How long should a restaurant video be? 15 or 30 seconds, platform by platform
Reels, TikTok, Facebook ads and your Google Business Profile each favour a different length. What each platform says, and why we make 15 and 30.
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The honest answer is shorter than most owners expect. A bowl of ramen on a phone screen is not competing with a film. It is competing with a thumb that is already moving to the next thing, and it has about a second to stop it.
We make two lengths, about 15 seconds and about 30, and we are often asked why not 45 or 60. This is the reasoning, platform by platform.
What the platforms say#
| Platform | Their guidance | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | Instagram has said Reels longer than 90 seconds are less likely to be recommended, and studies of completion rates find viewers drop off steeply after the first 15 | Say it in the first seconds; finish before anyone leaves |
| TikTok | TikTok's guidance for brands puts the sweet spot at 21 to 34 seconds | A 30-second cut fits; so does a 15 |
| Facebook and Instagram ads | Meta tells advertisers to keep feed and Stories ads to 15 seconds or less | The 15 is ad-ready as it is |
| Google Business Profile | Video posts are capped at 30 seconds, 75 MB, 720p or better | A 30 fits exactly; anything longer is refused |
| YouTube Shorts | Up to three minutes | Both lengths qualify, and both are far shorter than the cap |
Notice that nothing in the table rewards length. The two numbers that appear as limits are 15 (Meta's recommendation) and 30 (Google's hard cap). A video that respects both can go everywhere a restaurant posts, without a second edit.
About 15 seconds: one thing, said well#
A 15 has room for three or four scenes: the dish, a second angle or the table it sits on, the room or the people, and the end card with your name and what to do next. That is one idea.
It is the right length for:
- A single dish, including a new one.
- A reminder that you exist and are open: "Lunch till 3", "Patio open".
- A quick look at the place for someone deciding where to go tonight.
Most of the videos we make are 15s, and it is the default on the batch form.
About 30 seconds: a set, or an offer with its terms#
A 30 has five or six scenes. The extra time is for things that need reading or counting:
- An offer with its conditions and its last day. "Two courses for $22, weekdays until November 30" takes a moment to read, and a video that cuts away before the terms are legible annoys people instead of bringing them in.
- A menu tour: five dishes, one each.
- A review quote with the dishes it mentions.
If you are unsure, pick 15. If the video has a date or a price in it, pick 30.
The first second decides#
Whatever the length, the first frame does most of the work. Food in motion or a face beats a logo; text on screen from the start matters because a large share of feed viewing happens with the sound off. Our videos open on the food, carry their message as text, and put your name at the end where the people who stayed will see it. The music is there for the people who have the sound on, and it is written for the video (more on that in the music problem).
Why we do not make 45s and 60s#
We can; a longer video is quoted as two. Almost nobody asks, and when they do, the thing they want to say turns out to fit in two 15s better than one 60, because two posts get two chances in the feed.
A batch of four#
A sensible mix for a Starter batch is three 15s and one 30: three dishes, and the offer or the review. When you fill in the batch brief, the length is one choice for the batch, and you can change it for a single video if you plan the videos yourself.
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