Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the different trends and new ideas flooding through social media. But, one thing that’s here to stay is video. This is because videos are such a versatile and fun way to communicate with your followers. 

Whether you’re posting updates on your stories or uploading a creative video campaign you spent hours putting together, there are many different ways to use videos on Instagram. 

But how long can your videos be on each of Instagram’s channels? Well, to put it simply, they can be anywhere between 3 seconds and 60 minutes long depending on the post type. 

With so many different video types on Instagram, it’s important to know the length for each one. Doing so allows you to create more targeted and engaging video content that isn’t too long or too short!

How Long Can Your Instagram Videos Be?

While we’re all pretty clued up when it comes to posting Instagram videos, there are various timing differences that come into play with the different video types. Keeping these time limits in mind when posting new videos will help you keep your video content concise and engaging. 

As it stands, Instagram video lengths are broken down by post type. Here are the categories: 

Feed Videos

At the moment, Instagram feed videos can be anywhere from 3 seconds to 60 seconds long. If you’re posting directly to your Insta-feed or profile, videos will be limited to 60 seconds or 1 minute. 

But what if your video is longer than the limit? Well, then you’ll need to select a 1-minute portion of it to post. 

Once you’ve selected the video of your choice and hit ‘Next’, you can trim the video as you see fit. Then, hold and drag the video until the section you would like to use is within the two handles. You will be able to drag the handles, manually left or right, to crop your video as you wish.

Story Videos

Stories are incredibly popular on Instagram because you can quickly and easily share content that disappears after 24 hours. The video length for Instagram stories is a maximum of 15 seconds per video post (or story card). 

What makes this feature stand out is that you are not limited to just that though. In cases where you want to post a video that is longer than 15 seconds, Instagram will automatically chop it up into 15-second parts. 

This only works for videos that are 1 minute long or shorter. If your video is longer, you’ll need to trim it down to 1 minute before posting it to your stories. 

But, how long can an Instagram video be when shooting your Instagram story live? The answer, once again, is that you’ll be limited to a maximum of 15 seconds in a single take.

Woman taking a video on her phone

Reels

Instagram Reels is the latest video feature on the platform to get our attention. With Reels, you can easily record and edit 15-second video clips, using a variety of additional audio clips, visual effects, and other creative tools. 

You can share your Reels with your followers, or, if you have a business account, you can make it available to the public Instagram community on the Explore page. This is an amazing way to reach more people and get your brand out there!

Instagram Live Videos

With Instagram Live videos, you have up to 60 minutes for each video. All your live streams will be saved as videos so that your followers can view them later in case they missed out. If you want to record for longer than an hour, you’ll simply need to start another 60-minute live stream. 

Live stream videos are one of the best ways to connect with your followers in real-time. They can comment and ask questions and you can answer them straight away! This can humanize your brand and help you to connect better with your audience. 

IGTV Videos

Ah – the YouTube of Instagram! This feature has become a fast favorite as it allows content creators to easily post their lengthier video content. 

While there are many tricks of the trade as well as many common IGTV mistakes, the reality is that this medium is extremely effective. 

Currently, you can post videos that are anywhere between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long. For those of you who have a verified account or simply have a large follower base, the upload limit for IGTV videos extends to 60 minutes!

What Is The Perfect Length For Instagram Videos?

After thorough investigation and detective work, we now know the answer to how long Instagram videos can be…

But how long should they be?

Many people believe that 30 seconds is the ideal time frame, as videos within this range tend to receive the most comments. But, ideally, your videos just shouldn’t be more than 60 seconds long. 

We’re basically bombarded with content on social media. So, it makes sense that we want to consume content quickly and that we might lose interest in something if it’s over a minute long.  

Quick Video Tip:

The reality is that Instagram, more so than other social media platforms, is dedicated to visuals. Make sure that your content is visually stimulating and eye-catching! Also, use hashtags to make sure that your content reaches the relevant global audience – helping people to find your profile or brand with ease.

3…2…1…Action!

Today, people tend to have very short attention spans – especially when scrolling through social media during their downtime. Yet, videos allow you to capture the attention of your followers and engage them for longer!

So it’s up to you, as the creator, to optimize your video content keeping this in mind. We’ll let you in on a little secret though…

The trick is to keep it simple! 

Your goal should be to make video content that stands out from the rest. No one wants to watch choppy, incoherent videos so edit your videos according to where you want to post them! This will help you to make sure that you reach the right people and keep them engaged. 

Author

Account Manager | Contentellect - Intelligent Content Creation

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