HOW TO MAKE EFFECTIVE YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Have you ever put the effort in to produce a video and when the time comes time to distribute, it falls flat on its face? We’re here to help. This video structure has been used to attract and retain YouTube viewers based on proven YouTube tactics and strategies. Along with these strategies, we will reveal some advanced audience retention techniques to further improve your video’s effectiveness.

Keep in mind, to create an effective YouTube video:

• Create a video with Audience Retention and Total Watch Time in mind

• Creating a video optimized for Audience Retention requires an effective video structure

YouTube visitors decide whether or not they want to watch your video within the first 15 seconds, so you must make sure that the introduction to your video attracts viewers to keep watching. The two most common mistakes people make in their introductions are:

• Covering why the topic of your video is so important

• Starting off with an animated logo

INTRODUCTION

Having a successful introduction will ultimately affect your YouTube Audience Retention and Total Watch Time statistics, so it is very important to create a video introduction that will keep viewers watching. Here are three proven video introduction tips to use for your video:

• Reveal a Tip

  • First, mention that there’s a new tip or technique in your industry people know about.

  • Then, hook them by outlining what they stand to lose by not tapping into your tip. You can also mention what they can gain if they put your tip into practice.

  • Tease with an example to show you have evidence that the tip works.

• Preview, Proof, Preview

  • First, preview what your viewer will learn in your video.

  • Follow that up with the proof which is where you prove that you can deliver.

  • Finally, preview #2 is where you tease something specific that they’ll learn.

• Mini-Story

  • Start your video off with a brief story that relates to the content of your video.

  • You want your mini-story to be around 15-20 seconds total

  • For example: a personal encounter that relates to your topic, revelation about something new in your industry, etc…

DECIDING THE LENGTH OF YOUR VIDEO

If you search the web to find out the optimal length for YouTube videos, you will most likely find many different articles telling you a wide variety of lengths. In our experience, longer videos with run times of about 7-17 minutes always perform better than shorter videos.

Middle Portion of Video

If you are struggling to brainstorm a video format, here are a few tested and proven video formats that you can reference when structuring your video. These techniques will keep viewers engaged and increase your Audience Retention and Total Watch Time statistics.

• The Video List

  • List all tips covered in video (7-9 recommended)

  • Put your tips in order (lesser known tips in front)

  • Outline what you will say about each tip

• Step-by-Step

  • List out steps (5-8 recommended)

  • Briefly outline details of each step

• Branded Video

  • Outline technique that is branded for your company

  • Think of a unique approach to an idea you have used before

  • Outline steps to technique (3-5 steps recommended)

  • Describe an example of technique in action

Ending Your Video

Now that you have the first two-thirds of your video outlined, it is now time to structure your video’s ending. The endings of videos are just as important as the introductions because the right ending can boost your video’s engagement signals (Likes, comments, shares, subscribes, etc…). 

An effective video ending can lead to more video channel subscribers and generate a lot of extra video views. The ending of videos is the optimal place to feature links to other videos on your channel. If someone clicks on one of the links you feature at the end, YouTube will in-turn promote your original video because it kept the user on YouTube longer.

Here are some successful strategies to implement in your video ending that will boost your conversions:

• “If you like this video, then click on Subscribe button below”

  • Gives viewers a choice

• Ask viewers to visit your website

  • If you want to see more videos, visit our website

  • Show URL on the screen

• Ask Viewers to leave a comment

  • Give them something specific to say

• End screen

  • Add 5 -20 seconds at the end of the video

  • Use YouTube’s End Screen feature to add clickable elements to it

    • Add a Subscribe button

    • Link to another video

ADVANCED AUDIENCE RETENTION TECHNIQUES

Now that we have given a few suggestions on how to outline your next video, this section will outline some advanced audience retention

• Strategy #1 – Open Loops

  • Mention something that’s coming up LATER in your video, as it keeps people watching.
    

• Strategy #2 – Pattern Interrupts

  • Shift in topic that surprises viewers, which resets their attention.

  • Ex: Changing angles, backgrounds.
    

• Strategy #3 – Use On-Screen Graphics

  • Makes viewers pay closer attention.
    

• Strategy #4 – B-Roll Footage

  • Switch to a shot of something while you are describing it.

Now that you have an abundance of YouTube strategies under your belt, it is time to go create a video and watch your YouTube views take off!

With an in-house Tampa video production team, we have years of experience creating, producing and distributing hundreds of videos on YouTube. We have learned from the best and have honed our craft so that we can educate others on how to create effective YouTube videos. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us!