The best way to edit long YouTube videos efficiently is to plan ahead, use templates, and make data-driven decisions. Video content can be the lifeblood of a brand, and finding ways to quickly edit those videos into premium content is important for companies looking to grow their business.
YouTube video editing services for creators recognize the importance of efficient editing, and they can take over this important work for brands of all sizes. If your brand isn’t ready to hire experts for your longer videos, we have some tips that will help you tackle long videos yourself!
Why Make Long Videos?
While the trend has seemed to be short and shorter attention spans, longer content has never gone away entirely. Tutorials, live streams, interviews, and documentaries all flourish as long-form content. While it can be challenging to keep audience interest, there are simply some topics that cannot be explored in a short format.
While the YouTube algorithm doesn’t place a premium on video length, it does value content that keeps viewers watching. This is called ‘Watch Time,’ and it measures the total amount of time spent watching a video or channel.
Say someone watches three five-minute videos in a row from a brand. Those fifteen minutes are seen as a sign of quality content valuable to the viewer.
Say someone else watches one twenty-minute video. While both viewers watched the entirety of the videos they clicked on (and each of these videos will be promoted by the algorithm because of this), the single twenty-minute video kept the user there longer, so it is weighted more favorably.
That said, if viewers are only watching five minutes of a twenty-minute video, the algorithm will rank it far below the short videos people watched in their entirety.
Plan Ahead
When making long content, planning becomes even more important. Write a script for your video and sketch some storyboards so you know what will happen when.
Part of planning is also deciding what audience your video is for and what you’re hoping it will achieve (both on its own and as part of a larger strategy). This will also help you make compelling content, which is one of the biggest challenges of long YouTube videos. Decide how you will hook the audience, how you will preview the information in the video, and how you will continue to re-orient viewers while keeping them engaged.
Use Templates
Templates are time-savers, but they can also make your videos instantly recognizable. Create a few high quality assets like a logo watermark, opening graphics, and chapter divisions, all unified in color and typography. This way, you can plug and play for each graphic you need, keeping your workload to a minimum while making long content feel more digestible.
Remember that while you can edit video length on YouTube, templates like this can’t be added after a video is uploaded.
Make Data-Driven Decisions
Longer videos can struggle to keep audience attention, but they benefit from the fact that they provide a lot of data. A twenty-minute video offers twenty-minutes of decision-making to your audience. Once your video has been up for a while, look at when viewers are clicking away and use that information to make your next video better.
Professional Efficiency
grouphugs has mastered the art of producing engaging content and growing channels. We can help you expand your audience and brand through longer videos and help you make sure that the information you want seen gets seen.
We can even offer advice and services on how to improve YouTube audio editing. Check out our website today to see how we can elevate your long-form content!
