"Make Reels 30-90s, the algorithm rewards length" — busted

"Make Reels 30-90s, the algorithm rewards length" — busted

This came from a leaked-ish 2023 take and people still quote it. I stretched clips to hit 30s+ and watered them down.

Retention rate tanked because I added filler to reach the runtime. Shorter, tighter cuts at 7-15s kept 80%+ and got pushed harder.

Length only "wins" if you can hold the rate across it. Most can't.

Do today: stop padding to a target length. Cut to the shortest version that still lands the payoff.