YouTube is known to be among the fastest-growing social networks in the world. Even 20 years after it was founded, the user base of YouTube has continuously been increasing. Every day, more and more users are logging onto YouTube to watch their favourite videos. YouTube remains the platform of choice for publicity, marketing, promotion, or just simple content creation.
A successful YouTube video has several elements that all content creators must take care of. Over the years, YouTube videos have begun to follow a set formula that enables the highest use of the ever-decreasing attention spans of YouTube users. Content creators need to catch the users’ eyes among the barrage of content that is uploaded to YouTube every day. The best way to enable this is to create an effective YouTube intro. The intro is the first few seconds of the video and sets the tone for the rest of the video. It is these first few seconds that help the user decide whether the rest of the video is to be viewed or not.
Even though the intro is a brief video, a lot of work goes into its creation. Here are some tips every content creator must keep in mind while creating an intro:
1. Planning: Ideally, you would wish the template of your videos to be the same. Thus, a plan needs to be made concerning the intro. What will be the content of the intro? Does the intro need to include a precap? What will the color scheme be? What will the animation (if any) look like? These considerations are incredibly essential in the planning of a video intro. You must also decide how to catch and retain viewers’ attention.
2. Time: The length of the intro is key to the creation of the video. If the intro goes on for too long, it is detrimental to the video. You may end up showing too much, revealing critical bits of the video, or merely boring the audience. You have to decide the length of the intro. This usually remains the same across videos. The ideal length for an intro is generally under twenty seconds, though it may be more for longer videos.
3. Audio: The audio track is another crucial consideration in the creation of the intro. The audio of the rest of the video needs to match the tone of the video. However, the audio of the intro section must catch the attention of the user immediately. Furthermore, if you think a voiceover is required, the audio track must be mellow so that the song doesn’t overpower your voice.
4. Branding: All successful YouTube content creators and celebrities have a brand. Each brand has distinctive qualities that differentiate it from all other brands. These may be a particular color scheme, t specific catchphrase, a mascot, etc. that helps you stand out among the crowd. The basics of brand creation say it is vital to develop a distinct identity. This will enable your target users to identify you. You would not want your character to be so generic that your subscribers are unable to find you on YouTube.
5. Creating the Intro: A specialized intro maker app can be used to create professional-looking intros for your YouTube videos. The more professional and sleek your intro looks, the higher the chances that viewers continue watching the rest of the video. Many intro maker apps also contain templates of intros. Thus, you do not have to work hard to create a template.
However, for branding, it is always recommended that the content creator creates templates. Video editors are available for free as well as for a subscription, and content creators with varying levels of experience in video editing can use these editors online and offline as well.
1. Links: In recent years, YouTube has increased its capacity to allow content creators to add links in their videos. Content creators can add links to previous videos, playlists, and even external websites at different positions in their video. These links allow for customer retention. They have been shown to increase channel subscriptions and views. Content creators can also add links to external brands if they want to help users reach them at various portals outside YouTube.
2. Subscribe Button: The subscribe button is an essential part of any YouTube video. It is hence imperative that content creators add the subscribe button either in the intro or the outro, to facilitate subscription by the user. This not just increases the subscriber count of your channel, but also increases your user base.
Conclusion
There are plenty of YouTube videos out there. To stand out, it is imperative to have an effective intro to your video. It enables brand recall, retains viewers, and increases subscribers. Use these tips and an online video editor to easily make an intro for your YouTube video.