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Ever since its debut in 2005, YouTube has revolutionized the way the world consumes video. In 2020, the average YouTuber spent around 12 minutes watching videos every day. Just like Facebook, Instagram, or more recently Tiktok; YouTube is a content rabbit hole for a majority of the people. It has over 2 billion monthly active users, which is roughly 26% of the global population.
From a business standpoint, YouTube generated 5.5 billion dollars worth of advertising revenue in 2020, in America alone. With numbers like these, YouTube marketing needs to be an essential ingredient of your strategy, whether you’re an independent creator or an established brand.
Today, YouTube houses billions of videos, and nearly 500 hours of video content is being uploaded every minute as we speak. It’s easy for your video to get drowned out in this ocean of video content. How do you stand out, how do you get viewers to keep watching your video? The answer is YouTube intros. Now before you frantically look up YouTube intro maker, let us try to understand what an intro is and why it’s so important.
What is a YouTube Intro?
A YouTube intro is a 5-8 second clip that is placed at the beginning of a video to give an idea about what the video is going to be about. It also contains the brand or channel logo to give it an identity.
Why do you need a YouTube Intro?
Intros are to YouTube videos what logos are to a business; it’s the first impression you make on a viewer. And it would be best if you made a killer first impression because as they say, “The first impression is the last impression”.
A good intro quickly tells viewers what your channel is about and lends context to the ensuing video content. A catchy intro hooks viewers into watching the video until the very end. A consistent intro also breeds familiarity and trust among the audience so that they feel comfortable coming back for more.
Intros need not be only about branding; they can be informative too – you can give out details like your name, social media links, upload schedule, and more.
Now that we’ve warmed up and had a fair idea about YouTube intros, let us look at a few things you should keep in mind while making intros.
Things you must keep in mind while making a YouTube Intro
- Keep it short – Ideal intro length is 3-5 seconds. Data shows that intros that are 10 seconds or longer lead to massive drop-offs.
- Info to include – Usually, the channel logo and the video title is enough. Stuffing too much information in the intro can be overwhelming for the audience.
- Don’t beat around the bush – People don’t have all day, and attention spans are reducing. Get straight to the point. Give the viewers a concise, crisp description of the theme of the video. Avoid jargon and long sentences.
- Make it quirky – Humor is the best way to reel people in so maybe add a joke in the voiceover or fun visual elements to keep their eyeballs glued to the screen.
Let’s talk about some detailed tips that will help you create the perfect YouTube Intro:
- Create An Animated Logo Clip
Your logo is the most recognizable part of your brand, and you shouldn’t miss any opportunity to put it in front of your audience’s eyes. However, merely placing your logo as a still image in your intro doesn’t cut it nowadays, people demand more.
Instead, try bringing it to life by adding some flashy animations. The self-constructing animated logo is quite the rage as it’s quite absorbing to see all the logo components mesh into each other. You can either hire a professional or get your hands dirty yourself. Creating logo animations is one of the first things they teach you in those online video editing for beginners courses.
- Keep It Simple
When it comes to YouTube intros, less is always more. You don’t need to go overboard with excellent effects and bombard your audience with a lot of information upfront as that can be mentally taxing. Instead, just focusing on the following pointers should suffice:
- The pain point – Start by addressing the problem facing the viewers.
- The cure – Reassure viewers that your video contains the solution to their pain point.
- How it works – Promise a step-by-step guide to resolve their issues.
- Highlight your USP – Clearly state why you are best suited to solve their problems.
- Call-to-action – Get viewers to commit early on by asking them to perform a small action like hitting the Subscribe button or enabling bell notifications.
- Be Consistent
When making YouTube intros, the last thing you want to do is chopping and changing them now and then. Make an appealing intro and stick to it. Let the intro make enough impressions on users so that they get accustomed to the look and feel of your channel. There’s a real danger that users might click on your video, see a new, unfamiliar intro and go away thinking they’ve landed on the wrong channel.
- Pose A Question
Asking a thought-provoking question upfront is one of the best ways to start a video. It makes it look like you’re trying to have a genuine conversation, which is always a plus. You can never go wrong by asking a relevant question that makes the audience think and evaluate their needs. Sometimes, even an engaging rhetorical question might reinforce the viewer’s decision to watch the video in the first place. You might also go for an apt metaphor, anecdote, or an inspirational quote to establish yourself as an authority.
- Stroke A Controversy
Making a sweeping statement up top is a surefire way to get viewers to sit up and take notice (“Did I hear that right?”). So if your video is on a controversial topic, make a bold prediction, a startling claim or a topical conspiracy theory and watch those video completion rates skyrocket.
These tips should be enough to get the ball rolling as far as creating DIY YouTube intros are concerned. So what are you waiting for? Fire up that YouTube editor and upload your mind-blowing intros right away!
