Facebook Stories allow users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. With Stories, users can post short snippets of their day without worrying about overloading friends’ News Feeds. But how long can a Facebook Story actually be?
The Technical Limit
Facebook currently allows Stories to be up to 20 seconds long for videos and up to 15 seconds per photo. So technically, you could create a Story over 30 minutes long by posting the maximum photo and video lengths back to back. However, this would be an extremely tedious user experience!
Most users try to keep their Stories under a minute or two to avoid boring their audience. Attention spans are short on social media, so you want to share an engaging snippet, not a whole movie.
Best Practices
Here are some best practices for Facebook Story length:
- Videos: 3-10 seconds is ideal
- Photos: Share 1-5 photos in a Story
- Total length: Keep it under 20-30 seconds
You want your Story to be long enough to share a meaningful update but short enough to maintain interest throughout. Some key tips:
- Get straight to the point – don’t waste time in Stories
- Show don’t tell – let the visuals tell the story
- Use text sparingly – a few words or emojis to compliment the visuals
- Engage viewers – ask questions, run polls, use interactive stickers
When to Use Longer Stories
Most Stories should stick to 20-30 seconds but there are some cases where a longer Story makes sense:
- Detailed tutorials or how-tos: 1-2 minutes
- Recounting experiences: 1-3 minutes
- Sharing multiple short snippets: Up to 1 minute
The key is keeping the viewer engaged and hit storytelling components throughout – humor, drama, conflict, resolution.
Maintaining Interest
Regardless of length, focus on creating an interesting narrative arc and storyline throughout your Story. Some ideas:
- Hook viewers immediately – start strong
- Build suspense and interest – leave them wanting more
- Use cliffhangers to transition between scenes
- Save the best for last – end on a high note
- Use continuity between scenes – connect the storyline
Thinking cinematically and using editing transitions like fade outs or text screens will help blend a longer Story together into a cohesive unit. Avoid abrupt jumps between unrelated clips.
Why Long Stories Can Backfire
While Stories over 30 seconds can work in some cases, there are risks to going too long. Some downsides of overly long Stories include:
- High drop-off rate as viewers lose interest
- Looking like you’re oversharing or showing off
- Boring your audience with too much irrelevant content
- Seeming inauthentic instead of fresh and “in the moment”
The ephemeral nature of Stories means most people expect quick, casual updates. You don’t want to violate those expectations unless you have a very compelling reason to go longer.
Optimizing Viewership
While you can technically go up to 30 minutes, most Stories should be 15-30 seconds long. Here are some final tips for optimizing viewership:
- Frontload your best content
- Hook viewers in the first 3 seconds
- End strong and leave them wanting more
- Break up longer Stories into multiple parts
- Analyze engagement metrics and listen to feedback
Pay attention to which Stories resonate with your audience and which cause dropoffs. Survey your followers or look at view duration metrics.
Let data guide your optimal Story length rather than defaulting to the maximum allowed. Test out different approaches and see what performs best.
Examples of Effective Longer Stories
To inspire you, here are some examples of brands using longer Stories effectively:
Tutorials
- Anthropologie shares sewing and craft tutorials
- Glossier gives beauty tips and tricks
- Bon Appetit offers cooking how-tos
Product Launches
- Milk Makeup previewed their Hydro Grip Primer
- Fenty Beauty revealed new summer shades
- Ouai introduced their detox shampoo
Behind-the-Scenes
- REI gives a look into their corporate retreats
- Tasty shows how recipes are made
- Buzzfeed offers a day in the life of their journalists
Recounting Experiences
- Airbnb captured a family trip to Mexico
- GoPro shared action shots from a surf competition
- Stella Artois showed Cannes Film Festival highlights
The key in these examples is keeping the content compelling through great visuals, entertaining commentary, and engaging narrative elements.
Conclusion
To summarize, the parameters around Facebook Story length are:
- Up to 15 seconds per photo
- Up to 20 seconds per video
- Technical limit of over 30 minutes
However, the best practice is to keep Stories under 30 seconds with most in the 15-20 second range. Only go longer for very specific use cases like detailed tutorials. Maintain interest through stellar visuals and storytelling techniques.
Analyze your metrics and listen to your audience’s feedback to determine the ideal length for your brand. Stay purposeful about each Story you share and make it count!