How to Increase Video Engagement

In a world where goldfish allegedly have longer attention spans than humans scrolling through social feeds, getting people to engage with your videos has become something of a dark art. The platforms keep changing the rules, viewers keep getting pickier, and somehow, you're supposed to figure out the magic formula that makes people stop, watch, and—god forbid—actually interact with your content. This deep dive offers no silver bullets but plenty of research-backed strategies that might just save your next video from the scroll-by fate most content suffers.

The other day, I was mindlessly thumbing through TikTok when I came across a video of a guy silently making pasta. No talking, no music, just the hypnotic sounds of dough being rolled and cut. I watched the entire three-minute video without blinking. When it ended, I realized I'd completely fallen under its spell—and apparently so had 2.4 million other people. It was a perfect ASMR video.

And then it kinda hit me: I'd scrolled past probably fifty videos before landing on this specific one. What made me stop? What made me stay? And what the hell made me watch someone knead dough for three minutes when I can barely sit through a 15-second ad?

That's the mystery of video engagement—and it's getting harder to crack every day.

Why Video Engagement Is More Than Just a Vanity Metric

Image credit: Canva Free

Video views are a bit like that first beer on a Friday evening—tastes great for a good five minutes before you know you're going to need something a little more filling. You know it, I know it, and newbreedrevenue.com knows it: views alone are essentially meaningless. The distinction between 10,000 views with no interaction and 1,000 views with a couple hundred comments isn't merely statistical—it's existential.

According to Wyzowl's 2024 State of Video Marketing report, 91% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool—up from 61% in 2016. But most of those videos perform about as well as having Jimmy Carr perform at a funeral. Looking at completion data across Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, somewhere between half and two-thirds of viewers typically bounce before videos reach their midpoint.

The platforms have adjusted accordingly. Meta's very own developer documentation shows that their algorithm assigns "meaningful engagement signals" up to 3-5x more weight than passive viewing. As one Reddit marketer complained, "I focus on conversions and reoccurring views of our ads to get people thinking about us. They just want to see impressions." Marketing meetings across the country feature this exact argument every single day—one side waving view counts around like lottery tickets while the other side begs for metrics that actually matter.

YouTube's algorithm has evolved in the same way. Their Creator Insider channel explicitly states that "quality watch time" from engaged viewers who take additional actions dramatically outperforms raw view counts in determining video distribution. A video with 100,000 views where viewers watch 20% isn't just slightly worse than one with 20,000 views where viewers watch 80%—it's algorithmically dead.

In other words, it's not enough to get people to click—you need them to stay, care, and do something about it.

The Attention Crisis (Here’s What the Research Shows)

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The real problem isn’t that mythical “shrinking brains”—it’s how our devices and apps have reshaped the way we pay attention.

A 2015 Microsoft study made the headlines by claiming the average human attention span had fallen to 8 seconds, supposedly shorter than a goldfish’s 9 seconds.

Gloria Mark, a UC Irvine researcher, has tracked how often people switch tasks while working on computers. Her finding? Approximately every 47 seconds. To give you an idea: most readers won't get through this paragraph without glancing somewhere else.

My Uber driver yesterday, Catalin, put it best: “My kids can’t even finish a 10-minute TV episode without grabbing their phones three times.” Then, shaking his head or just looking out for cars: “But they still expect me to remember every one of their friends and their life stories.”

Image credit: Pexels

Social media companies know exactly what they’re doing with their autoplay, endless scrolling, and quick stories that keep us swiping from one thing to the next. Netflix even considers two minutes of watching as a “view” in their tracking. Just two minutes. That’s what counts as keeping someone’s attention now.

This isn’t just bad luck. If you’re making content today, you’re up against both other creators and a system that’s trained people to bail the second they’re bored.

How to Increase Video Engagement

1. Hook Them in the First 3-5 Seconds or Die Trying

I'm not being dramatic. Facebook's own internal data reveals that 65% of people who watch the first three seconds of a video will watch for at least ten seconds, and 45% will watch for thirty seconds. But if they don't make it past those first three seconds? Game over.

WARC states that viewers make the decision to keep watching or scroll past within 1.7 seconds. That's not even enough time to clear your throat.

What works in those crucial opening moments? Pattern interrupts. The unexpected. Questions that create curiosity gaps. The New York Times analyzed their top-performing videos and found that those opening with a surprising visual or a direct question generated higher completion rates.

Image credit: X

A great example comes from Duolingo's viral "it's time we talk" recent video. It opens with news reports flatly stating, "I'm reporting live from Duo's funeral," "turning into a murder mystery," and the shocking "and you killed him." No logo, no setup—just immediate weirdness. The video has over 2 million views with more than 7k comments. 

The video's genius is its total disregard for any traditional marketing campaign. No setup. No brand introduction. Just immediate weirdness that forces you to pay attention. Duolingo has spent years cultivating this unhinged owl persona – the mascot that passive-aggressively haunts users for missing language lessons. 

So, when they seemingly killed him off, their audience was primed to engage. When the brand announced Duo’s death, mentions of Duolingo spiked by 25,560% on announcement day. It's not the kind of strategy you'll find in marketing textbooks, but that's precisely why it worked so well.

2. Tell an Actual Frikin’ Story (Sorry, But It's True)

Research consistently shows that stories dramatically outperform standalone facts when it comes to memory retention. In a 1969 Stanford study, students who created narratives around words remembered them at a rate seven times higher than those who simply tried to memorize lists. Similarly, Chip and Dan Heath's research found stories were 12-13 times more memorable than statistics in persuasive speeches. Thanks Harriet Patience-Davies for your in-depth research on this.

When people are exposed to compelling narrative structures, their brains literally respond differently. Neurological research by Paul Zak has shown that stories featuring characters can cause the release of oxytocin—a hormone associated with empathy and bonding. This means storytelling entertains and also creates an emotional investment.

"But my product isn't exciting enough for a story," you protest. Bull***t. Blendtec turned blending things into a cultural phenomenon with "Will It Blend?" Their absurd demonstrations of blenders pulverizing everything from iPhones to glow sticks generated nearly 300 million views and increased sales by over 700%.

The Dollar Shave Club didn't just sell razors; they told a story about how much traditional razor companies were screwing customers over.

3. Get to the Point Before People Bail

We used to think the 18-minute TED Talk format was revolutionary brevity. Now it feels like a damn director's cut. Even TED themselves pivoted hard to TED-Ed's 3-5 minute animated explainers because audience behaviors have shifted dramatically.

According to Wistia's 2024 State of Video Report, engagement drops as runtime increases. Videos under 60 seconds hold on to about 50% of viewers until completion, which is practically miraculous in today's distracted times. By contrast, when video length exceeds five minutes, you're typically looking at 39% your audience sticking around to the end.

ThinkWithGoogle's research confirms this pattern, showing that on YouTube, tutorial and educational videos maintain higher retention than entertainment content of similar length. Their study found that videos addressing specific problems viewers want to solve maintain up to 2x better retention at the midpoint compared to similar-length content.

What most creators get wrong is not so much making videos that are too long – it's including irrelevant content. As the ThinkWithGoogle team notices, "The layered story that reveals more facets to the family will pull viewers in and keep them engaged," showing that it's more about content quality rather than arbitrary length restrictions.

The takeaway isn't "make everything under 60 seconds" – it's "respect people's time and get to the damn point."

4. Nobody's Listening to Your Videos (Literally)

According to a 2023 Buffer report, around 85% of Facebook videos are watched on mute. Not some but the vast majority. Most people scroll through feeds with their phones on silent, especially in public or while their SO sleeps next to them.

LinkedIn's even worse at this. Their very own marketing team says that "80% of video views on LinkedIn take place with the sound off." Makes sense—nobody wants their boss hearing them watch videos when they should be updating spreadsheets.

So what does this mean? Your video better make visual sense or it's toast. Facebook's internal data showed videos with captions get watched 12% longer on average. That's not just people with hearing disabilities, but also everyone watching from their toilet seat with the volume off.

Snapchat's Business Help Center notes that sound-on viewing correlates with dramatically higher engagement. People who bother turning up the volume are significantly more likely to actually do something after watching.

So yeah, assume nobody can hear you. But throw in some nice audio for the rare breed who actually listens.

5. Ask Questions People Actually Want to Answer

Most call-to-actions in videos suck. "Comment below!" Why? "Share with your friends!" No thanks. "Let me know what you think!" About what, exactly?

Generic questions get generic responses, or far too often, nothing at all. The difference between videos with hundreds of responses and videos that are filled with crickets isn't view count but how the questions are actually framed. Questions that tap into personal experiences or pose hypothetical choices give viewers something specific and engaging to respond to.

Look at what MrBeast does with his challenge videos. Rather than ending with a boring "subscribe and comment," he structures his entire videos around questions viewers can't help but answer: "Would you do X for a specific time for $xx,xxx?" The comment section is filled with people commenting what they'd personally do, creating conversation that extends beyond the video itself.

The same principle applies regardless of your channel size. A cooking channel asking "What would you serve this with?" gets more engagement than "Hope you liked this recipe!" A product review asking "What feature would you use most?" outperforms "Tell me your thoughts!" The important thing is to give viewers a specific prompt that connects to their own experiences or opinions.

6. Use the Data You Already Have, For God's Sake

This one drives me nuts. Companies spend thousands on video production but won't take fifteen minutes to check their analytics to see where viewers drop off.

YouTube Studio's audience retention reports show exactly when viewers abandon your videos. Storytelling consistently outperforms straight product pitches in retention metrics. Brands like Patagonia have built their entire video strategy around narrative-first content rather than feature-focused demonstrations. Their documentaries and story-driven campaigns keep viewers engaged precisely because they don't feel like they're watching advertisements—they're watching stories that happen to include products.

Viewers stick around for narrative tension, personality, and authentic moments. They bail during extended product shots, overly technical explanations without context, and anything that feels like a traditional ad break. Audience retention graphs tell you exactly what's working and what isn't—but only if you actually look at them.

7. Stop Treating All Platforms the Same, You Monster

Cross-posting the exact same video to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn isn't a strategy—it's laziness. Each platform has distinct viewer behaviors and expectations.

A Sprout Social analysis found that:

• Instagram Reels under 15 seconds get more engagement than longer ones
• LinkedIn videos between 30-90 seconds perform best for B2B content
• TikTok videos with text overlays get more engagement than those without
• YouTube viewers accept (and often prefer) longer content, with the sweet spot for many creators being 8-12 minutes

Netflix's marketing team creates entirely different trailers for the same shows based on platform. Their TikTok promos focus on reaction-worthy moments, Instagram promos emphasize visually striking scenes, and YouTube trailers provide more narrative context. 

It's more work, but their cross-platform engagement rates are higher than when they used the same trailer across platforms.

8: Make Interactive Elements That Actually Matter

Interactive elements in video aren't new, but using them effectively still seems to elude most creators. YouTube's end screens receive clicks from only about 0.8-1.5% of viewers on average. Pathetic.

Most interactive elements feel tacked on rather than integral to the experience. Compare that to Netflix's "Bandersnatch," where interactivity was the core experience and not a simple afterthought. While that's an extreme example, there are simpler approaches that work.

Even YouTube creators like Mark Rober have found that adding simple poll overlays or other interactive elements in the middle of science experiment videos, "What do you think will happen next?,” increases viewer retention through the rest of the video.

9: Emotion Beats Production Value (But You Still Gotta Try)

Make people feel something, anything, and your video already beats 90% of the boring slop out there. But if your “production quality” looks like a middle-schooler’s TikTok, you’re still screwed.

Here’s why emotion works: Jonah Berger studied this. Videos that make people furious, hyped, or dang-I-need-to-call-my-mom emotional spread faster. But production quality still matters.

Brightcove’s data doesn’t lie: 62% of people assume your company’s a dumpster fire if your videos look like they were edited in a Walmart parking lot.

Google’s “ABCD” YouTube ad rules? Attention. Branding. Connection (make them feel). Direction. Nike’s “Dream Crazy” ad? Yeah, it’s slick. But the reason it blew up wasn’t the camera work—it was Colin Kaepernick saying, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” People didn’t share the 4K close-ups. They shared the rage.

The real problem? Walking the line. Too much emotion and you’re the unhinged guy livestreaming from his basement or something like Benjamin Bennett. Too much polish and you’re another sterile ad no one gives a damn about. Nail both? You win.

10. Optimize for Reengagement, Not Only for Those Initial Views

Anyone can get lucky once and have a video blow up. But then what? Most channels with a random viral hit end up as one-hit wonders, their follow-up videos getting barely a fraction of those initial numbers.

YouTube knows who's watching what and for how long. Its system counts views as well as tracks when someone finishes your video and immediately clicks on another one of yours. That behavior gets rewarded heavily in the recommendation system.

Need proof? Look at the analytics of any top YouTuber that they've put out. Their most-watched videos aren't usually one-offs—they're part of something bigger. That's why they're always trying to get you hooked on a story that continues on through a series of videos.

Look at what Netflix did with their auto-play feature that rolls the next episode after a short countdown timer. YouTube copied that tactic because it works.

The trick is to give viewers a reason to stick around beyond just one video. Make sequels. Create inside jokes that carry over. Reference your past videos. Build characters and storylines. Give people the sense they're missing out if they don't subscribe.

How to Increase Engagement on Your YouTube Videos

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YouTube isn’t just a platform—it’s a mobile-first battlefield. With over 90% of its 2.5B+ monthly users scrolling on their phones, you’re not just competing with other creators. You’re fighting against TikTok, Instagram Reels, and the collective attention span of a goldfish. 

Here’s how to survive (and maybe even win):

Optimize for Mobile

Forget horizontal videos

YouTube’s algorithm treats vertical/short-form content (1:1 or 9:16 aspect ratios) like VIPs at a club. Why? Shorts make up 20% of YouTube’s total content and the platform is shoving them down everyone’s throats to keep up with TikTok.

Trim tutorials to 4-6 minutes

The average YouTube video drags on for 12+ minutes, but 89% of U.S. college grads use YouTube to learn things. They’re not here for your existential musings about the meaning of life. They want answers, fast. A 6-minute tutorial on “how to fix a leaky sink” will outperform a 15-minute vlog of you wandering through Home Depot every time.

Bonus: Use text overlays. Mobile viewers watch on mute 85% of the time. If your video relies on audio to explain things, you’ve already lost.

Shorts Are Your Golden Ticket (Even If You Hate Them)

15-30 seconds = sharing cheat code

YouTube Shorts get shared 3.5x more than long-form videos. Why? Because they’re snackable, chaotic, and designed for people who can’t sit still. Example: A Short of a guy restoring a rusty vintage car in 30 seconds gets 2M views. A 20-minute documentary about the same process? 50K views, tops.

CTAs aren’t optional

Add a “Subscribe” button, a poll, or a swipe-up link. 8% of Shorts viewers will actually hit “subscribe” if you ask—but you gotta ask without sounding like a salesman.

Pro tip: Hide the CTA in the video itself, not just the description. Example: “Subscribe if you want to see me fail at building a rocket next week.”

Warning: Don’t repost TikTok clips with the watermark. YouTube’s algorithm punishes recycled content like a teacher catching you plagiarizing from Wikipedia.

Data-Driven Thumbnails and Titles

A/B test thumbnails

Bright colors. One weird object. A face reacting like they just bit into a lemon. Thumbnails A/B-tested against each other boost click-through rates by 12-18%. Your “artistic” black-and-white photo of a tree? It’s getting scrolled past faster than a political ad.

Titles that sound like human speech.

“How to…” isn’t just SEO bait—it’s what actual humans type into search bars. Compare:

• Bad: “10 Revolutionary Life Hacks for Enhanced Productivity”
• Good: “I Ate Gas Station Sushi for 30 Days. Here’s What Happened.”

Double down on specificity:

• “How to Fix [Exact Issue] on a 2020 MacBook Pro” > “How to Fix Your Laptop”
• “Why I Stopped Buying Shampoo (3 Cheap Alternatives)” > “X Eco-Friendly Haircare Tips”

Pro tip: Use YouTube’s search suggest. Start typing your topic and use the autocomplete phrases of what real people are actually searching.

If your video doesn’t look like it was made for someone scrolling on the toilet, you’re doing it wrong.

How to Increase Video Advertising Engagement

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Video ads are the pop-up ads of 2025. Annoying? Yes. Unavoidable? Absolutely. Here’s how to make yours less likely to get skipped:

Short-Form Ads Rule

89% of businesses are blasting video ads at us, but short-form (under 15 seconds) rakes in the highest ROI. Why? Because viewers tap “Skip” faster than you can say “brand storytelling.” The best short ads trick you into forgetting they’re ads.

TikTok ads at 1080x1920px resolution are quite “optimized.” Full-screen, no exit. You either watch or close the app—no half-scrolling, no side-eye.

Platform Hacks – Stop Being Lazy

Instagram Reels (7-30 seconds) and YouTube Shorts (15-30 seconds) aren’t suggestions but actual tactics.

But LinkedIn videos under 30 seconds? 200% higher completion rates. Because even a CEO scrolls during boring meetings.

Break it down:

• Instagram: Open with chaos. A dog in a tutu. A CEO eating a ghost pepper. Something.
• YouTube: The first 3 seconds = “Wait, is this a trainwreck?”
• LinkedIn: Start with “I lost $50K doing this” – because nothing hooks suits like a bit of panic.

Transparency or Bust

Contextual ads (ones that match the content around them) get 50% higher CTR. 

Example: An ad for hiking boots in a video about Everest? Makes sense. The same ad in a Dragon Ball Z fan edit? Just why?

Interactive Ads – If They Feel Like Homework, You’ve Lost

Polls/quizzes boost engagement by 47%, but most interactive ads suck. They’re the equivalent of a teacher forcing you to “share fun facts.”

Do it right:

• TikTok: “Swipe left if you’d rather lick a subway pole than buy this.”
• YouTube: “Click the bell if you think this cake will collapse.”
• Instagram: “Tap to vote: Should we scrap this product?” (Let the mob decide.)

Rule: If it feels like a spreadsheet, scrap it.

The Final Test

One thing to keep in mind: 64% of Gen Z wants sponsorship labels upfront.

Show your ad to a teen to see what they think. If they smirk, you’re onto something. If they groan or do some weird face, scrape it. If they say, “Wait, is this real?” congrats, you’ve hacked attention.

Ideal Video Length: It Depends, But Here Are The Numbers

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Video length still matters on social media, but what’s “ideal” keeps changing. To provide authoritative guidance, we’ve compiled data from Hurrdat Marketing, an Omaha-based team that’s helped brands like Extra Space Storage (3,300% organic blog traffic growth) and Diventures (339% surge in keyword visibility) nail their strategies. Their 2025 platform-by-platform insights blend data with real-world results.

As Hurrdat’s Social Media Director Allie Gritt states: “TikTok and Instagram want snackable clips (15-30 seconds) that get shared. YouTube? Think deeper dives that solve problems. Treat each platform like its own audience.”

Here’s their February 2025 cheat sheet for video lengths:

How to Measure Video Engagement

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Want to know which video metrics actually move the needle? While views and likes get the spotlight, the real drivers of growth hide in overlooked data points.

Before diving into tactics, you can check our deep-dive guide: 15 Essential Social Media Metrics to Track in 2025. You’ll learn which numbers to obsess over, and which to ignore, to turn raw views into measurable results.

1. Watch Time

The benchmark that matters:

• YouTube favors videos where at least 50% of viewers stick around. Top creators average 70%+ retention.
• Why it works: If people keep watching, platforms push your content harder.

Try this instead of “hooks”:

• Open with something viewers actually care about. Example:
• “Here’s why most creators quit by year two…” (curiosity)
• “Skip this if you enjoy wasting 10 hours a week…” (pain point)

2. Engagement Rate

Forget engagement rates and track comments:

• Videos with 1 comment for every 10 likes get boosted by algorithms.
• Comments matter 2x more than likes for visibility.

What to do:

• End your video with a question that’s easy to answer (“Would you try this?” vs. “Thoughts?”).
• Reply to 3-5 comments personally. It signals to algorithms that the conversation is active.

3. Thumbnail Effectiveness

The CTR cheat code:

• Good thumbnails = 3-5% click-through rate (organic)
• Test 2-3 thumbnail versions for 12-18% higher CTR.

What works in 2025:

• Faces (real, not stock) + bold text under 5 words.
• Add timestamps in descriptions. Example: “3:15 – The tool that saved me 20 hours/month”

4. Conversions (Not Just Clicks)

What to track:

• Short video ads (<15 sec): 4.8% avg. conversion rate
• Problem-solving tutorials: 6.2% (30% higher)

Boost results:

• Add a poll (“Which problem should I fix next?”) for 47% more conversions.
• Link to a free resource in your bio (e.g., “Download my 5-step checklist”).

5. Subscribers Who Actually Watch

The golden ratio:

• 1% of viewers becoming subscribers = strong content.
• 8-12% subscriber-to-view ratio = sustainable growth.

Pro move:

• Add a subtle “Subscribe” watermark in the final 15 seconds (8% lift).
• Mention subscribers once mid-video (“If you’re new here, we fix [problem] weekly”).

So… Are You Part of the Problem or the Punchline?

Open your analytics. Find that video everyone ignored. Now ask:

• Did you give a single damn when you made it? Or were you too busy copying some “viral formula” you read about in a LinkedIn post?
• If they ditched your video at 12 seconds, was it actually bad, or did you strangle the life out of it with “brand-safe” corporate mush? Why don’t you use Flixier for quick edits that don't kill your creative momentum?
• If your channel vanished tomorrow, would anyone besides your mom notice?

We’re buried under “authentic” content that’s as real as that astronaut asking for money to pay for a rocket and landing fees.

Truth is, if your videos aren’t making people laugh ’til they snort, rage-comment, or sit there blinking like WTF did I just watch, you’re not losing to the algorithm. You’re losing to your own cowardice.

When’s the last time you:

• Took a risk instead of regurgitating the same content everyone else does?
• Posted something that actually felt like you?
• Made something so weird or honest your friends said, “Are you sure about this?”

Just answer this: Why bother making content if you’re too scared to say anything?