How Short Is Sweet? A Social‑Pro’s Quick‑Fire Guide to Post Length
Hey there, fellow scroll‑stoppers! I’m Joe, a marketing specialist four years deep in the social trenches and powered by too much coffee. If you’ve ever wondered exactly how many characters and video length are “just right” before your audience ghosts your content, buckle up: here’s the need‑to‑know, minus the fluff.
TL;DR Cheat Sheet
Why Brevity Wins (and When to Break the Rule)
Algorithm Love: Most feeds rank posts by early engagement. Shorter copy means quicker reads, faster reactions, better reach.
Thumb Fatigue Is Real: The average user scrolls a marathon every day (slight exaggeration, but you get it). Trim the word‑fat so their thumb pauses on your CTA, not mid‑rant.
Mobile‑First Framing: More than 80 % of social browsing happens on 6‑inch screens. “See More” ellipses are conversion black holes.
That said, quality always outmuscles quantity. If you need 200 characters to make a joke land or 90 seconds to show a recipe, go for it—just remember to A/B test to verify the ROI.
Platform‑by‑Platform Story Time
Facebook: Think of News Feed like speed dating. Charm in under 80 chars, kiss your bounce rate goodbye. Extra credit: pair concise text with a vertical video (30–60 sec) for retention boosts.
Instagram: 150 characters is the sweet spot, enough to flex brand voice without burying the call‑to‑action. Bonus: reels that clock in at ~10 seconds consistently outperform longer edits.
X (Twitter): The 280‑character buffet is tempting; plate half. Posts nudging 100 chars score 17 % higher engagement. Add a 6‑char hashtag to ride trend waves without eating real estate.
TikTok: Hook viewers in the first three seconds and wrap before fifteen. My rule of thumb: if your punchline requires a part two, you filmed part one wrong.
LinkedIn: Execs skim between meetings, so front‑load value (25 words) and park thought‑leadership essays (1,900–2,000 words) inside the article tool instead.
YouTube: Seven to fifteen minutes satisfies the algorithm’s watch‑time craving and human attention spans. Anything longer needs chapter markers because viewers aren’t binge‑watching without popcorn.
Quick Optimization Hacks
Write → Halve → Punch Up: Draft your copy, cut it in half, then sprinkle personality.
Lead With the Payoff: Start sentences with verbs or numbers; end with emojis only if they add context.
Test in Batches: I run monthly experiments, one variable at a time (length, headline style, emoji count). Spreadsheet nerds, unite.
Monitor Retention Curves: On video‑centric platforms, watch drop‑off charts. A sharp fall at twelve seconds means your intro needs CPR.
Final Word
Perfect length isn’t guesswork; it’s data plus audience intuition. Use these benchmarks as training wheels, then iterate. And remember: the best post length is the one that lets your story breathe without putting readers to sleep.
