When you’re creating video content capturing your audience’s attention is one thing, but retaining audience engagement throughout the whole video is another. The average viewer retention rate for videos across the board in 2023 was 53% according to Vidyard, but even that seems high by 2024 standards…

So, how can you keep your audience around for the duration of the video content that you put so much time and effort into creating?

Hook your audience within two seconds. Craft your opening hook, whether it’s narration, voiceover or text, in a way that immediately catches your target audience’s attention and gives them a reason to keep watching (i.e., they know the value you’re about to provide). Keep the hook succinct – a sentence will do – and make use of keywords, and ensure that it’s clear, concise, and digestible. Continue to refer back to your hook and remind the audience how you are creating value throughout the video. Don’t let them forget why they’re watching!

Strategise – keep your audience continually engaged by developing a strategy before you start. You know your audience, so ask yourself what they would want to know next to stick around and not scroll onwards? Keep it interesting, concise, authentic, dynamic, and most importantly, keep it valuable.

Encourage interaction throughout the video. Building a sense of community around our brand is a great way to not only foster loyalty and enhance reach, but don’t forget that it’s a great way to boost engagement too (and increased engagement keeps the algorithm on your side!). Create opportunities for your audience to connect through call to actions, questions, and encouragement to interact for added value.

Remind the audience of the value you provided throughout the video in the final moments, too. You could recap key messages, value adds, and takeaways. For added bonus points and a seamless viewer experience, try filming and editing your videos for a seamless reel loop.

Don’t be afraid to try new things, it’s important to experiment, adapt, and iterate! Use analytics to understand what styles of content keeps your audience engaged, create more content that aligns to those themes and styles, and rinse and repeat!