Semalt About Key Elements Every YouTube Video Needs
Content creation has evolved and gone beyond text alone. Thanks to the advancements in technology, we have newer devices that can display content in the form of pictures and videos. We also have screenless smart devices that readout content. All of these are the reasons you must seek out new ways to keep your audience informed.
The Importance of YouTube
YouTube is not just a search engine but also a way to publish large content in short and easy to assimilate videos. According to the 2018 State of Inbound Report, 45% of marketers invest more in YouTube. That is because YouTube is the second largest search engine.
As researchers, we cannot begin to explain just how much we've learned from YouTube. Not only do we find useful content, but we also find content that is funny, entertaining, and enlightening.
As marketers, YouTube is a must-have, and this is evident in the mind-blowing stats around its efficiency. Did you know that YouTube has 500 hours of videos uploaded every minute, that it has over 2 billion monthly users, or that viewers are 4X more likely to visit YouTube when they are searching for visual information, a product, service, or brand?
It is important for brands to make the most of YouTube and the opportunities it presents, especially if your target audience is millennials.
If you're thinking of creating a great video, here are key ideas that will result in a successful YouTube video.
Branding
Branding is important in marketing, and it can never be overlooked. Without branding, it is far more difficult to build brand loyalty. It is important to have branded intro footage that helps your loyal viewers immediately recognize your work. With a branded intro, you can:
- Help your videos get more views because viewers will stop watching once they recognize the branded intro.
- It helps your viewers remember the video and associate it with your brand so they can remember when they are referring to someone.
- A quick branded intro provides first-time viewers with key details about your brand in a form that's easy to remember.
Grab Their Attention
About 20% of viewers leave within the first 10 seconds of a YouTube video, which means your first 10 seconds must wow your audience. If you want to keep viewers on your content, you need to find a way to grab and keep the attention of your audience the moment your content begins to play.
Convincing your viewers to keep watching is the key part of this process. You need to explain what they should expect from the video clearly. If your video is describing a product, personalize your review, so they know that you're giving a genuine and unbiased analysis. This helps build trust, and they will always return if they have questions about that product.
Keep the Title and Opening Credits Short
As we mentioned earlier, we have a very short attention span that decides the fate of a video. It will be suicidal to have an extensive beginning to a video that only makes viewers lose interest. Who wants to watch a video with a long opener repeatedly?
There is no use having a 1-minute-long opener. Instead, you can keep it inside 5 seconds by going straight to the point.
Build Trending Topics Into Your Video
Riding a wave of trending topics is a proven strategy on how you can build successful links. It also helps you stay relevant to your audience. When creating content, think seasonal, newsworthy, local, unique, gaming, music, etc., as they are provide great trending topics you can introduce in your videos.
Google Trends and Twitter are good places to generate trending topics; you can also search YouTube or Popular on YouTube to find topics you can have in your video content.
Background Music
If all you have is your voice in your videos, you'll bore your audience in no time. There is nothing more boring than a YouTube video with no spark. For this reason, we include background music. We use them not only to grab the attention of the viewer but also to set the mood. With music, we establish an emotional connection between the audience and the content.
Finally, music determines the pace of the video, and the soundtrack can be the reason why a viewer shares your post.
When using music in your background, you should make sure that:
- The soundtrack you choose evokes the desired emotions and aura.
- You can legally use the music in your video.
Clear Audio
A nice intro and lovely background music wouldn't matter if you didn't communicate clearly with your audience. The ultimate goal of creating a video is to communicate in a manner your audience understands.
Being clearly audible means you speak fluently in a language your audience considers "natural." In cases where your video is a pictorial illustration, then you should make the background music loud enough. If there is an oral part to your video, make sure the music doesn't overshadow your voice.
Customized Experiences
Your videos should help you capitalize on micro-moments. These are the stages in a buyer's journey where they need to know, do, go, or buy something. This is the perfect opportunity for your video to become exactly what they need.
Reading data and following trends helps you figure out and give people what they want when they want it. Leveraging this information to create personalized video content for your audience could go a long way in convincing them to associate with your brand.
Have A Call To Action
CTAs are the nudge you give your audience to take action. It could be to submit emails for newsletters, buy, contact your brand, and more. With so much content available to viewers, they have very limited time per video. Consequently, marketers must brainstorm ways to have CTAs in a video.
It is important that CTAs don't occur only at the end of a video because not everyone will watch a video till it finishes. Having CTAs embedded at different points in the video, you enjoy the most from views.
One easy hack on YouTube is to use clickable annotations in the first few seconds of the video.
Have an End Screen
End screens can only be added to the last 20 seconds of the video, so you should use them wisely. Any viewer who has come this far is interested in your brand, so your closing graphics should have links to everything. Your end screen should promote your channel, website, and social media handles.
Design Video Thumbnails Your Viewers Will Want To Click
Of all the items in this list, thumbnails are the most important as they can make or break your YouTube success. YouTube's Suggested videos are one of its leading sources of organic traffic. These thumbnails are special "endorsements" from YouTube. It tells the user they may enjoy this video, and they hardly go wrong.
Here are some simple practices you should keep in mind:
- Do not manipulate your audience: Ensure you create relevant thumbnails and the title of your videos matches. If you risk manipulating your audience to get views, you will most likely suffer lower watch time which will negatively impact the algorithm.
- Design mobile-friendly thumbnails: The recommended size for a thumbnail is 1280X720. However, this measurement is way too big for mobile phones. With that in mind, you need a thumbnail that will stand out by being proportionate in size, good color saturation, or playing with the edges of the image.
- Keep a consistent style: Keeping the logo, colors, shapes, fonts, and faces of your branded videos consistent can increase video recognition during skimming. If a user recognizes any of those elements in a video, they will be more likely to click.
Have A Guest Slot
It would be best if you had a guest slot for other YouTubers who already have an audience. This is a great way to grow your audience. You should look for content creators who are already in your niche, but they serve an audience who are likely to enjoy the services you provide.
Remember to feature your guests in a positive light and sufficiently in your post so that they can promote the video.
Brevity
Did you know that users search videos on YouTube using their durations as a filter? This is proof that the length of videos is important in YouTube. While viewers enjoy the video, they want it to be as brief as possible. Remember to use only what's necessary.
Conclusion
These practices will eventually drive traffic to your videos, website, and improve your conversions. These are strategies that have been tried and tested. Neglecting YouTube can be a grave mistake for your brand. Not only will you lose out on traffic on YouTube, but you are also losing a chance to provide an alternative to your viewers.
Remember that customer satisfaction is the goal, so you should try to satisfy different audience types by providing content in different forms.
Interested in branding and SEO? Check out our other articles on the Semalt blog.