How To Make Your Videos More Engaging (5 Tips)

61% of viewers are still watching this video around the 30 second mark, which is above typical.

How did I achieve that? 

If over 60% of your viewers are still watching your video after 60 seconds, there’s a higher probability they’ll keep watching your video all the way through.

Here are 5 tips to make your YouTube Videos more engaging

1. Strong Hook

Some of the ways you can use a strong hook at the beginning of your video is by…
– asking a question
– making a bold statement
– teasing about what’s coming up later in the video
– telling a story.

Here’s an example of a strong hook where over 61% of the viewers were still watching after 30 seconds.

“When I first upload a video, it often only gets a few views, but a few days later, the views skyrocket due to ranking in browse features. How does this happen?”

Use curiosity hooks throughout your video
For example, you could ask a provocative question, such as, “Have you ever wondered why some videos go viral while others don’t?” 

You could present a surprising statistic such as, “Did you know that 80% of people never finished the videos they started watching…here’s how to keep your viewers hooked” 

You can also tease a valuable insight or solution such as “By the end of this video, you’ll learn one trick that professionals use to engage their audience.” 

2. Use Visuals

No one wants to watch a boring video, so if you reset the attention of your viewers every 20 seconds or so using visuals, it helps keep them engaged. You can use pattern interrupts such as props, graphics, transitions, change camera angles, or change scenes.

3. Study Audience Retention Graph

If you click on the engagement tab for an individual video in YouTube analytics, you will see the key moments for audience retention.

• You’ve got the intro where people are still watching around the 30 second mark.
• You’ve got the top moments where viewers are watching for longer than usual. 
• Spikes appear when more viewers are watching, rewatching or sharing moments of your video.
• Dips in your video means viewers are abandoning or skipping certain parts of your video.

When you make your next video, try to eliminate the dips and get more spikes. Ideally, you want to keep viewers engaged all the way through your video.

How to view the key moments for audience retention for the videos
on your channel over the last 365 days. 

• Click on analytics in YouTube studio.
• Under the content tab, select videos.
• Scroll down to where it says “Key moments for audience retention.
• It’s got above typical intros and below typical intros.
• On the right, you’ve got the intro, top moments, spikes and dips.
• If you click on “top moments”, it’ll show the videos with the top moments for audience retention.
• If I click on spikes, it shows my top video with the largest spikes.
• If I click on dips, it’ll show all the videos that got dips for audience retention.
• I can also see how viewers find my videos and also the top videos on my channel that got the most traffic.

When you study audience  retention data in YouTube analytics, you’ll be able to identify what needs to be improved and what needs to be rejected so you can make a better video in the future.

4. Engage with your viewers while they’re watching your content

When you engage with your viewers while they’re watching the content, it’ll help you make your content more interactive.

For example, you can ask a question in your video, “What method do you use to keep viewers engaged…let me know on the comments below?” 

You can also encourage real time interactions, such as “If you find this video helpful, hit the like button and share it with your friends” 

You can also respond to viewers’ comments. For instance, “Last week I asked you about the best camera settings… here’s my answer” 

5. Storytelling

When you include stories in your video, it helps make a deeper connection with your audience.

For example, here’s how I use visual storytelling to make a video on 5 powerful ways to film a cinematic biking video.

“Recently, I biked the Kaikoura Coastal Trail on the east coast of the south island of New Zealand. It takes you along the coast, through native bush, along rivers and across back country roads while giving you picturesque views of the mountains. Watch this video to the end to learn 5 powerful ways on how to film a cinematic biking video as a solo creator.” I’ll include a link to this video in the description.”

* This article was originally published here