Yes, video is hot across the social media landscape, with no signs of a cooling trend in sight. In fact, with the addition of Facebook Watch to the mix, it is sure to get even hotter. For many brands, just getting video out there is the goal. But those using it most successfully are conforming to platform-specific trends and seeing success. Here are recommendations for making the most of video across social channels.

Facebook
Cover Video: 20 to 90 seconds
Video: 60 to 90 seconds
Livestreams: 15 minutes or more

Remember, all video starts without sound on Facebook, so interesting visuals at the start are key to grabbing engagement. Also, loading directly to Facebook (instead of linking from YouTube) performs better here.

Instagram
Video: 30 seconds or less
IG Stories: 15 seconds

Videos can be up to 60 seconds in length, but 30 seconds seems to be the limit of best engagement. More than any other platform, Insta is all about visual content. Make it as visually appealing as possible. And don’t forget the hashtags.

YouTube
Video: Five to seven minutes

YouTube can also serve as a long-term visual library, a platform to host your videos and organize them by topics, locations, etc.

Twitter
Video: 30 to 45 seconds

Videos can now be up to two minutes and 20 seconds in length, but 45 seconds is best for engagement. Consider using video on Twitter as a way to “tease” full-length content that can be found on your website.

The differences may seem small, but each nuance can add to the success of your social video efforts. Using each platform to its best advantage, and creating and re-purposing video to its best use on each channel is just one of the services GMS provides for our clients.