing video should be? It all depends on your goal. A short, snappy video might be just right in one situation. In another, a longer, in-depth video could work better.
We know that’s not a one-size-fits-all answer, but here’s the good news: We’ve got the data to help you figure it out.
For our 2025 State of Video Report, we analyzed over 100 million videos uploaded to Wistia and found clear patterns in how video length, type, and placement affect viewer behavior and results.
What’s your marketing goal?
| Goal | Best length | Common types of videos |
|---|---|---|
| Raise brand awareness and engage on social | <1 min | Promos, product teasers, brand clips |
| Educate or explain | 1–5 mins | How-tos, product demos |
| Convert or nurture | 5–30 mins | Webinars, product walkthroughs, case studies |
| Retain or train | 30+ mins | Full webinars, online courses |
Raise brand awareness and engage on social: <1 minute
If your goal is to boost visibility and stop the scroll on social media, shorter is better.
Videos under a minute average a 50% engagement rate. That means viewers typically watch half of the video’s total length. That number holds steady across different types of videos under a minute: 45% for social media videos and 54% for product videos.
This length is great for promotional videos, product teasers, or brand awareness clips that need to hook viewers fast and deliver the message upfront.
Short videos aren’t just great for social. They also work well on websites, especially on product and contact pages.
Educate or explain: 1–5 minutes
Need to break down a concept or show how something works? The 1–5 minute range is the sweet spot.
Viewers typically watch 46% of a video in this range. But when it comes to how-to videos, they stick around much longer, usually for more than two-thirds of the runtime.
This length is also ideal for explainer videos, product overviews, or quick feature walkthroughs. These types of videos do pretty well in video galleries and on homepages and product pages.
Convert or nurture: 5–30 minutes
Longer videos are great for converting viewers or building deeper relationships with your existing customers. Videos between five and 30 minutes average a solid 10% conversion rate.
While engagement naturally declines after the five-minute mark, the viewers who stick around are more invested and more likely to take action. Just keep your video under 30 minutes. Our data shows a 13% drop in engagement once videos cross that line.
This range is perfect for on-demand webinars, product walkthroughs, and case studies, especially when they lead with value and answer real questions. These videos shine on event pages, resource hubs, and learning centers, where viewers are already eager to dive deeper.
Retain or train: 30+ minutes
When it comes to onboarding, training, or educating customers, long-form content can go the distance.
Your viewers are actively looking for answers, which means they’re more likely to stick around. This gives you the space to dive deep and fully cover the topic.
Content like this works best in help centers, customer onboarding hubs, and resource libraries where people come to learn.
