Do you make your videos YouTube friendly?

Your videos must be optimized for YouTube including in regards to the watch time (total time spent watching a YouTube video since it went live) as their algorithm pushes to increase watch time. YouTube will rank higher in a video with a higher watch time (this is not the only setting).

Your videos will be more adapted to YouTube by following the below rules:

1. Videos must be long (longer videos tend to outrank short videos despite what “experts” tend to say). Short videos work well on Facebook and LinkedIn, not on YouTube. A longer video will accumulate a lot of total watch time automatically. On average, videos on the first results page are around 15 minute-long. Consider making your videos 8-15min long.
2. Cut off the fluff from your intros . According to YouTube’s official blog, the first 15 seconds of a video is key. You, therefore, have to grab viewer’s attention within 15 seconds. The intro must quickly preview exactly what the video will cover (you can start by saying “Hi guys, today I will tell you how to cook a delicious chocolate cake” before moving on).
3. Use “pattern interrupts”. They are elements in a video that are different from the rest of the video (they literally “interrupt” the “pattern”). These can be graphics, other video extracts, camera angle changes etc.
4. Script every line or at least follow a detailed outline. You must look confident while not reading a piece of paper. Feel free to read a piece a paper, say what you just read in front of the camera and then cut the reading part when editing the video. This will also give you the opportunity to insert a pattern interrupt.
5. Analyse what already worked to see what is already proven to work (you can use Buffer to help you for instance). To do so, watch the top 3 videos when searching for a particular keyword and note what they have in common (using many examples, videos are all long, all videos mention “live video”, “Instagram”, “influencer marketing”, 2 videos out of 3 mentions they are specifically for this year, etc.). Then indeed include these elements in your video.