3 Ways to Get People to Watch Your Videos
After a lot of hard work, your finished video is in your hands – the kind of video that can persuade your target audience to answer your call to action.
You’re right on track to recruit new members, kick off a fundraising campaign, or whatever else your objective is. All that’s left is to post your video. You might think this step should be a no-brainer: Just upload it, and you’re good!
Or are you?
We’d like to recommend 3 final, subtle touches that can take you to the next level with very little effort.
Follow these presentation tips, and you can increase your video’s immediate appeal on the page — and more importantly, its hit count.
1. Catchy Video Titles
Use the title to hype up your video, making it clear why it’s worth a click. Action words that create a sense of motion will help you generate some much-needed excitement.
Finally, focus on what makes the video relevant to the viewer. You might very well think of a given video as “Recruitment Video 2016,” but that’s only because you care most about what it’s doing for you. Viewers, on the other hand, don’t care about your recruitment strategy. You have to play to their interests. “The Secret to our School’s Success” or “How You Know We Care” are a much better draw because they promote issues that matter from the outsider’s perspective.
Naturally, you should avoid click-baiting. Keep your titles genuine, if cheeky. You don’t want to misrepresent yourself and diminish the viewer’s trust in you.
2. Dynamic Thumbnails
Even before anyone clicks your video, you have a chance to showcase what it’s all about. The thumbnail is almost like a print ad for the rest of the video – a screenshot that appears inside the player, hinting at what’s to come.
For example for this video, we added the client’s logo into the thumbnail
YouTube and other hosting platforms can auto-generate a thumbnail for you, but why not give yourself an edge? Choose something vibrant, dramatic, where the energy or emotion just leap off the screen. Look for smiles, meaningful expressions, or powerful body language. You can even improve the image in Photoshop before you upload it. It’s a minor adjustment, but it brightens up the look of the page and makes the video much more appealing.
3. Purposeful Page Design
You can give your video a better chance of being seen simply by placing it correctly. This is highly dependent on context.
When a video is designed to promote a specific issue, be sure to insert it alongside the appropriate text. Alternatively, make sure your welcome video is above the fold and centrally located on your homepage. You want it to be the focal point, drawing the eye immediately. It doesn’t just happen to be there, an extra perk if the site visitor is interested – it’s the whole point of the page.
The surrounding features should add to, rather than detract from, the video’s prominence. Don’t overload with too much text or alternative modes of interaction. A viewer who is overwhelmed with options (or bored by wordy paragraphs) is unlikely to indulge in a video.
On the other hand, you can complement your video by posting a call to action button nearby. If you want viewers to complete a specific task after watching, like donating or signing up, this button gives them the chance to act immediately.
By implementing even one of these three simple tricks like these, you should start seeing increased results in no time!