Trainers and HR professionals often ask us: What length do you recommend for a learning video? Now we answer this question also on our blog!
Learning videos under 3 minutes long
The clear recommendation from the blink.it learning experts: Keep your video as short as possible – ideally under 3 minutes! Based on experience, the ideal length is actually only between 1 and 2 minutes.
It might be difficult for you to keep it that short when creating your own video. Then I have a simple tip for you: Imagine you are entering an elevator. Next to you stands a person to whom you want to explain your learning content. While both of you are riding up in the elevator, you have very little time to convince the person of your message. This method is known as an Elevator Pitch and is mostly used in sales conversations.
By the way, funny irony: If you search for "Elevator Pitch" or "Elevator Statement" on Google, you will hardly find any videos under three minutes.
Guide: Creating good videos on your smartphone
Beyond the right length, there are many more things to consider when shooting a learning video. Get our guide now with lots of information about planning, shooting, and post-production of videos with your smartphone!
“Are you still there?” Attention is limited!
So why should you use such short learning videos? There are two main reasons for this:
Focus: Every piece of content has a core message that needs to be conveyed.
Attention: The human attention span is very limited.
This fact is increasingly recognized by companies: Studies show that videos in a business context are becoming shorter. In 2017, an average video was still 6:07 minutes long, and in 2018 it was only 4:07 minutes (source) – that's a full two minutes shorter!
Especially in times of digitalization, in which we are bombarded by media and videos from all sides, our attention span decreases. Therefore, in e-learnings and online courses, not only should a learning video be kept short, but every piece of learning content should be manageable in a maximum of 5 minutes. This was also the result of our own study to define the perfect length of an online course.
And if a video is longer and you would like to use it for your online course? Our answer: Try to divide the video into meaningful sections or edit it in such a way that only the most important core message remains. This is not always easy, but it pays off for the learning effect. Your message should be clear and immediately understandable – it is generally not the participant's job to conduct content analysis!
Therefore, the rule is: Shorten videos for online courses so that the core message is conveyed clearly – and supplement the learning unit with a precise call to action: What should your participant do with this statement now?
Rule of thumb for the perfect length for learning videos: Stay under three minutes!
The topic of learning videos is of course not fully covered by the ideal length: What equipment do I need to create a learning video? What else do I need to pay attention to besides the length? – Answers to these and more questions can be found in our video guide, which we offer to you as a free download. Enjoy your learning videos!
