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This comprehensive guide to making an intro for your YouTube will provide you with all of the basic information you need to design a powerful and effective introduction to your video content. At a minimum, it will address the following:
- What are YouTube intro videos?
- How to make an intro for YouTube
- Logo animation
- Selecting intro music and sound effects
Got it? Good! Let’s get started.
What Is a YouTube Intro?
Put simply, a YouTube video intro is your first and likely only chance to entice viewers with your content and hook them so that they’ll watch your video in its entirety. Therefore, it’s super important that you’re committed to making YouTube intros. But an intro is more than just a hook. It’s also a way to create brand awareness and engagement. It adds a professional touch to your video and can help establish you as an authority in your field.
What Is a YouTube Channel Intro?
A YouTube channel intro is a short film clip that introduces viewers to an entire channel, not just a single video. Thus, it should provide more general information about your business and the type of content you intend to share via YouTube. Creating an intro for your YouTube channel is optional but highly recommended if you plan to share content prolifically.
Why Are YouTube Intros Important?
Over 400 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every single minute. That gives viewers a lot to choose from, so you’ll need to stand out. Your first opportunity to do that is in the intro.
Intros Increase Audience Retention
One of YouTube’s primary ranking factors is audience retention. Audience retention is the video’s ability to keep the viewer engaged and hold their attention—hopefully to the very end of the video!
When viewers do watch a video in its entirety, it’s ranked higher in search results and therefore receives more exposure on the platform.
Intros Solidify Your Brand Image
In content marketing of any kind, it’s all about your brand. YouTube videos and their intros are no exception. Film clips at the beginning of your video provide the perfect opportunity to include your brand logo, motto, colors, and other brand elements. This lends the video a touch of professionalism and helps the viewer associate the video content with your company and its offerings.
Bottom Line? Keep your brand in the front and center of your mind when you make a YouTube intro.
How to Make an Intro for Your YouTube Videos
Though it’s only a small portion of the video, a YouTube intro can be one of the more challenging aspects of the creative process. So, just how does one make YouTube intros?
Best Practices for Creating YouTube Intros
There’s no single right way to create a winning YouTube intro. Creativity is definitely welcome here. Still, there are some best practices you’ll want to follow to ensure your viewers continue past the intro to watch the rest of your video.
- Align the intro to your brand identity.
- Keep it brief.
- Set expectations.
Keep in mind that these are the same best practices for creating YouTube channel intros. The only difference is that channel intros are intended to provide a more general familiarization with your brand and brand content.
Use A YouTube Intro Template
One of the easiest ways to create a YouTube video intro is to select a template. With this option, most of the work is already done. You just need to upload your logo and insert text. There are hundreds of options to choose from and many of them are free. Below, we’ll include some examples of the kinds of intro templates you’ll have to choose from:
Design Your Own YouTube Intro
There’s no shame in using a YouTube intro template. This is a great way to shave some substantial time from your project timeline. But if you’re looking for something truly unique, then you’ll want to design your own starting with a blank canvas.
Even if you do decide to create your own intro as opposed to using a template, you don’t have to go it completely alone. There are some robust tools you can use to make the process simpler. For example, AdobeSpark and Animaker are both great options for non-designers. You can also design your YouTube intro right from YouTube’s creator studio.
Add Your Logo to YouTube Intros
It goes without saying that if you want to promote your brand in your YouTube video intro, then you need to include your logo in the intro. If you’re just starting out and don’t yet have a logo, there are plenty of free logo makers online. Alternatively, you can hire a freelance graphic designer to design a logo for you.
Add Music to Your YouTube Intro
Whether you choose to use a template or design your own YouTube video intro, you’ll have the option to add music.
Music Is a Natural Mood Maker
Music has a powerful effect on human emotion. And if you know anything at all about marketing and sales, then you know that emotion can be a crucial tool in the process.
Not just any soundtrack will do, though. You’ll need to put a lot of forethought into choosing the right music for your intro. The idea is to put your audience in the right mood to be receptive to your video and its message.
Since different genres of music can have different effects on mood, it’s important to choose wisely. Generally speaking, you’ll want to find an upbeat jingle to go along with your logo animation.
Where to Find Music For Your YouTube Intro
Because of copyright restrictions, finding music for your YouTube intro can present a bit of a challenge. Unfortunately, you can’t just pick your favorite song or jingle to coincide with your logo animation and call it a day.
Luckily, though, there are lots of places to find royalty-free music and sound effects online, including on YouTube’s audio library.
Here, you can search for music appropriate to your YouTube video intro or use filters like genre, mood, instrument, and more.
Consider Making a YouTube Outro Video
Once you’ve mastered the art of making awesome YouTube intros, you’ll want to consider making a YouTube outro video as well. These types of video clips come at the very end of your YouTube videos. You can think of the intro and the outro as the bookends to your core video content.
YouTube video outros are similar to intros, but instead of introducing your content, they provide your viewers with closure and include a call to action (such as liking, subscribing, or downloading, for instance). If you have multiple videos to promote, your outro should include a preview of the next video you want viewers to watch.
You’ve reached the end of the guide to making awesome YouTube video intros. What are you waiting for? Go out and put your learning to work for your company/brand.
