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How long should my post be?

Kristine Harket avatar
Written by Kristine Harket
Updated over a week ago

The short answer? It depends on what kind of post you are posting. Below you will find the recommendations, based on the Algorithm Insights Report 2025.

Text-Only Posts

  • Best performance at 1000+ characters (≈300–400 words)

  • Avoid <100 words (–50% engagement)

  • Posts with 20+ sentences perform best for dwell time

Text + Image Posts

  • 700–900 characters is the sweet spot

  • Captions with 400+ words (20+ sentences) can drive 2.3x engagement

  • Under 100 words = weak engagement (0.71x)

  • Over 1000 characters: no significant reach gain

Document (PDF/Carousel) Posts

  • Short captions (<100 characters) drive highest engagement .

  • Captions >800 characters hurt performance (–7% per +400 chars) .

  • Mid-length: 200–300 words works best when more context needed .

  • Structure: either very short (0–5 sentences) or long (20+ sentences) – middle length underperforms

Poll Posts

  • Polls with 1000+ characters in the description generate highest engagement (esp. company pages)

  • Strongest when framed with a short hook + context (1–2 lines)

  • 3 answer options perform best

  • Engagement boosted by 20+ sentences in body for background/context

Video Posts

  • Short-form: 30–90 sec dominates feeds

  • Sweet spot: 1–2 minutes → +60% higher interaction, +30% better conversion

  • Videos >3 minutes: –30% engagement drop

  • No strict caption length rule, but hooks in first 3 seconds and concise supporting text matter most

Summary:

Format

Optimal Caption Length

Notes

Text-only

1000+ characters (300–400 words)

Best for depth, thought leadership

Text + Image

700–900 characters

Visual + structured text = 2.3x engagement

Document/Carousel

<100 characters (short)

If longer: 200–300 words; avoid 800+

Polls

1000+ characters

Best when detailed + contextual

Video

N/A (focus on 1–2 min runtime)

Caption = short hook + CTA

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