Are viewers watching your videos all the way through?
In the video below I show 5 things you can do right now
to get longer watch times on your YouTube videos
Did you know that watch time is the highest ranking factor on YouTube? The longer a person watches your video the better it will perform in the search engines.
YouTube says “If viewers are watching more YouTube it signals to us that they’re happier with the content. They’ve found it means that creators are attracting more engaged audiences. It also opens up more opportunities to generate revenue for our partners.
If viewers stop watching your video at the beginning or in the middle of your video and leave then your videos are not going to rank well on YouTube or Google. If your videos don’t rank well, then people are not going to discover them when they enter the keyword in the search engines.
Here are 5 ways to improve the watch time of your YouTube videos
1. Create valuable content
Create content you’re passionate about and solves one of the BIGGEST problems of your viewers. Once you’ve identified the problem plan out your content so it flows logically as your video proceeds.
2. Script your video content
This can be as simple as writing out a few bullet points so you stay on track with your line of thinking plus you lead your viewer through your content naturally. I typically create a list of all the main points that I wish to cover in my video content then expand upon them as I’m filming my video.
3. Structure your video correctly
THE HOOK
Tell people what to expect right from the beginning of your video instead of leading with your logo animation which nobody really cares about tell people what to expect right from the beginning.
For example I introduced the video above by saying “I’ll show you the 5 things you can do right now to get longer watch times on your YouTube videos.”
Only after you’ve introduced your video content should you introduce yourself and ask people to subscribe. Try to keep it real short so you don’t lose the attention of your viewers. If you can keep the attention of your viewers in the first 15 seconds of your video they’ll probably keep watching the entire video.
MAIN CONTENT
Deliver the content that you promised in the intro of your video instead of just talking all the way through your video and risk losing the attention of your viewers. Try to reset the attention of your viewers by including graphics end cards, zooming in on the subject, using b-roll, video clips etc.
EDIT OUT THE FLUFF
Remove content that is not relevant to the topic that you’re speaking about. Also remove any ums and ahhs or mistakes that you’ve made
while producing a video.
CALL TO ACTION
- What action do you want your viewer to take while watching your video?
- Do you want them to subscribe, watch another video or opt into your lead magnet?
- Don’t give too many calls to action because that will result in indecision and them not doing anything.
- Use cards and end screens for your calls to actions because these are also mobile friendly
4. Lighting and Sound
Lighting
A poorly lit person will decrease the quality of your video. If you can’t afford or don’t have the space to set up light boxes, do your filming outside or in front of a window. I use 3 softboxes to light up the background and myself while filming videos.
Sound
For two years I used a $20.00 lapel microphone and thought the sound was fine. When I purchased and started using the Rode
Smartlav+ microphone my sound vastly improved.
5. Keep improving
Keep an eye on your retention graph in YouTube Anaytics to see if you you are keeping the attention of your audience. If relative audience retention is above 50% it means your video has a better audience retention rate than all other videos on YouTube that have the same length,
Keep trying different things with your videos to see if there’s an improvement in your audience retention rate. Sometimes one small adjustment will expand your audience.
Let me ask you an important question…
What are you currently doing to get longer watch times on your YouTube videos?
Post your answer in the comments below I’d love to read them and others would too.
If you want to learn how to grow your audience on YouTube and
generate views and subscribers on autopilot check out my
YouTube Markting Course at: TubeVideoBootCamp.com
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