Whenever we upload a video to YouTube, we are always looking for something: visibility.
Whether it’s a simple user or a more or less well-known company, regardless of the content, whoever decides to press “upload” on YouTube dreams of seeing the number of views grow day by day, all the better if out of all proportion.
Founded in 2005, this social network has not lost ground over the years, remaining the second most visited website in the world (second only to Google) and continuing to offer its users new action tools; among the most recent we find the ” End Cards “, screens of different types that can be inserted in the final part of the video.
Commenting, sharing and voting are certainly among the main operations that YouTube allows, but the potential of this new intervention should not be underestimated. The content that you choose to appear within the last 20 seconds of the movie can direct viewers to other videos on YouTube or your channel (allowing the search engine to select the most recent or most suitable video for the user) and playlists, invite them to subscribe to the channel and promote the site, its products or crowdfunding campaigns.
The process is simple: just go to the “Video Management” section and click “Edit” on the video you want to add, then go to the “Final screen and annotations” tab. Like any self-respecting social network, also in this case we must pay attention to a series of small rules that allow you to make the most of the capabilities of this tool.
Since the limit imposed on the number of elements that can be inserted is a maximum of four and since one of these must necessarily be a video, it is advisable to use two videos and a call-to-action. Furthermore, pay attention to the template you use because it plays a fundamental role: having to visually communicate a precise and relevant message, it must be consistent with the theme of the channel and present itself in an orderly manner so as not to risk hiding or dispersing the main content of the video. In this regard, it is important to underline the need to individually set the timing of each End Card , making them appear in sequence in order to avoid dispersive overexposure of the contents.
Since each element can expand to show further information, which can be viewed both from mobile and from computer, it is important to enter the annotations appropriately so as not to confuse the viewer by leading them to act unsuccessfully such as, for example, by clicking on what they think they are. a link but which then does not lead back to any page.
But what is the main strength of these End Cards ? The visibility.
These innovative tools are the only legitimate way to bypass YouTube’s own “relevance” mechanism with which it suggests a series of so-called “related” videos, which almost never include videos from its own channel (only the top youtubers are an exception. ).
YouTube Direct , YouTube Live , YouTube API are just some of the new tools that show us how Google has started investing its resources in this platform again.