Tips and Tricks to make Long YouTube videos

Over the last few years, it has become a trend to make longer YouTube videos to increase watch time. As watch time is the most important ranking factor on YouTube. Besides making longer videos for more watch time, the best way to rank higher is to increase audience retention.

Audience retention needs some important things that have to be kept in mind while making videos. Video marketing and production involve plenty of other important tricks that help to reach more audiences. In this article, we have a list of some tips to make a good long-duration video.

Perform competitor research

The best place to start is with a little competitive research. Have a look at a competitor’s video content and marketing strategy. Use them as a source of inspiration for your content. A creator can also find content gaps and fill them with their content

Create a cohesive tone

Videos should be categorised into genres. Think about the overall mood of the piece that a creator is creating, and manage how all of the video’s elements like music, lighting, voice-over, and colour composition come together to create that mood and reflect the brand. Be sure that the tone of the video is consistent throughout and reflects the brand goal.

Choosing location

If the video is filmed indoors, for example at the office or home, location scouting can be a pretty easy task. But, if you’re shooting off-site, allow plenty of time to find the right location. Consider your needs like access to electricity depending on equipment setup, natural light at the time of the shooting, and how crowded the location is.

Write a script and create a storyboard

Begin the making of the video by writing the script. Keep the script simple, and keep the sentences short. Be sure that the video message is simple, concise, and clear.

Next, take the script a step further and create a storyboard. A storyboard is a comic-book-style overview of the video. It shows how the different shots will come together and tell a single visual story or the content.

Hook the audiences

Hooks can be just anything at the start of a video that grabs attention. The hook is one sentence that grabs the audience's attention. It’s the very first sentence of the video and is designed to shock, amaze, perplex or just excite the viewer. This could be a statistic, a question or an interesting statement. These 15 seconds are very crucial for the retention of the audience for the viewer to hook on the video. The first few seconds of the video from “Wealth Hacker – Jeff Rose” definitely grabs the viewers’ attention.

An attention-grabbing intro

Summarize what the video will cover, show it with an example, tease viewers with something, and show viewers what’s coming up.

So, jot down a handful of key points that are important for the video before the shooting. It’s no secret that YouTube viewers are an impatient bunch, they do not have plenty of time to hang on to a specific channel, so a video should flow quickly from point to point.

Good Content

This is the main content of the video. Make good content. It should be original, solution-oriented, give tips and interactive. It's properly sourced, unique, and concise. Craft content that increases likes, and shares, and makes a creator rank well on YouTube.

A compelling video outro

The creator should use the outro to compel viewers to take action. A call-to-action (CTA) is what a creator wants his viewers to do after the video for example like the video, comment, subscribe, watch another video of the channel, subscribe or click on the blog. One can have multiple CTAs in a video.

Customise your channel for audience retention

YouTube lets a creator to choose the name of channel and upload content. We highly recommend this as it creates a branded, polished experience. These factors compel the audience to visit your channel and see your videos.

Use keywords in your description

Be sure to incorporate keywords to improve video search ranking, specifically in the title and video description. For example have a look how the keywords are used in one of the major online education platform.

Use tags and hashtags

YouTube tags are a no-brainer way to improve a video’s searchability. Multiple variations of the same keyword can be used to ensure maximum impact.

Select an eye-catching thumbnail

While the written words in YouTube data are important to optimisation, selecting the right visual i.e., the video thumbnail is also important. The thumbnail is the only image associated with the video in search results, so let the video stand out in the crowd. Choose a thumbnail having bright and engaging colours. Have the video title on the thumbnail.

Share your video on social

If a creator already has audiences on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social platforms, post that video to the existing followers and ask them to share the content as well. For example Nas Daily Have their videos on their website.

Conclusion

A good video is one having the best and most unique content for the audience. When people get a lot of good content that is solving their problems, they stay longer on a channel and like to come back and visit that channel more often. Long videos need a proper researched attitude for success. They are like producing a movie on a small budget. So fasten up your seatbelts and follow the above tricks to make a good long YouTube video.