How To Easily Make An Intro and Outro Video For Your Brand

Video is fast turning into the most sought-after medium used by brands to propagate their gospel far and wide. Recent statistics back this up – the average American spends around 8.5 hours per week watching videos across various online platforms, thanks to YouTube, which garners over 1 billion hours of eye time, every day. If asked to make a choice between text, image, or video as the preferred format to consume content, 72% of people choose video. And the only possible trajectory for these numbers is upwards.

Video’s appeal is multifold; both for brands and consumers alike. For brands, it entails heightened conversions and sales, boosts ROIs of ad efforts, lends authenticity, and builds trust. Moreover, Google and Bing love videos. The likelihood of your brand ranking higher in SERPs goes up by 53x if you incorporate video on your brand properties. For consumers, it is much more engaging and immersive than reading text and encourages social shares.

But how do you ensure that the videos your brand painstakingly creates get watched? How do you minimize drop-offs after your video starts playing? How do you get your viewers to amplify your video’s reach or come back and reengage with your other videos? The answer – Intro and Outro Videos.

What Are The Intro And Outro Videos?

Now, before you frantically search for what is the best intro maker, let us first understand what intro and outro videos actually are. For any type of content – be it textual or visual – a strong introduction and a memorable conclusion are key. 

As you might have guessed, intros are short introductory clips you add at the beginning of your video to hook your viewers in. Typically, these are logo stills or flashy logo animations that capture attention within the first 5 seconds. These also serve as very effective brand recalls.  

Similarly, outros are clips you add at the end to round off your video and leave the viewer with a nice takeaway or get him to take action. This can often range from getting a free guide to accessing your brand website or redirecting to your blog post mentioned in the description.

Why Are Intro and Outro Videos Important?

For any piece of content to leave a lasting impression in the audience’s mind, it always needs to have a proper structure. An abrupt, unclear start makes it harder for people to keep up with the rest of the video while an inadequate resolution can leave them confused and hanging in midair. 

Thus, intros and outros are crucial parts of any structured material, let alone a video. Note that intros or outros should be simple, eye-catching but not too gaudy or confusing, lest they drive your audience away. They should be on brand and efficiently communicate its core value proposition.

Intro and Outro Videos – Best Practices

Now before you dive into actually creating intros and outros for your brand videos, here are a few things to keep in mind:

WHERE TO PLACE THEM

Intuitively, one might think that intro should always be placed at the beginning of a video and outros at the very end. This need not be the case, always. For example, Stephen Howson, a popular football pundit, jumps right into the topic without any intro. Then 15 or so seconds later, the intro animation appears, carrying his brand visuals and the title of the video. This can be a good way to reel your viewers in by adding a clever joke or a thoughtful question at the outset before the intro video actually appears.

5 SECONDS OR LESS

Millennials and boomers alike, have the attention spans of a goldfish. Your intro and outro shouldn’t be a full-fledged video in itself. Think of it as the entree and dessert that is supposed to glorify the main course

AVOID CLICHE MUSIC

Your Youtube intro shouldn’t sound like a Bruce Springsteen concert. The background score should only serve as a stilt for your main content and not be too distracting. It shouldn’t have loud, ear-splitting audio.

CALL TO ACTION

Don’t leave your viewers hanging at the end. Include a subtle call-to-action just before the outro. This can be something as simple as sharing the video, like and subscribe to the channel, or leaving a comment. Getting this small investment from your viewer builds brand affinity and loyalty.

NEED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY DONE

Ultimately, quality does shine through. Your intro and outro should look like a piece of art, not something that has been shabbily cobbled through at the last minute. Now, this need not always entail hiring an expensive video guy or animation whiz. There are many online video editors around that work just as well.

How To Easily Create Intro and Outro Videos

Now that you’ve understood most of the nuances in intro and outro videos, it’s time to jump into the most important part – how to create them online.

STEP 1: CREATE A LOGO ANIMATION

First and foremost, it’s good if your logo comes to life and is not added as a plain, boring still image. There are many tools online that help you animate your logo – all you need to do is upload your logo, and then choose one among the umpteen animation templates provided. You can experiment with various themes like modern, retro, elegant, grunge, and more.

STEP 2: CHOOSE A VIDEO TEMPLATE

Making intros using complicated video software can be time-consuming and expensive, but there’s a smarter way.

Creating intros and outros using complex video editing software like After Effects or Premiere Pro can be cumbersome and has a steep learning curve. Instead, you can use an online tool to access a rich, vast library containing thousands of custom, production-quality video templates, and jazz your intro up.

STEP 3: ADD TEXT, ICONS OR OTHER MEDIA

The final step involves personalizing your intro/outro by adding suitable promo text, icons, and other media, consistent with your brand tone and voice. Do this, and voila, you have a stunning, ready-to-use intro and outro video in minutes!