How do you keep people watching your entire video when most viewers have the attention span of a mosquito and are easily distracted?
In the video below, you’ll discover 12 secrets to increase engagement on YouTube videos so they’ll be recommended on other people’s watch pages.
Click here my video course “Secrets to increase audience engagement on YouTube
- Content is king.
If you choose a hot topic your audience is interested in, it’s more likely you’ll keep their attention all the way through the video. One of the best ways to choose a hot topic is to look at the top 10 videos that currently drive the most traffic to YouTube channel. Make a similar video to one of those top 10 videos and approach the topic from a different angle, then use a different title and thumbnail.
Another way to find the hot topic your audience is interested in is use the research tab and YouTube Analytics. If you click on your view of searches, it will show you the search terms that have a high search volume. If you select content gaps from the dropdown, it’ll show you the content gaps for your YouTube channel.
A content gap is a way of measuring what viewers are searching for and the results they find. It’s a great starting point to research videos that don’t exist or could be improved. - Smile, relax, and be natural.
If you’re uptight or stressed out, it’ll be noticeable during the delivery of your content. You probably won’t be doing much smiling and you’ll be talking faster. Typically, I’ll memorize a few lines from my script, smile, then present the content. - Show your personality.
People watch your videos to consume your content, but they’ll keep returning if you make an emotional connection with them. You can do this by adding something entertaining such as using props, including some B-roll, or just asking a question from your audience. - Increase your energy.
When you speak on camera, the camera tends to take away 25% of your energy. Therefore, you need to elevate your energy while speaking on the camera before you deliver your content. Before I get on camera, I might do some pushups, some pull-ups, or just dance to some music. This helps elevate my energy and allows me to deliver the content more easily. - Deliver the content you promised in the title and thumbnail.
If you don’t deliver the content you promised in your title and thumbnail within the first 30 seconds of your video, your viewers will leave and not come back. You’ll notice this when you see the hockey stick in your audience retention graph in YouTube Analytics. - Use a strong hook.
The first 30 second of your video is crucial to keep viewers watching the rest of the video. Therefore, don’t start your video by just introducing yourself or starting with a logo reveal. Instead, clearly explain what your viewers can expect by watching the video.
For example, at the beginning of this video, I asked a question, how do you keep people watching your entire video? I then explained that I’ll be sharing my 12 secrets.
Here’s a hot tip…
Use multiple hooks throughout your video to reset the attention of your viewers.
Later, I’ll give you a big tip on how you can boost your view velocity in the first 24 hours of uploading your video.
See what I did there to create an additional hook? - Weave a story into your content.
On one of my recent videos, I split-tested two different thumbnails because I wasn’t sure which one would get the most traffic. After several days, I noticed that the variation thumbnail got a 89% higher click-through rate than my original thumbnail. As a result, the video got much more traffic than if I’d used the original thumbnail.
Notice how I just told a story to illustrate an important point I wanted to make about getting more traffic.
Personal stories are a powerful way to make a deeper connection with the audience. Instead of just coming for the content, you can make an emotional connection with your audience. - Reset the attention of your viewers.
If you’re filming a talking head video like this one, it’s harder to keep the attention of your audience throughout your video. Therefore, you want to mix it up every few seconds.
– For example, you can add screenshots if you’re showing something on your computer.
– You can add text to emphasize the point you want to make in your video.
– You can also use B-roll to illustrate a point, or use graphics to get them to take action.
– You might change camera angles between the points that you wish to make.
For example, I may illustrate a point by starting off at this camera angle. I can use this camera angle for my next point. If you own multiple cameras, you can also shoot from different angles.
– Another way to reset the attention of your viewers is to film in different locations. For example, sometimes I’ll film outside just to change the background, scenery, and get myself out of the office. Filming outside often energizes me much more than filming inside my office. - Include music or sound effects.
Adding background music to your videos helps your viewers more easily digest your content. Just make sure that the music you choose doesn’t distract the viewers from consuming your content.
The same applies to using sound effects. Just don’t overdo it. For example, here’s a sound effect of drinking from a water fountain that I got from the YouTube Audio Library. You can do the same in your own videos. - Cut the fluff.
If you see a dip in your audience retention graph in YouTube Analytics, it means that viewers are leaving at that particular point in the video. If you bore your viewers, they’ll be more inclined to stop watching your video and go elsewhere. Ideally, you want to keep them watching all the way through your video.
When editing your videos, try to remove those sections where you’re repeating yourself or just waffling on about a particular subject. When the line on your audience retention chart is flat, it means viewers are watching that part of your video from start to finish, which is what you want.
When you make your next video, try to improve your audience retention by 1%, so you can get your video recommended by YouTube.
A great way to cut out the fluff is to use jump cuts. A jump cut is an edit to a single sequential shot that makes the action appear to leap forward in time. After the cut, the subject may appear in a different position or the camera position may be slightly different, as shown on this clip.
A big mistake YouTube creators make is making their videos too long. Don’t make your video longer than it needs to be, and cut out the fluff during the editing process.
Here’s a hot tip for reviving old videos you’ve already uploaded by cutting out the fluff.
Use YouTube’s video editor to trim the beginning, add or cut out multiple sections of your video. This will improve the retention of your video and keep viewers watching.
Click here to watch how to trim a YouTube video after upload without losing its views and comments. - Get a high view velocity in the first 24 hours of uploading your video.
Your goal when you upload a new video is to get 1 of 10 in ranking of views. If you’re successful in achieving that, your channel will grow faster. For example, YouTube says…
“You can increase the chance of YouTube suggesting your content by
increasing your click-through rate and your video watch time.”
That means you should always be trying to improve your titles, thumbnails, and audience retention for each new video you upload.
Keep in mind that most of your initial views are going to come from your subscribers because they receive notifications whenever you upload a new video. You can also boost your view velocity by notifying your audiences on other social media platforms and people that are on your email list.
When you get a high view velocity in the first few hours of uploading your video, it sends a signal to the YouTube algorithm to recommend your video to more people’s watch pages. This results in exposing your content to a wider audience. - Improve production value.
When I first started filming videos, I was just using my iPhone 4S because I didn’t have any other camera. As a result, the picture and sound was not of very high-quality and affected the viewership of my YouTube videos.
When I upgraded my camera, sound, and background, it improved the production value of my videos.
Nowadays, you can shoot high-quality videos by just using your iPhone 13 Pro or latest phone. You can even film in 4K. If you’re just starting your YouTube channel, I recommend just using what you have and do the best you can.
When you start generating revenue from your channel, you can upgrade your gear. Your goal is to keep the audience retention as close to 100% as you can, which means that people are watching all the way through. Videos with consistently high audience retention and watch time have the potential to show up more often in search and suggested locations on YouTube.
If you want to learn more secrets to increase audience engagement on YouTube, get my video audience engagement course. You’ll discover how to hook your viewers’ attention, get them to spend more time on each video, and motivate them to watch more videos from your channel, so YouTube will recommend your content on other channels.
Get my video course “Secrets to increase audience engagement on YouTube“
Now you know 12 ways to increase engagement on YouTube videos so they’ll be suggested by YouTube, but how can you get your first 1,000 subscribers so you can monetize your channel and start generating revenue?
Watch this video how to get your first 1,000 subscribers on YouTube, so you can join the YouTube Partner Program and generate a passive income from your YouTube channel.
You’ll be glad you did.
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