6 Tips on How to Increase Video Engagement

Online video is massive. Up to 82% of all content viewed online is video content — and it’s only increasing. Savvy businesses, entrepeneurs, influecers and nearly everybody in between wants to create successful video and increase their video engagement metrics.

• Make It the Appropriate Length
• Hook ‘Em Early
• Invest in Good Technical Quality
• Play it Straight — Don’t Try to Game the System
• Take Risks — Don’t Play it Too Safe
• Story, Action, and Music Hold Attention
• Final Thoughts

Video engagement is crucial because it’s by viewers watching your content that your message is spread. Therefore, it’s paramout that you do everything you can to increase every aspect of your video content and outreach so that you can touch as many people as possible.

In this article, we’re going to discuss 6 tips on how to increase your video engagement. We’ll cover many of the major aspects to creating and distributing video content. We’ll talk about key elements such as video quality, video strategy and provide expert insight into how to produce video content that wins. Furthermore, we’ll discuss how the right video hosting platform can aid in your online video content success.

Hook ‘Em Early

While those stats don’t tell us to keep videos short, they do tell us that there’s a very brief window of opportunity to attract people’s interest. It’s actually shorter than those average watch times you keep hearing about. You need to have something in the first thirty seconds of your video to persuade people that this is something they want to see more of. It could be an intriguing fact, some eye-catching video footage, something funny, or something alarming. But whatever it is, you need it upfront.

Invest in Good Technical Quality

People will watch long video content. What they won’t watch is poor content that rambles or exhibits low technical quality. Investing in good quality equipment (from cameras to lights to software) and building the expertise to produce a high-quality video is a must if you want people to watch your video all the way to the end. With a lot of high quality, professional video available, viewers have come to expect that quality and quickly notice any flaws.

Play it Straight — Don’t Try to Game the System

There are two reasons why the so-called “black hat” SEO is a poor idea, and why you shouldn’t try to second-guess the search engine algorithms to increase traffic. The first reason is that the algorithms keep changing, precisely to prevent people from doing that and more accurately reflect people’s real interests. The second is that any benefits from this sort of thing are strictly temporary, and if the video isn’t really what people are looking for it will lead to disappointment and be self-defeating. Play it straight, produce a high-quality video that your audience is looking for, and promote it honestly.

Take Risks — Don’t Play it Too Safe

You want your video to stand out and attract attention, and that means it needs to be different from the rest of the offerings out there. Being too cautious can lose more viewers than taking some risks and letting your imagination run free. You should have a good idea of who your audience is, and what interests them. Think of things that would appeal to your audience that isn’t being offered already. Create video content that addresses this gap. If you aren’t sure — that’s actually a good sign.

Story, Action, and Music Hold Attention

We’re past the point now where a talking head can make for an engaging video. You need to construct your video like a story, using the same construction you would use for a movie (drama, comedy, or documentary), adjusted for what is probably a shorter length. Your visual content should be varied and have plenty of motion and action, even if it’s just changes of viewpoint and perspective. Of course, if your subject matter allows for heavy action, so much the better.

Finally, don’t forget the soundtrack. Music is a huge part of what makes good video work. That raises issues of copyright (and we covered that subject here), but it’s well worth the time and effort it takes.

Final Thoughts

As we’ve discussed, increasing video engagement is a multifaceted process. Luckily, it’s getting easier. And with these 6 tips, you’ll better be able to hook and retain more viewers than you ever thought possible.

To stand out from the competition, your must enhance your video quality online. Your video quality must be high with the best video resolution with the right video settings. Furthermore, you should follow the video creation best practices we shared. This includes creating a well-placed strategy and efficient delivery. Equally important, you need the right software and distribution methods to maximize your reach and viewership.

Did you know that Dacast is a professional-grade video streaming platform? With Dacast’s powerful video hosting solution, you can upload, transcode, organize, analyze, monetize and easily share all your video content. With Dacast, you’ll optimize and maximize your video engagement metrics on all fronts.

Did you know that Dacast is a professional-grade video streaming platform? With Dacast’s powerful video hosting solution, you can upload, transcode, organize, analyze, monetize and easily share all your video content. With Dacast, you’ll optimize and maximize your video engagement metrics on all fronts.

Try Dacast with our 14-day free trial today.

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