Best Ways to Increase Engagement of YouTube Videos  – You may have mastered every trick in the book to drive millions of viewers to your YouTube channel. If so, it’s great that you have people watching your video.

However, that shouldn’t be your only concern. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that virality is your goal. Your goal is to engage your audience and keep them coming back for more.

When creating your videos, always remember that you are addressing people, not robots. You must make an emotional connection with your viewers.

According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the average time a user spends on a website is only 20 seconds.

The study also reported that the average attention span of a human being, in 2015, was 8.25 seconds, which is even less than that of a goldfish!

This means that people lose interest fast if what they see is boring. Hence, you need to hook your viewers within the first 10 seconds of your video.

So, where does engagement begin and where does it end?

The longer a video drags on the lower its retention rate. Short videos, under 1 minute, enjoy 80% viewer retention. Videos that are 2–3 minutes long receive 60% retention. But, videos that are 5–10 minutes long have only about 50% retention halfway through.

People watch videos for a variety of reasons. Most people (70%) are looking for educational content, such as DIY tips and tricks and tutorials. Some people (67%) visit YouTube for reviews of products they are interested in buying. And, some people (53%) turn to videos for inspiration or entertainment.

A further breakdown of shoppers looking for product reviews shows that:

• 52% of shoppers agree that watching product videos makes them more confident about making a purchase
• 40% of shoppers agree that they would visit a store online or in-person after watching a video
• 46% of shoppers said they would be more likely to seek additional information about a product after watching an online video about it

The bottom line is: Engagement is important for good conversion rates. So, let’s examine 5 ways to increase YouTube channel engagement. These methods will help you to not only attract a wider and more diverse viewership, but also retain customers and generate leads.