YouTube audiences will decide if they want to watch a video within the first 15 seconds of clicking play. You therefore need to hook a user at the start or you could lose them forever. If you are a budding or professional video marketer wanting to retain viewers, find out how to grab your YouTube audience’s attention within the first 15 seconds.

Summarise the Video at the Start

Audiences are looking for instant clarification, which is why you should aim to provide a preview of what is to come in the video. Otherwise, they might be tempted to move onto the next video. To do so, you can highlight the helpful information a user can take away from the video, but ensure you keep it both short and effective.

Develop a Creative Intro

Convince your audience to keep watching by developing a creative intro, which will encourage trust in your brand and videos. A YouTube video intro maker can make it easy to develop a stunning introduction, which will allow you to use slides to include various images, text, icons, and video clips, and you can choose from pre-designed layouts that complement your channel.

Make a Promise (And Keep It)

YouTube audiences want to watch videos they will be unable to find elsewhere. Hook them in by making them a promise that can improve their lifestyle or boost their knowledge. However, you must deliver on the promise to maintain your credibility and grow your subscribers. So, spark interest to encourage viewers to keep watching. Once you have kept your promise, encourage them to subscribe to your channel. As YouTube plans to move into TV, you could create a lucrative and popular channel.

Don’t Start with a Blank Background

So many video marketers make the big mistake of starting a video with a blank screen that lasts between three to eight seconds. Unfortunately, this can result in viewers clicking away from your video, as you have failed to grab their attention, you need to make your video great from the start. So, don’t waste your audience’s precious time and start the video as soon as a user clicks play.

Use Text

It is important to realise that not every viewer will unmute your video. Nowadays, audiences expect videos to feature text, so they can watch a video in public spaces with ease. If your video does not feature text, and a viewer does not know what is being said, they will click away, and they unfortunately might never return. So, ensure you use text at the start of the video to maintain their interest.

Set the Tone Immediately

Audiences will quickly judge your YouTube video within the first 5 to 15 seconds. You therefore need to set the tone immediately, to encourage them to remain on your video and share it with their friends. For instance, studies have found that humorous videos are often more popular than videos with a calm or emotional tone. Yet, the tone must also accurately reflect your brand, or it will look unauthentic.

Have you launched a successful YouTube channel? Please feel free to post a helpful comment below.