{"id":10399,"date":"2019-03-04T11:28:16","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T09:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/?p=10399"},"modified":"2020-08-24T18:51:34","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T16:51:34","slug":"increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Increase Video Retention Rates with Storytelling [Video Influencer Interview]"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Read Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes <\/span><\/span>\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Marketers (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/marketing-home\/\" target=\"_blank\">Marketers<\/a> want to hook their viewers! Simple right? But unfortunately for many marketers and ad creators, they can\u2019t seem to get enough people to stick around to see their videos&#8217; CTAs \u2014 let alone take action. Getting an audience to watch their videos until the very end can be hard to master. Still, to increase video retention rates (read: hold someone\u2019s attention throughout a video) is a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fear not! To stop people from abandoning your videos, we\u2019re here to guide you toward keeping your audience glued to your content through storytelling genius-ness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Powtoon&#8217;s Chief Evangelist, Renee Teeley, sat down with Video Creator founder and YouTube consultant, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Tim Schmoyer (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcB3bcWy0_QK7uPQvTD0LwQ\" target=\"_blank\">Tim Schmoyer<\/a>, to lean into some of today\u2019s best practices on the topic. <em>Hint: It\u2019s all about generating suspense through questions and conflict. <\/em>Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sweeten the Clickbait<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s so important to <strong>consider the title and thumbnail<\/strong> your viewer will see before they even press play. These two factors may seem arbitrary, but they help set viewer expectations. With the power to choose which videos to watch on YouTube, you\u2019ve got to set expectations high, and then be sure to follow through. The most important thing is to deliver that promise your title and thumbnail made <em>within the first 15 seconds of the video.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there\u2019s a misalignment between the clickbait and the initial impressions of the video, you might be written off as untrustworthy and expect some serious drop off rates. <em>Make sure that doesn\u2019t happen to you!<\/em> Tee-up those expectations and watch your viewers get hooked into the next stage of video retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Get to the Nitty-Gritty!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve affirmed that value is coming, it\u2019s time to get into the content. To keep viewers intrigued throughout the video, ask (or less explicitly, get the viewers to ask <em>themselves<\/em>) questions that will act as dangling carrots that guide them from segment to segment of your video\u2019s content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The eagerness to answer questions like, \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen next? How does that work itself out? What else will I learn? How does the character\/ video maker resolve that challenge?\u201d is what will maximize that retention until the very last frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create Conflict Through Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of characters and challenges, it\u2019s best to think of your videos (be it for marketing, educating, or corporate training) as a story. Since our days as cavepeople, we\u2019ve been hardwired for telling and listening to stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Turn your video into a storytelling experience<\/strong> by creating a hero to root for, a conflict they need to overcome, and a \u201cThe End\u201d-worthy resolution. Do that, and you will increase the irresistibility of your video. Not only will you keep your viewers watching until the end slide, but they&#8217;ll be begging you for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One Last Nugget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can\u2019t talk about anything in marketing without measuring what worked and what didn&#8217;t. This is no less true when it comes to video retention. Take a look at your analytics. You can <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"get these on YouTube (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/creatoracademy.youtube.com\/page\/course\/analytics-series\" target=\"_blank\">get these on YouTube<\/a> if your video lives there.  You want to track where viewers are dropping off, and see what words get people to leave your videos.  Cut those words out to optimize your content. On the flip side, check to see if viewers are <em>replaying<\/em> certain parts of your video. Was there something you said that was unclear or so jaw-droppingly interesting that they had to watch it twice to let it truly sink in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to viewer retention, the key is to catch them before the click, rope them in with suspenseful questions, and leave them hook-line-and-sinker with an applaud-provoking story. To learn more about how to win at the retention rate game, be sure to check out <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/drm5bziXSUM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Episode 3 (opens in a new tab)\">Episode 3<\/a> of the #MakeItAwesome Show where Renee Teeley gets even more insights from Tim Schmoyer (founder of Video Creators) on video retention. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got any of your own tips for video retention? Let us know in the comments below or on <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"YouTube (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/drm5bziXSUM\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube<\/a>. Last but not least, don\u2019t forget to subscribe to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Powtoon\u2019s YouTube channel (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Powtoon\" target=\"_blank\">Powtoon\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a> for more episodes of the #MakeItAwesome Show and more awesome content from the Powtoon team! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay Awesome! <br><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marketers want to hook their viewers! Simple right? But unfortunately for many marketers and ad creators, they can\u2019t seem to get enough people to stick around to see their videos&#8217; CTAs \u2014 let alone take action. Getting an audience to&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":10402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[756],"tags":[986,337,726,988,966,985,987,297],"class_list":["post-10399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","tag-hero","tag-how-to-get-audience-attention","tag-storytelling","tag-title","tag-video-analytics","tag-video-retention","tag-video-thumbnail","tag-youtube","has-post-video"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Increase Video Retention Rates with Storytelling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use the art of storytelling to increase video retention rates. 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Learn how in our interview with Video Creator founder and YouTube consultant, Tim Schmoyer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Powtoon Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Powtoon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-04T09:28:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-24T16:51:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Tim-Schmoyer-How-to-Increase-Video-Retention-Rates-with-Storytelling.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shoshi Davis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shoshi Davis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling\/\",\"name\":\"How to Increase Video Retention Rates with Storytelling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/increase-video-retention-rates-with-storytelling\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Tim-Schmoyer-How-to-Increase-Video-Retention-Rates-with-Storytelling.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-04T09:28:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-24T16:51:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.powtoon.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/19b65a16dac716985d2bdfc7ce7293a3\"},\"description\":\"Use the art of storytelling to increase video retention rates. 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