How to make your YouTube videos more engaging

If you’ve been trying to make your videos more engaging we made a quick list of actionable tips and tricks that you can get started with right away. Most of the time it takes minutes to create and implement these but they will add a totally different dimension to your videos. 

As in previous posts we will use Flixier as a video editing solution for these steps but you can replicate some of them in other programs too. 

Video Intro

There are a few different approaches to create a video intro, some people prefer to make a custom animation while others add some visual effects. 

Our advice for intros is to keep them short, while it might seem cool to have a complicated animation it can turn down the viewer if it takes too long, check out this intro from tech reviewer MKBHD. 

In Flixier you could use motion texts and shapes coupled with the circle out transition to recreate something similar in less than 2 minutes. The video below is a good example of that.

There are also 2 ways to position an intro. You can start with it directly just as in the example above or you could start with a short 10 seconds resume about the video and then place an intro after that, followed by going directly into the topic.  You can also pick-up some more ideas from our Chroma key tips and tricks article. 

Transitions

The next option to make your videos more engaging is using transitions. Most of the time you need transitions to move across very different footage in a video or to separate a video section from another. 

Transitions also have the power to impose a certain emotional feel to the viewer. For example slow cross-fade transitions works better for a personal video or a vlog as it adds a sense of melancholy. 

Looking back at the video example above featuring MKBHD we also notice how he uses the circle out transition together with the footage of his hands to seamlessly blend them together. This is highly important and most of the time you should pay close attention to these details as it will make a huge difference in your video. 

Flixier also offers a lengthy list of shape transitions which are a modern technique to separate footage. These are overlays built out of shapes that can be placed on a different track in the video and they help you move from one topic to another in your video. Shape transitions or overlays are mostly used in tech or review videos because their modern feel fits well with the topic. 

That was a quick look at making your videos more engaging with transitions and you can read more about the topic in our blog post on how to make your videos standout. Still, you need to keep in mind that overusing these might become too tiresome for the viewer and have the reverse effect. 

Sound

You hear it all the time, sound is half of what makes a good video, and that is correct. As with video footage, images or even transitions sound is used to set a clear video mood. If your video is a tutorial, how-to or something along these lines, you should really use voice narration to make the information more powerful. 

Depending on the platform you are publishing on, people have a different set of expectations when it comes to sound. A YouTube video without any sound? Good luck getting any serious amount of viewers to watch it! Are you making a Facebook video? You might get away without adding sound as many viewers watch those on mute and prefer to read captions. 

After you made your decision about adding sound in your video there are a few places to go and find good music. A simple and safe bet is the Youtube Audio Library. These are great when you are in a hurry and they do the job for certain scenarios. To use them in Flixier just download a sound track you like from the link above and then use the Import button to add them to your Flixier library as you do with any media. Next, just drag and drop them into your timeline. 

If you’re looking for something more professional Flixier also integrates seamlessly with SoundCloud. To use music from there all you need to do is press the Import button, select SoundCloud, copy and paste a sound link and that’s it. The sound is in your library. Be careful though, most of these sounds are copyright protected and you should ask the creator for permission before using them. 

As with transitions be careful not to overuse music. It’s too often that a great video is ruined by a soundtrack that makes it difficult to hear what the person in the video is talking about.  For a more detailed guide on how to get great audio for your videos check-out this blog post. 

Calls to Action 

Asking the viewer to perform an action is something most YouTubers do but it is also super powerful to engage with him with visuals too. Adding an animation to urge him to subscribe or follow your channel improve your chances for getting that call to action fulfilled. Adding your subscriber count could be another convincing point. If you have a lot of viewers it shows that your channel is on the rise and that you provide value to a lot of people. In case your channel is smaller you can just say so and ask for their help to grow it. 

In Flixier you can easily add these types of calls to action, you can drag and drop them from the library and personalize them with a few clicks. 

Video Outro

A video outro is often overlooked but we think it’s a great opportunity to get closer to your audience. 

In the outro you can place a short funny section with fails or bloopers during the making of the video, and you can mention people that helped you while making the video or credit sound creators or stock footage creators that you might have used. 

In case you have other videos that would fit well with the current one you are making and you think it would offer value to the viewers link to them and urge them to watch them, just don’t do it if it’s not truly related otherwise people might lose trust in you. 

While you can do this during the video as mentioned above, it’s also common that your outro has a call to action towards the viewer asking him to like other social media pages that you have for example Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. 

Check out this example of an Outro from The Verge. 

Outro example:

That’s all for today's blog post, we hope it was useful and that you’ll start improving your YouTube videos straight away.