How can you make a video longer? How can I increase the duration of a short video?
To help you make your videos longer, we asked experienced content creators and marketing professionals this question for their best strategies. From sizzling up marketing videos with storytelling to adding transitions, there are several creative ways to help you produce longer videos that are rich and engaging in content.
Here are 10 strategies for making a video longer:
- Sizzle Up Marketing Videos With Storytelling
- Highlight Points as a Recap of What You Covered
- Pace Yourself for Time
- Repeat The Video
- Add an Outro
- Build Out The World of Your Story.
- Include Montages in Your Video for Length
- Add Table of Contents for Length and Engagement
- Bring in Examples and Detailed Explanations
- Add Transitions To The Video
Sizzle Up Marketing Videos With Storytelling
Product sizzle reel should tell a story, not just be a video list of features. Start with the problem – how has the world changed to present your audience with a new challenge or pain?
Next, paint a picture of their ideal world – describe how life would be better if the problem just vanished! Then you can present your solution – the magic wand that will make the problem go away. Give a taste of your product or service features and advantages. Back it up with social proof and trust symbols to give your audience a reason to believe that your solution will really work.
Finally, close with a call to action, whether that is contacting your sales team, starting a free trial or freemium account, getting a demo, or buying now. That’s all you need to turn wimpy videos into winning content assets.
Ryan Draving, Muhlenhaupt + Company
Highlight Points as a Recap of What You Covered
Recapping what you covered throughout the video is a great way to increase video length while driving home your point. Think of the recap as an outline that hits all the key information that you made during the video presentation. You can even include bullet points, added in after effects, so viewers can take notes if they choose. Depending on how many topics you discuss, a recap can add minutes to the entire video.
Jonathan Zacharias, GR0
Pace Yourself for Time
Clear establishing images of the company name and/or product marketing videos can often speed through flashy imagery without taking time to showcase the most important element – the name and logo of the company and its product. If the font is too small or the shots are too short, the brand recognition will be lost on an audience that has already moved onto the next video. The company should be front and center, and its placement should be memorable. It can be important to be as brief as possible to grab attention, but clarity is even more essential.
Stephen Skeel, 7 Wonders
Repeat The Video
Looping a video is one of the best techniques to extend its length on most social media platforms. The duration of the video can be increased by playing it again in succession. With looping, the action of the clip can be replayed without being changed in any manner.
Wherever you can, utilize captions. Captions that are visible on-screen wherever possible. Particularly if your audience is watching in a professional environment, videos on your website are probably initially watched in silent mode. Therefore, if your video doesn’t have captions, your message will likely go unnoticed.
Ayman Zaidi, Great People Search
Add an Outro
The final segment of your video, often known as the outro or end card, comes after the main presentation. The location is ideal for a call to action. An outro allows you one more opportunity to engage your audience and encourage action that can help your channel develop, whether you want to direct viewers to related videos on your channel, ask them to like the video or subscribe to your channel, post a link to your website, or do all of the above.
To add items to an end screen, your video must be at least 25 seconds long. You can have the elements of your end screen visible for anything between five and twenty seconds throughout your outro. Keep in mind that the longer they are displayed, the more time your audience has to respond and do the desired action. This is especially valid if you’re utilizing multiple types of elements. As a result, adding an outro might lengthen your video and make it more interesting.
Sanket Shah, InVideo
Build Out The World of Your Story
Build out the world of your video. Audiences want to dive into the story you are telling, so give them that experience by building out the world of your video. For example, if you’re filming a simple interview, add a piece before you get to the interview so your audience can see where your subject is coming from. What does the world look like outside of this interview room, and what does your subject look like in that world? Regardless of the style of video you are creating, there is always an opportunity to build out the environment of your story and provide your audience with more context and depth.
Tony Staehelin, Benable
Include Montages in Your Video for Length
Include a series of related montages in your video to lengthen the video time and, at the same time, hook the viewers through the rhetoric of establishing shots. This helps get rid of boredom as the video will be jam-packed not just with information but also creativity. People often forget montages because they are too focused on providing the right information when in fact, viewer retention also plays an imperative role in marketing. With that said, play with video editing a little, and don’t be afraid to include montages that stray away a bit from formality. It will help you keep viewer retention in the loop while extending the time frame of your videos.
Sam Browne, HARO SEO
Add Table of Contents for Length and Engagement
One great way to extend the length of a video while also not annoying your viewer is by adding a table of contents. Oftentimes a video starts with a brief introduction and then it goes right into the main contents. To help your viewer and simultaneously make your video longer, introduce all of the main topics you’ll be discussing and why they’re important. This also helps the viewer understand what parts of the video are most applicable to them.
Kelly Skelton, Backyard Assist
Bring in Examples and Detailed Explanations
The main way you can make a video longer is by keeping people interested in what you’re talking about by showing them more examples, more detailed explanations, and also more of your personality. Since most people love being able to see the person who is producing the content they’re watching, they love seeing you speak and they love hearing your voice while they watch it.
Also, the most common thing people fail to include in their videos is a glimpse at their personalities. Most people tend to make their videos too formal and stiff. You are a person, and you should demonstrate that through your personality, through your voice, and through the content, you show them.
Saunav Kaushik, VinPit
Add Transitions To The Video
A transition is a creative way to move from one scene to another. Using this valuable tool not only makes the video longer but also helps to set the stage for the next scene, convey a tone to viewers, and move the story along smoothly. Transitions can also signify a shift in storyline. Thanks to a wide range of transition types available, you can tailor them to your needs and make sure they serve the story. What’s more, transition length can be changed and easily adjusted to the video duration you want.
Agata Szczepanek, Resume Now
Submit Your Answer
Would you like to submit an alternative answer to the question, “How can you extend a video?” Submit your answer here.
Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published.