Are short brand videos really better? Not always...

When it comes to online video ads, view time is not the only metric that matters, according to new research from marketing platform TwentyThree which throws into doubt the accepted wisdom that shorter is better.

by Helen Leggatt

Are shorter brand videos really better? Not always, according to TwentyThree. When engagement rates were analyzed, the company found that while 80% of videos created are under five minutes long, they account for under a third of video engagement. However, videos over 15 minutes long were found to be responsible for half of view engagement and videos lasting more than 45 minutes were responsible for 30% of viewer engagement.

The report, 'Don't Be Afraid to Go Long: Long Brand Videos Get High Engagement', found that Facebook viewers average 20 seconds per video view, and YouTube viewers average under one minute. However, when watching a video on a brand's own site (i.e. owned media) 66% of viewers average almost four minutes per video.

"On owned media, visitors are twice as likely to play your video content," says the report. "Even when a video is played, the experience context matters. Owned media is up to 12x better at driving engagement."

Consumers are also enjoying the novelty of live video and engagement for live video is 300% higher than for on-demand, even though 67% of live video viewing happens after the live event has ended.