If you invest your time and money into YouTube, you want to make your video content grab attention.
After all, what’s the point of creating videos that nobody is going to see, right?
You, like many other small business owners, can’t afford to produce content that doesn’t provide a return.
When nobody sees your videos, they can’t earn anything back.
That’s why it’s so important to get them seen.
Today, I’ve got seven things you can do to make your video content grab attention.
Introduce your article in a paragraph or 2. Include the keyword in the first paragraph.
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You Won’t Make Your Video Content Grab Attention If You Make Bad Video Content
The first step to getting your video content seen by audiences is to make great content.
Bad video content will always get ignored.
If you run through the tips we’ve put together and aren’t seeing more views, you’ll want to check your quality.
Bad video doesn't grab the right kind of attention. Click To TweetVideo is a medium with a lot of available content.
People won’t watch yours if it’s no good for the simple reason that they have so many other options.
Do your best to keep your production values as high as possible.
While you’re at it, make sure your topics and information are of the highest quality.
You can only make your video content grab attention if it’s good.
These Tips Will Help Make Your Video Content Grab Attention
If you’ve put all that time and effort into producing videos, you want them to get seen.
But you can’t wait around for your audience to notice.
Fortunately, you don’t have to.
To successfully make your video content grab attention, you’ll need a few tricks up your sleeve.
These tips will help you go above and beyond, getting your videos watched by more people for more time than what you were doing before.
Tease The Info You’ll Tell At The End
Ever watched a video on YouTube that mentioned something at the beginning of the video, but didn’t talk about it until the end?
This “open-loop” idea is something that almost all YouTubers use.
Videos start out something like this:
“Last week I needed some extra cash and found a quick way to make $300. Not only did I make extra money, but I realized I could use the same technique to earn even more. Now, I’m going to tell you what I did, but first, let me explain why we’re always looking for the fast answer.”
If you were watching that video, especially if you could use some extra cash, you’d watch the whole thing.
You wind up having to close the loop.
People have to get closure. There's a tension that exists if they don't. Click To TweetThat’s exactly what makes the open loop technique effective.
Make your video content grab attention with a little mystery.
By teasing the best part of the information at the beginning, but not revealing the secret until later in the video, you’re enticing your audience to watch the whole thing.
They’ll see the level of knowledge you possess.
The odds are favorable that they’ll see your call to action.
And your average watch time will increase, which brings your content’s overall ranking up on YouTube.
Plan your opener to include just enough information about your main point to intrigue them.
However, don’t give them enough that they feel comfortable leaving without finishing the video.
Choose A Thumbnail Or Cover Image That People Want To See
When a new movie is slated to come out, people often judge it by the poster at the theaters.
Especially if they haven’t seen a trailer for it.
The poster’s image has to generate excitement about the movie, attracting a potential audience with enough information to make them curious.
As does your poster image.
Yes, you heard me right.
Your videos get their own poster images.
They’re called “thumbnails” and “cover images”, but they serve the same purpose.
Potential audiences see those images and make an immediate judgment about your video.
Create an awesome poster for your videos. It helps a ton. Click To TweetBased on that image, they’ll decide if they’re likely to watch or not.
Make your video content grab attention with a great preview image.
Create an image for your thumbnail or cover photo that’s interesting.
Use faces that express emotion, especially ones that demonstrate exaggerated shock.
Include words that ask an intriguing question.
It should already be clear what you need to do.
We’ve all clicked on YouTube suggested videos based on the thumbnail.
Thumbnails that you create should now do the same thing for your videos.
A well-designed thumbnail should be branded and clearly belong to you.
Additionally, it should capture the attention of audiences who watch similar content to what you produce.
Remember, too, that your thumbnail will mostly be seen in a small format, so keep that in mind when you design it.
If you’re successful, you’ll make your video content grab attention.
Back Your Video Data With Statistics
Part of making great video content is providing data.
Especially as a business, whose job it is to show their potential customers the reasons to buy.
The ability to hook your audience early with facts that interest them can be crucial if you’re going to make your video content grab attention.
Place a captivating statistic right at the beginning of your video.
If possible, this data should be surprising in a way that makes your audience want to know more.
Maybe it’s busting a common myth or sharing a number that’s way bigger than they’d believe.
Either way, it should create a sense of amazement.
Statistics fascinate people, regardless of the jokes we may make about them.
Filling your video with information that backs your stance – along with your sources – gets people to stick with the video longer.
They’re more inclined to remain to find out the data they didn’t know.
Supplying that data can be amazingly simple, too.
You can almost always find data to back your point using Statista.
A quick Google search can usually do the job as well.
No matter how you find your statistics, using them effectively will keep people engaged in your video.
Proving that your content is based in fact will make your video content grab attention with ease.
Catch Them In The First 8 Seconds
Various studies show that people’s attention spans range from 8 seconds to 15 seconds.
It’s not surprising that people don’t pay attention to things for long, no matter who is right.
There’s a lot on the web to see and do, and we move on to the next thing as quickly as we can.
Provided we feel we’ve tapped the value of what we were paying attention to.
Safely, if you can capture your audience’s attention in the first 8 seconds, it’s going to help make your video content grab attention.
That means you’ve got to do something right at the beginning to capture their attention.
My advice: preview the best part of the video before your intro.
If you can’t do that, give them something great to work with, like a quick note on the problem you’re tackling.
The idea is that whatever you give them at the beginning gets them to want to stick around for the rest.
Humor, mystery, excitement, and suspense all make great tools to make that happen.
When you can make one of those tie into your content, you need to put it to use.
Remember that, regardless of the topic and purpose of the video, your content has to entertain your audience to be effective.
Content has to capture their attention quickly if you want to get them to stick around.
One of the ways content creators mess this up is to include an intro animation that’s way too long.
Try to keep your intro animation down to seconds.
Don’t include it until after you’ve introduced the video.
With that balance, you shouldn’t lose people early.
By making your video content grab attention in the first 8 seconds, you help secure a viewer that will likely last the whole video.
Produce Your Videos Consistently
YouTube doesn’t like to feature content that’s inconsistent.
When creators don’t publish their content on a regular schedule they don’t get brought forward in the suggested videos.
They also don’t get brought up in search.
That’s bad if you want to make your video content grab attention.
You’ve got to have a steady and predictable publishing cadence.
It doesn’t just benefit your content in search, either.
Consistency in a few key areas is mandatory.
The day or days of the week you choose to publish should be consistent, allowing your audience to know when to find your videos.
Topics should remain consistent, too.
Producing content that’s got nothing to do with your industry probably isn’t a great idea.
Methods for promoting your videos should always be the same as well.
Sending an email one week, then skipping that for social media the next isn’t going to get you more views.
And never forget the power of interacting with the audience, which you should be doing with every video by responding to every real comment.
Adding this level of consistency will make your video content grab attention and keep it longer.
However, don’t be surprised if it takes time to earn a viewership.
Algorithms take time to update, and YouTube is no exception.
Once it sees how consistent you are and how your audience interacts, it will make the correct adjustments.
You Need Captivating Titles And Descriptions
Once you’ve made a killer video, you might be a little tapped for creativity.
However, when it comes time to upload it, you’ve got two important things staring you in the face, waiting for your creativity.
The title and description are massively important if you want to make your video content grab attention.
But why?
These are the only two things besides the thumbnail that YouTubers get to use to decide if they want to watch your video.
They’re also the primary two elements that affect your video’s SEO.
What are you to do?
Obviously, you can’t leave them blank.
Time to deliver some value.
Describe the benefits your audience will get from watching your video.
Add links to your website or landing page, and tag any creators whose music, imagery, or media you used.
Include relevant keywords that you’ve selected through standard keyword research.
Then cut your description at a hard 200 words.
And your title?
Keep it to 100 or fewer characters.
Yes, characters, not words.
About the same size as a good tweet.
Come up with a few ideas before you commit to one.
Trim-off words as necessary, focusing on being direct and brief.
While it wouldn’t hurt to take a lesson from the clickbait format, don’t trick your audience.
Honesty will make your video content grab attention better than deception.
Tell An Engaging Story
People aren’t watching videos for a lecture or a barrage of data.
Yes, they want some of that, but don’t overwhelm them with it.
Your video shouldn’t feel like a chemistry class (even if it’s an online chemistry class).
Instead, the information you share should be woven into a story format.
If you’re going to make your video content grab attention, it has to captivate your audience.
Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to market your product or service.
There’s a human element that comes to life, making your video far more relatable for the audience.
It also builds trust with them, the importance of which can’t be overlooked.
Stories emotionally take your audience somewhere they didn’t expect to go in a way that makes them want to pass the story on.
Social sharing is a great benefit to a video with a memorable, inspirational, and compelling story.
Hook them early with visuals they can connect to.
Construct a story arch that brings your story into their lives.
Add compelling visuals and captivating music that build the ambiance.
Then, finally, instruct your viewers on what they should do next.
Such a memorable experience will make your video content grab attention and get people to pass it on.
Now Make Your Video Content Grab Attention
By now, you know exactly what you need to do.
Make your video content grab attention through any or all the ways we’ve talked about.
Captivate your audience with mystery, emotion, suspense, and most of all, interesting content.
Deliver completed videos on a predictable schedule.
Entertain, educate, and engage with them frequently.
You’ll see the benefits of video quickly.
Especially because you actively make your video content grab attention instead of hoping someone will find it.
