The Ideal Length for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn Posts

Trending 9 months ago

When it comes to penning matter for your blog and societal media posts, galore marketers wonder, "But what's nan characteristic limit?"

A personification types astatine a laptop and adjacent to images of pens to correspond nan perfect station magnitude for blog posts and societal media platforms.

It's ne'er a elemental mobility — sometimes, it's answered by parameters established by definite channels. And connected different occasions, it's much a mobility of what's ideal.

For example, you astir apt cognize nan characteristic limit for a tweet is 140, but did you cognize that nan perfect magnitude is really little than that? (Hold tight -- we'll explicate why.) 

While we've written earlier astir optimizing your existent content, we thought it would beryllium adjuvant to stitchery nan numbers of characteristic limits -- some enforced and perfect — for different online channels, each successful 1 place.

Below, you'll find a much elaborate guideline to characteristic limits and perfect characteristic counts for posts connected your blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, SnapChat, and YouTube.

 Social Media Calendar Template [Access Now]

The Length & Character Count for Everything connected nan Internet

1. Blog Posts

1-6nX_PYNpn0Ajc0tardzIkg.pngSource: Medium

Quick reference:

  • Post length: 1,400 - 2,100 words
  • Title: Under 60 characters
  • Meta Description: Under 155 characters

Untitled creation (17)

Featured Resource: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

Post Body

When it comes to nan magnitude of blog posts, location are a fewer different items to consider. For example:

  • According to Medium, posts pinch an mean publication clip of seven minutes captured nan astir attention. Though nan information connected this is from 2013, this number is still wide cited. 
  • The mean reference velocity of autochthonal English-speaking adults remains commonly cited arsenic 200-300 words per minute, based connected nan results of respective studies.
  • At that reference rate, nan perfect station magnitude is 1,400 to 2,100 words.
  • That aligns pinch investigation antecedently conducted by Capsicum Mediaworks, which indicated that, connected average, nan apical 10 results for astir Google searches are betwixt 2,000 and 2,500 words.

average-content-length-top10-resultsSource: Capsicum Mediaworks

But that's conscionable nan station assemblage — let's person a look astatine nan different areas of matter that comprise a afloat blog post.

Title

The magnitude of your title depends connected your goals, and wherever it will appear.

Let's commencement pinch SEO. Do you want this station to rank really good successful search? It turns out, that often has to do pinch nan dimensions of each introduction connected a hunt motor results page (SERP).

For Google, titles of hunt results are usually contained astatine a magnitude of 600 pixels — which Moz measures arsenic being capable to show nan first 50-60 characters of a title tag.

So, if you don't want your title to get trim disconnected successful nan hunt results, it mightiness beryllium champion to support it nether 60 characters.

But erstwhile successful doubt, you tin double-check nan magnitude of your meta explanation and title tags pinch this useful instrumentality from HigherVisibility, aliases you tin usage Moz's title tag preview tool.

For Moz's title tag tool, type successful your header and nan instrumentality will show you really it would look successful Google results. 

Moz-May-13-2023-05-37-57-4862-PM

Then, there's optimizing your title for societal sharing. On Twitter, for example, see that each tweet has a limit of 280 characters — however, if you see an image, that doesn't count toward nan limit.

But see that moreover nan mean shortened URL takes up astir 23 characters — that leaves you pinch astir 257 characters near for nan title and immoderate accompanying text.

In our ain study astatine HubSpot, we recovered that headlines betwixt 8–12 words successful magnitude sewage nan astir Twitter shares connected average, while headlines pinch either 12 aliases 14 words sewage nan astir Facebook Likes.

headline-length-vs-social-shares.png

Meta Description

A meta description refers to nan HTML property that explains nan contents of a fixed webpage. It's nan short explanation you spot connected a SERP to "preview" what nan page is about. 

14 examplesMoz notes that Google seems to trim disconnected astir meta descriptions — sometimes called snippets — aft astir two lines of text. However, there's immoderate conjecture that, for illustration title tags, it's really based connected pixel count.

In immoderate case, it amounts to astir 160 characters, though this peculiar outlet recommends keeping it astatine 155.

Again, you tin double-check nan magnitude of your meta explanation and title tags pinch this useful instrumentality from HigherVisibility.

hypervisibilityImage Source

2. Facebook

Quick reference:

  • Status updates: 63,206-character maximum | Ideal magnitude is 40 characters
  • Video: 120-minute maximum | Ideal magnitude is 2 minutes

Facebook Character Limit

Facebook offers a generous characteristic limit of 63,206. However, you should purpose to support your posts to a condemnation aliases 2 for amended engagement.

Facebook's characteristic limit connected position updates is 63,206. However, that's acold from ideal, says erstwhile HubSpot Social Media Marketing Manager Chelsea Hunersen.

"The societal gurus will propulsion astir nan number 40 characters," she says. "That information seems to beryllium backed up by BuzzSumo's ranking of HubSpot's ain Facebook Page."

But why 40, specifically?

"Ideally," Hunersen says, "you'll want to usage nan transcript successful a position update to supply discourse for immoderate you're linking to."

That said, she notes, nan transcript of nan position update itself isn't arsenic important arsenic nan transcript successful nan meta title aliases meta explanation that gets pulled successful erstwhile you insert a nexus into your post. That's correct — societal media posts person their ain meta information too.

"Often, group look astatine nan image of nan article and past straight down astatine nan meta title and meta explanation for discourse clues," she explains. "A batch of group don't recognize you tin alteration those."

Even connected Facebook, it's still champion to support your meta title to less than 60 characters, and to 155 for meta descriptions.

There are immoderate resources disposable to those acquainted pinch coding that fto you play astir pinch societal media metadata characteristic counts, for illustration these templates. But unless you're a developer, we urge keeping it short and sweet.

Video

While Facebook allows a maximum of 240 minutes for astir videos (excluding Stories and Reels), we wouldn't counsel posting thing that long, unless you're doing a special, social-media-only screening of a full-length film.

Facebook videosImage source

Facebook recommends keeping videos short to astir 15 seconds so viewers are much apt to watch to nan end. 

3. Twitter

Quick reference:

  • Tweets: 280-character maximum
    • Does not see images, videos, aliases polls
    • Ideal magnitude is 240-259 characters
  • Hashtags: No much than two
  • Videos: Maximum magnitude is 2 minutes and 20 seconds

Featured Resource: How to Use Twitter for Business

Twitter Character Count

In caller years, Twitter doubled its tweet characteristic count from 140 to 280.

Marketers everyplace rejoiced erstwhile Twitter yet eased up connected its characteristic count parameters, and specified media arsenic images, videos, and polls, arsenic good arsenic quoted tweets, ceased counting toward its 140-character limit.

Still, nan "Quote Tweet" characteristic remains available, providing moreover greater character-saving measures. That happens erstwhile you property nan rotating arrow icon to retweet a post, and past adhd a remark successful nan matter container provided. You've still sewage 280 characters each to yourself to comment.

example-May-13-2023-07-19-00-4671-PM 

Ideal Length Overall

Twitter differs from different platforms successful nan consciousness that longer tweets thin to execute better and get nan astir engagement.

According to SEO master Kurt Gessler, tweets pinch 240-259 characters thin to get nan astir likes. 

Capture-May-13-2023-07-28-25-9006-PMImage source

The aforesaid goes for hashtags. Twitter recommends keeping your hashtags short, easy to remember, and easy to spell. The level besides suggests sticking to only one aliases 2 hashtags astatine nan most.  

Videos

You tin post a video connected Twitter by importing a video aliases signaling it utilizing nan Twitter app. In immoderate case, nan maximum video magnitude is 2 minutes and 20 seconds if you're not subscribed to Twitter Blue.

Twitter Blue subscribers tin upload videos of up to 60 minutes erstwhile posting from nan website, and subscribers connected nan app tin station videos of up to 10 minutes.

4. LinkedIn

Screen Shot 2017-03-17 astatine 1.39.48 PM.png

Profiles

Here's a useful database of immoderate of LinkedIn's astir important floor plan characteristic maximums :

    • Professional headline: 120
    • Summary: 2,000
    • Position title: 100
    • Position description: 2,000 (200 characteristic minimum)
    • LinkedIn Post Character Limit

      LinkedIn statuses connected institution pages tin beryllium up to 700 characters while individuals tin station updates up to 1,300 characters long.

      Foote besides notes that, "if you prime to besides station connected Twitter from LinkedIn, only nan first 140 characters will show connected your Twitter post."

Featured Resource: How to Use LinkedIn for Business & Marketing

Original Content

With LinkedIn's publishing platform, users tin now constitute and stock original written contented pinch their networks, aliases publicly. Of course, that comes pinch its ain characteristic counts, according to Foote:

      • Post headline: 100
      • Post body: 40,000

LinkedIn Summary Limit

There is not a difficult Summary limit, but users tin capable successful 2 lines aliases 200-250 characters earlier triggering a See More call-to-action.

5. Instagram

Quick reference:

      • Bio: 150
      • Hashtags: Up to 30
      • Captions: Ideal magnitude is nether 125 characters

      Instagram Caption Character Limit

      Instagram captions let nan usage of 2,200 characters, nevertheless location are limits erstwhile hashtags are involved.

Since Instagram is, first and foremost, a level for sharing photos and videos, nan superior attraction is typically your ocular content. However, it's ever adjuvant to supply immoderate context, and fto users cognize what they're looking at.

Given that, present are immoderate adjuvant characteristic counts for nan matter you see pinch your ocular content:

While Instagram doesn't look to specify a maximum full number of caption characters, it does statement that, wrong users' feeds, nan caption is trim disconnected aft nan first 3 lines. For that reason, it's advised to limit captions to 125 characters.

However, don't time off retired important accusation conscionable for nan liking of keeping your full caption visible. Instead, frontload it pinch important specifications and calls-to-action, leaving immoderate hashtags, @mentions, aliases extraneous accusation for nan end.

As for Instagram Stories, location doesn't look to beryllium a ton of item connected characteristic limits there, either. However, because nan matter overlays nan ocular contented -- which is nan attraction -- don't obscure excessively overmuch of nan photograph aliases video pinch a caption.

Instagram Bio Limit

Instagram's bio limit is 160 characters

Here's a speedy illustration of a short Instagram bio from my colleague.

Instagram bio pursuing characteristic limit

Instagram User Name Limit

An Instagram personification sanction tin beryllium up to 30 characters.

6. Snapchat

Quick reference:

      • Character limit: 80 per post

Speaking of not obscuring ocular contented -- that brings america to Snapchat.

Instagram Stories was, galore believe, an effort to emulate nan features of Snapchat, to create an opportunity for users to stock quickly-disappearing photos and videos.

And again, because nan attraction present is connected nan visual, you'll want to forestall distracting viewers from it pinch excessively overmuch text.

According to Teen Vogue, Snapchat's characteristic limit is 80 per post, which is much than double its erstwhile 31-character limit.

And, if you're looking for much guidance, conscionable look to this peculiar app's name, and retrieve nan "snap" constituent of it — a connection that implies brevity — and effort not to ramble. Here's a awesome illustration of really SXSW uses its captions efficiently:

7. YouTube

YouTube-for-Business-Header

Featured Resource: YouTube for Business – A 30-Day Roadmap

Here we person yet different web that's focused connected ocular content, starring immoderate to incorrectly presume that accompanying matter -- for illustration titles and descriptions -- don't matter arsenic much.

That's not entirely mendacious -- arsenic a video-hosting platform, YouTube should chiefly beryllium utilized to showcase a brand's value videos. However, for illustration immoderate different ocular content, it needs context. People request to cognize what they're watching, who it's from, and why it matters.

Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't look to supply immoderate circumstantial parameters complete its characteristic counts -- isolated from for your transmission description, which according to nan charismatic thief tract is constricted to 1,000 characters.

But different than that, it seems that nan only line disposable is nan alert show that lets you know, "Your [title aliases description] is excessively long," if you've entered excessively overmuch matter successful either of those fields.

Screen Shot 2017-03-17 astatine 2.57.09 PM-1.png

In this case, we would counsel taking nan aforesaid attack arsenic adding matter to support your visuals connected Instagram and Snapchat.

Like nan former, a video's explanation is trim disconnected aft nan first statement aliases two, truthful frontload nan astir important descriptors and CTAs, leaving other specifications for nan end.

Show Your Character

As you group retired to find nan magnitude of your text, sloppy of nan platform, retrieve to do truthful pinch nan personification successful mind.

Many of these channel-mandated characteristic limits are established for that logic — to support audiences from getting saturated aliases overwhelmed.

Like thing other successful marketing, however, it's ne'er an exact science, contempt nan champion data. We promote you to travel these guidelines, but don't beryllium acrophobic to research if they don't ever work.

Test different amounts of matter wrong your various channels, and support way of really each station performs.

From there, you tin make decisions astir which types of content, arsenic good arsenic its accompanying titles and descriptions, are nan astir well-received from your audience.

Editor's Note: This station was primitively published successful January 2016 and was updated successful December  2019 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

free societal media contented calendar

More
Source Marketing
Marketing