Video Marketing: Video Length and Posting Frequency

How much of a time investment is video marketing?

Let’s consider each of these platforms.

YouTube

• If you are on YouTube, it is widely recommended you post a minimum of one time per week.
• The best days of the week to post YouTube videos are Thursday and Friday.
• The best-optimized videos on YouTube are between 7-15 minutes long. You can see how that lends itself well to long-form teaching, giving a tutorial, or telling a story.

TikTok

• On TikTok, it’s recommended you post 1-3 times a day. That’s a lot of content creation and will take more time.
• Optimal posting time varies by the day, but this blog from Influencer Marketing Hub takes a very helpful in depth look at optimal posting times for TikTok.
• TikTok also feeds off of engagement, so expect to spend time daily interacting: liking videos, commenting and following other people.
• If you get a TikTok audience or a viral video, it can pay off huge. Just know it takes dedication, and it’s a big-time commitment.
• TikTok videos are small snippets. It can be as long as three minutes, but the sweet spot tends to be 30-90 seconds for best optimization.

Instagram

• Aim to post on Instagram 2-3 times a week. Keep in mind this is total posts, you don’t need to post a video every time, but aim for at least one a week.
• The best day to post to Instagram is Thursday, but Wednesday and Friday mornings around 10am EST also do well.
• Instagram videos are also 30-90 seconds for optimal interest and engagement.
• Let your videos work harder for you by saving your TikTok videos and sharing them over to Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook

• The recommendation on Facebook is to post one time per day. As with Instagram, you don’t need to post a video every time, but aim for once or twice a week.
• The best day to post is Wednesday at 11 am and 1 pm.
• For Facebook ads, aim for video that is sixty-seconds long.
• Facebook Live videos should be longer – 10 minutes minimum. If your Facebook Live is too short, it is unlikely many people will join.
• When you go live, add filler in the beginning before you get into the meat of your video to give people time to join.

Newsletter

• It’s more important for your newsletter to be consistent than frequent.
• The worst days to send newsletters are Monday and Friday. We recommend you stick to sending newsletters on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
• We typically recommend once a week or once a month but it’s important that you have something of value to say when you write a newsletter. Don’t write one just to write it.
• Using a video in your newsletter can be a great way to connect to you audience and up engagement.
• If you are using a video in your newsletter, keep the video to about two minutes or less.

Blog

• For Google to love you, it is best to blog two times per week.
• Many studies suggest the best days to release blogs are Sunday and Monday in the morning.
• Do all your blogs need to include video? Absolutely not!
• If you post video and your audience seems to like it, you need to post video often enough that they expect and want to see that on your blog.
• In your blog, aim for a two-minute video unless your audience expects it to be longer and will click on it and watch all the way through.

The Big Ask

1. How much time are you willing to commit? If you want video marketing to work, you must ask how much time you are ready to commit to making those videos. Then figure out what kind of videos you can realistically create in that time.
   
   If you are only willing to commit to a single hour of creating a video, a book trailer is probably your best option. On the other hand, if you’re on TikTok all the time anyway and eager to commit to building that platform, it may be a good fit.
    
2. How much time and interaction are you willing to dedicate to social media or online channels? If you want to go viral on TikTok, you have to make friends on TikTok. You’ve got to watch videos, share videos, comment on videos, and follow tags. You’ve got to be interactive.
   
   If you know that just isn’t going to happen, posting a video trailer on Facebook or running an ad is the best use of your time.

I love videos and think videos are smart and are absolutely going viral this year. However, I also believe it makes perfect sense to recognize what you are willing to do and what will best serve you and your goals. If you invest your time in video marketing, figure out how to make the most of it. There is no need to spin your wheels and waste energy if you don’t have the time or inclination to pursue specific platforms.

Find your audience, decide your commitment level and be consistent.

For more information on video marketing:

• Video Marketing for Authors in 2022
• Types of Book Marketing Videos and How to Use Them