While interactive content marketing is nothing new in general, it is one of the latest developments on YouTube today.
An interactive YouTube video series uses end screens (in the past they could also use annotations) to engage its viewers. It’s a series of videos with several possible endings, depending on what option (i.e. end screen card) the viewer chooses.
Using basic tools and features, YouTube interactive videos are presented in a cleverly creative way that creates a magnified illusion of interactivity, when in reality, everything is pre-created.
Every marketer knows the power of interactive content marketing, but not all have discovered how to do it effectively on YouTube. There’s time to be at the forefront of this video series concept and create an amazing experience for your audience that will surely impress them.
Of course, there are other compelling reasons why you should make interactive videos on YouTube. These are the same reasons why other pioneering brands already use interactive videos in their YouTube marketing.
Image credit: elearningbrothers
Why Make Your YouTube Videos Interactive?
Delivering interactive content to your audience might belong at the top of your marketing list because interactive content encourages engagement from your audience, and it’s the kind of engagement that empowers them too.
When you present options and leave certain critical choices up to your audience, you give them a sense of control which imbues their watching experience with greater relevancy. Giving your audience that kind of power – not to mention fun – can create a memorable experience that will turn them into loyal viewers and subscribers. Rather than being passive observers, they get to actually do something – this is one reason why video games are so popular.
To augment your efforts and get your interactive videos in front of more people, consider buying YouTube Views to boost your popularity. This will help make your videos appear higher in search results, giving you more visibility and therefore better chances of attracting organic Views and subscribers.
In a very simple and non-promotional way, you can use interactive video to capture your viewer’s interest, lead them to your next video, and keep them on your channel. The longer you keep them engaged, the more you’ll create a shared experience that facilitates customer relationships.
Indeed, interactive videos on YouTube might be the future of marketing on the platform. So, are you ready to join other brands in turning regular videos into interactive clips? Here’s how!
How to Make Interactive YouTube Videos
With the latest updates and features on YouTube, you can use end screens to direct your viewers to the next video in your series. Present them as an option or phrase them like a question in keeping with the choose-your-own-adventure style that works so well for this.
See how this channel made their interactive cards appear even more interactive by involving the viewers in this choose-your-own-ending story.
Adding end screens to videos
If you haven’t tried the end screen feature yet, here’s how you can add them to your YouTube marketing campaigns.
To add an end screen, begin by choosing the video or playlist you’d like to add the end screen to. Next:
- Click your account icon and then choose Creator Studio.
- In the menu that will appear on the left, select Video Manager and then Videos.
- Click Edit on the video you want to add an end screen to, and then select End Screen.
- Your video will appear with a grid and a timeline that shows the part where the end screen will start.
- Choose Add Element. Choose a video or playlist.
Image credit: vidiseo - Supply needed information and then click Create Element.
- Adjust placement and size in relation to the grid and then Save when you’re done.
Image credit: Now you can create a series, and turn your viewers into serial viewers! Let your creativity guide you on ways you can leverage end screens to make your YouTube videos more interactive. To help you develop ideas and fire up your imagination, here are a few brands with their own take on interactive YouTube videos.
Interactive YouTube Video Examples
Chad, Matt, and Rob of the ChadMattAndRob channel are one of the very first creators who introduced interactive choose-your-own-adventures on YouTube.
Watch how they keep their viewers engaged in the video below. In it, they offer a mission to their viewers which expands their involvement, because the outcome of the mission will either fail or succeed depending on the option (the end card) they choose at the end of the video.
Because there’s a compelling story, their audience gets hooked to it. They may have even checked all the possible outcomes out of curiosity, which isn’t bad since that means more Views on the channel.
You can also up the Views on your videos and your entire channel by buying YouTube Views. When you have hundreds of thousands of Views on your videos, you become a YouTube authority everyone will want to subscribe to, and you can get to that point with the help of bought views.
The science of social proof explains why and how. This natural tendency of people to follow what others are doing is the main reason why a lot of businesses are using it in their marketing.
This fortune telling video from SMPFilms asks viewers to click anywhere on the crystal for their fortune to be told. There are clickable links, spread over the crystal, which redirect viewers to other videos where you’ll see the fortune teller again, picking up where the previous video left off, forecasting your fate according to the option you chose.
If you don’t click, the video ends cleverly with the fortune teller saying, “Fine! You don’t want to click. I‘m going.”
This video was made when annotations were still available on YouTube and creators could include multiple links that open in the same window, which made it feel like a real interactive video.
YouTube cards, which recently replaced annotations, open in a new window, but you can still make an interactive video like this one using cards on end screens. Find inspiration in this video and make an epicly engaging interactive video of your own.
Another way you can make your videos interactive is by creating a game quiz like the video below. Perhaps you can run a trivia competition about your company, and then reward the first person who comments with the right answer.
Dan Brown, in his video ‘Who Wants to be a YouTubillionaire!?,’ rewards his audience with theoretical dollars. Answer choices are presented at the end of the video and the answer you click will lead you to another video, which will tell you whether your answer is correct or not.
Transform the Traditional Viewing Experience of Your Audience
Interactive YouTube video is a different way to consume videos on the platform. While probably ignored by many, it actually presents a lot of potential and may even become a common feature of marketing on YouTube.
Innovate the way you make videos today and start engaging your audience with interactive videos that not only offer a connection but also more engagement, more Views, and even new Subscribers to your channel.
Start creating amazing experiences for your audience today!