If you’re considering jumping into YouTube as a content creator to entertain, educate, or monetize your channel, there are a few things to know before you begin. At Raffiti Media, a full-service YouTube management agency, we’ve partnered with hundreds of top channels to optimize content and increase subscriptions.
For one, while it may seem easy to upload a video on the platform, to get views and an audience consistently takes some strategic planning. You’ll need to set up your channel, optimize the content and keywords to rank with the algorithm and grow your subscriptions so that you can monetize your channel.
And there’s even more you’ll need to know to increase your traffic and grow your channel. You can increase your channel’s views and grow your audience by including a YouTube end card.
An end card is a graphic or link that you can include at the end of your videos, and they typically last less than 10 seconds. When you do an end card correctly, you can direct your viewers to take action, either subscribing, watching more videos on your channel, or heading to an exterior website.
But an end card only works if you get people watching in the first place.
This is why you need to consider how you plan to get people to watch your content in the first place.
One way to increase your viewership is to have a hook at the beginning of your video, and the best way to do that is by using an intro.
On top of getting people to want to watch your video, there are numerous other benefits to include them. So, if you’re still on the fence about whether you need to make an intro for YouTube videos, let’s dive right in.
Why Should You Make An Intro On YouTube
When posting content on the platform, the algorithm can recognize your content as relevant to your audience’s search.
When the algorithm ranks content, it ranks higher, which means it will receive more visibility, thus increasing views. And the key with any channel on YouTube is to create sustainable growth rather than see a quick uptick in your videos being seen only to lose views over time.
Other benefits include:
- Increased Brand Recognition
- Creating A Sense Of Professionalism
- Improved Familiarity
- A Hook For The Viewer
Increased Brand Recognition
You can establish your brand identity by including an intro for viewers who may have yet to become familiar with your content. For those who have come across your content prior, it will increase your brand recognition.
As people become more familiar with a brand, the greater trust that you can build with them. As you build a trustworthy brand with your audience, it becomes easier to convert them, regardless of whether you’re looking for an increase in subscriptions or even motivate them to buy from you.
People are 4-6x more likely to convert to a brand they know and trust than one they are unfamiliar with. So, to answer whether you should make an intro on YouTube videos if you want to convert customers, the simple answer is yes.
Creating A Sense Of Professionalism
Another reason to make an intro on YouTube is that a good, strategic intro will help you build trust and create a sense of professionalism from your audience’s perception.
That’s because an intro creates a polished look and feel to your videos and helps inform the viewer of what to expect. By including an intro, you show that your videos are polished, cohesive, and visually appealing, further helping increase your video watch times, another crucial metric the platform uses to determine relevancy.
Improved Familiarity
When you include an intro in your videos, you’re enhancing the familiarity of your brand, further building on the trust of your audience.
Once you establish a loyal following, your audience will begin to look forward to your intros. And the more you include them, the more they become a familiar element that your audience will look forward to in expectation of your videos.
Repetitioning your intro will increase your audience’s familiarity with your brand and offerings, helping with your conversions.
A Hook For Your Audience
As if there weren’t enough reasons to include an intro on your videos, when you make an intro on YouTube, you’re also providing a hook for new viewers to increase their interest and continually grow your channel.
A catchy, fun intro that introduces your brand will entice your viewers to watch your content and make it more interesting than if you just had your content begin. A warm opening for your content will also help increase your watch times.
So, if you’re still on the fence about whether you should make an intro on YouTube, it ultimately depends on what your objectives may be for your channel. Still, an intro is an excellent idea if you’re looking to build your brand and increase conversions, either for subscription rates, sales, or watch times,
The key is to design your intros to match your content.
For example, if your primary content on your channel is educational or informational, you wouldn’t want to create an intro focused on selling a service or product.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to entertain, having an intro can help set the tone for the audience of what they can expect to consume.
Remember that if you plan on making an intro to your content, keep it short, make sure it’s visually appealing but not too flashy, and remember that the goal is to get your audience to watch it.
There are plenty of benefits to including an intro on your YouTube channel. You’ll want to test different types and approaches to see what increases watch times and adjust your intros accordingly.
The key is to create the correct type of intro that matches the content the audience is about to view and matches your brand style to keep them engaged long-term.
At the end of the day, whether you make an intro on YouTube or not is one of your preferences. But by including an intro, you can improve your brand recognition and add a hook to your videos that can entice your audience to stay engaged.
Crafting compelling content requires you to include a logo or tagline, use visually compelling images, and add music or sound effects to increase the attractiveness of your intro. The key is to help your audience become interested and to highlight what may be necessary for your viewers to know before watching.
An introductory CTA that you can follow up with at the end of your video (an end screen) can also increase your conversions.
When you create an intro, you should balance a hook to draw the viewers in by informing your viewers and motivating them to want to watch your content.
If you want to build and grow your YouTube channel, it can take time and energy to pull it off successfully. But, with Raffitit Media, we provide a YouTube management service from optimizing your content to promoting it and even crafting content for your channel to partner with you to achieve your goals.
Ready to get started? Contact us today for a FREE one-on-one consultation about how Raffiti Media can help you through our full-service YouTube management service.
