Right now, human beings are falling behind goldfish when it comes to attention span. In a world of distractions, most YouTube ads are skippable, giving the audience the possibility to move on in 5 seconds. This makes it more important than ever to capture your viewers’ attention and hold it. Here are the most effective tips on how to engage your audience as soon as they click on your video.
1. Add Appropriate Title and Thumbnail
Viewers most definitely will skip your video if it doesn’t fit their expectations. Avoid misleading titles and thumbnails and tell people exactly what they’ll be seeing. With your title, show how helpful your video is – introduce a problem and promise a solution.
2. Engage Instantaneously
Your video ad must grab viewers’ attention as soon as they hit play. You can significantly increase watch time if you deliver your message fast and effectively. Put your message in one of the first frames of your video and combine it with a powerful storytelling content to engage your viewers. Or go even further and create an ad that’s only 5 seconds long. Tell your whole story in those few seconds and the viewer won’t be able to skip it.
Tell your whole story in only 5 seconds and the viewer won’t be able to skip your YouTube video ad. https://t.co/DlQ2MDBDhZ
— Capsulink (@capsulink) November 2, 2017
3. Use Power Words
Words can have great power. For example, adding the word “You” in the first 5 seconds of your video can double your viewership and increase retention rate. The views increase also if you mention the word twice or use variations as “your”, “yourselves”, “y’all”, etc.
4. Add Text
Be prepared that viewers might choose not to unmute your video. Using text, especially at the beginning of your video, will provide context and inform the audience about what they’re about to see.
5. Use Moving Images
The audience nowadays is easily bored. A good way to deal with it is by starting your video with a moving segment. Remember, viewers’ eyes are drawn to moving images. Use different visual elements in your video together with a nice rhythm and pace to reach the best results.
