Instagram Testing Longer Videos, Which Look A Lot Like IGTV
Many artists and bands once relied on Instagram’s long-form IGTV as a way to get their music out, but after the platform retired the feature last year, they were stuck in the new reality of Reel’s short-form videos. Now Instagram is testing 3 and 10 minute videos on Reels, which makes it look a lot like IGTV has come back again.
While short-form videos are still what users prefer, there is a trend towards longer videos, as evidenced by TikTok‘s three minute length (although up to 10 minutes is possible). Some might say that Insta is following the market trends by adopting longer video length, but others think that the platform is more concerned with keeping up with TikTok so there’s less to differentiate between them.
Either way it could be a better experience for Insta users if all videos were be under Reels, as opposed to having to switch between IGTV and Reels as you did previously.
Ideal Length
Officially, Reels video length can currently be between 15 and 90 seconds long with the default time limit at 30 seconds. That said, several studies have found that the ideal length is between 7 and 15 seconds.
Some say that the ideal video length should follow the 3-15-3 rule, meaning 3 seconds for the video’s hook, 15 seconds for the content, and the last 3 seconds for a call-to-action, although that’s not appropriate for all videos or for all artists. Also be aware that videos that are recycled from TikTok are deprioritized, so you’ll want to avoid the TikTok watermark.
It should be noted that these longer Reels video lengths are still being tested in-house so they’re not widely available yet. It’s no guarantee that these 3 and 10 minute lengths will become a feature, but it’s one that most artists and bands can make use of if it’s released.
