How Long Should Your Social Media or Radio Ad Be?

Short answer: Choose the ad format first, check its current length limit on the platform’s own help pages, then write a script that fits with a little room to spare. In our own timed ad demos, one second of speech holds about 2.3 Malay words or about 2.8 English words. That means a 15-second spot fits roughly 34 Malay words or 42 English words.

Most ad scripts are written too long. The words look fine on paper, then the voice-over runs three seconds over and the call to action gets cut. This guide gives you the numbers to avoid that, in Malay and English.

How we measured speaking pace

We did not take a words-per-minute figure from somewhere else. We counted the words in the exact transcript of every advertising and social media ad clip in the voiceover.my gallery and divided by each clip’s playing time.

That is 21 clips as of 3 November 2026: 10 in Malay and 11 in English, made with Google Gemini and ElevenLabs voices. Every clip has its transcript on its demo page, so you can check our counting.

Source: voiceover.my advertising and social media ad demos, counted on 3 November 2026. Durations on the site are rounded to the whole second, so treat these as approximate. Clips have no music or sound effects.

Two things stand out.

Malay takes longer. Our Smart Key Hook ad exists in both languages. The Malay version has 46 words and plays for 21 seconds. The English version, with the same voice and 48 words, plays for 17 seconds. If you translate an English script into Malay, expect it to run longer.

The voice changes the length too. The same 58-word English brand message runs 19 seconds with one voice and 23 seconds with another. The same 55-word Malay cafe promo runs from 23 to 26 seconds across voices, for example this one. A word count gets you close. Only a stopwatch tells you the truth.

Common ad lengths by platform

Here is what each platform’s own help or business pages said when we checked them. These rules change, so treat this as a starting point and open the link before you book.

Last verified 3 November 2026 against Google Ads Help, the TikTok Business Help Center, the Meta Ads Guide (Instagram Reels, Facebook Feed, Facebook in-stream) and Spotify Advertising. Limits differ by objective, placement and market, so check the platform’s current ad specs before you produce.

Notice the pattern. Social platforms allow very long videos, but the maximum is not a target. The real limit is attention. On a skippable YouTube ad, only the first 5 seconds play before the viewer can skip, so your message has to start there.

What about radio?

Radio stations sell airtime in fixed slots, and each station sets its own slot lengths and rates. We did not find an official, published standard for spot lengths in Malaysia, so we will not quote numbers here.

Before you write a radio script, ask the station or your media agency two questions: which lengths do they sell, and does the slot include any station jingle or tag? Then size your script with the calculator below.

Script length calculator

Pick your slot length, then read across for the approximate number of spoken words. The figures come straight from the pace in Table 1.

Calculated from 21 voiceover.my ad demos as of 3 November 2026. This is a brisk, clear advertising pace with no music, pauses or sound effects.

Treat these numbers as a ceiling, not a target. Three reasons to write less:

• Music and sound effects need space. A jingle, logo sound or pause eats into the slot.
• Names and numbers need slower reading. A phone number or a price read too fast is a wasted ad.
• Platforms may advise fewer words. Spotify recommends no more than 65 words for a 30-second audio ad and about 100 words for a 60-second ad. That is noticeably less than our English figures, so follow the platform’s advice when you buy there.

A worked example

Say you run a small cafe in Shah Alam and want a 15-second Instagram Reels ad in Malay.

The calculator says about 34 Malay words. Aim lower, around 28 to 30, so you have room for a short music sting at the end. Our casual Malay social ad is a good model: it uses 38 words, plays for 17 seconds, and opens with “Tunggu! Jangan scroll dulu.” (Wait! Don’t scroll yet.) That short hook gives the listener a reason to keep going.

A simple structure for a 15-second spot:

1. Hook (2 to 3 seconds). A question or a familiar problem.
2. Offer (8 to 9 seconds). What you sell and why it matters to the listener.
3. Call to action (3 to 4 seconds). One thing to do, said plainly.

If your first draft is 45 words, cut. Remove adjectives first, then any second offer. One clear message beats two rushed ones.

Before you record: a quick checklist

• I picked the ad format, and I checked its current length limit on the platform’s own help page.
• For radio, I asked the station which slot lengths they sell and whether a jingle is included.
• My word count is at or below the calculator figure for my language and slot.
• The hook is in the first 2 to 3 seconds.
• There is exactly one call to action.
• Names, prices and phone numbers are written out the way they should be spoken.
• I timed the finished audio, not just the script.
• I listened on a phone speaker, where most social ads are heard.
• I left room for music or a logo sound if I plan to add one.

Hear the pace for yourself

Numbers help you plan, but your ear decides. Play a few of our ad demos and follow along with the transcript on each page. You will hear what 2.3 Malay words per second sounds like next to 2.8 English words per second, and how much the voice itself changes the feel.

The voiceover.my gallery has 169 demo clips as of 3 November 2026: 95 in Malay and 74 in English, across 12 situations including advertising and social media ads. Filter by advertising or social media ad, or by Malay and English, and copy the exact transcript of any clip as a starting point for your own script.