What the Instagram Video Length Increase Means for Video Creators
Last week, Instagram surprised us with the announcement that their video limit is growing from 15 to 60 seconds. This change will have a huge impact on everyone from the most casual users to the largest corporations.
If you’re someone looking to create engaging and converting videos in this new age of Instagram – here are a few things to consider.
More video styles are now possible
Many types of videos were impossible or severely limited by the 15 second cap. There is now a lot of room to explore in-depth stories, promos, interviews, recipes/tutorials, and travel with video on Instagram.
Often you won’t even need the full 60 seconds. The 15 second format is great, but sometimes you need just a few more seconds to finish the story. Other times the 30-45 seconds could be the sweet spot. The ability to work in a wider range is a great opportunity.
Another big boost for mobile
As a (more or less) mobile-only platform, Instagram holds a lot of power in the mobile video industry. According to them, video watch time on Instagram has increased by 40% in the last 6 months.
With the max video length increasing by 400%, we can expect that number to increase at an even more dramatic rate.
Continued evolution of online video
60 seconds doubles up on Twitter’s current 30 second limit. Snapchat caps it at 10 seconds and Vine is still holding strong at 6. It will be interesting to see how Instagram pushes the other short-form platforms to keep up.
On the other hand, this pushes Instagram away from those services and puts them into competition with YouTube and Facebook. One minute opens the door for more substantial and impactful video content on Instagram which means a more even playing field.
Video demand keeps going up
If you’re a video creator or social media/marketing pro, get ready for an increase in requests for video. Now that much more is possible on Instagram and it’s easier to create content to be cross-posted on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, the video marketing hype train is at full speed.
With Instagram promising more video improvements in the near future and Facebook continuing to challenge YouTube as the top online video platform, there’s a lot to be excited about for the future of video.
