5 Tips for Increasing Video Audience Retention in 2021

Video is kind of a big deal. While any of the 55 Video Marketing Statistics published by Biteable create a compelling argument for defining and executing on a high engagement and retention video marketing strategy in 2021, a few stats stand out:

• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to just 10% when reading it in text. (Insivia)
• 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. (HubSpot)
• 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool — up from 63% over the last year. (Hubspot)

But with video becoming a dominant form of online communication, keeping your audience engaged is more critical than ever. It’s just too easy for the viewer to click off to the next bit of content that catches their eye.

So here are 5 simple tips you can use to maintain audience retention in 2021. Mindstamp makes all of these simple to achieve.

1. Say My Name

Effective communicators know that humans (from babies on up) immediately perk up and respond to their name. It’s instinct. With Mindstamp you can dynamically swap in a viewer’s name into comments, buttons, questions or messages. This works whether you know the name beforehand because you have a marketing list, or if you creatively collect it via a simple prompt. 

2. Make Me Navigator‍

Everyone likes to be in the driver’s seat, and depending on the length of your video your viewers may not have the time (or attention span) to watch it all. Create simple navigation with searchable chapters or buttons that dynamically jump to different parts of the video to make it easy for me to find what I’m looking for. Once your viewer  knows they’re in the driver’s seat, they’ll hang around to enjoy the ride.

3. Show Me You’re Listening

With Mindstamp, you can track and collect insight from your viewers based on actions they take. For instance which button or hotspot they clicked or how they answered a specific question. You can then use that same information and present it back to the viewer, allowing them to see that you (well your video) is truly listening, and that what happens next will be based on their specific wants and needs.

4. Pause and Let Me Choose

Sometimes viewers need a moment to think. By using ‘Pause Until Viewer Action’ on Mindstamp, you can allow any number of buttons, hotspots or images to remain on the screen until the viewer is ready to explore the next piece of content. Even if a distracting email jumps to the front of their attention, they’ll return to your video and know it’s waiting for their engagement to move on.

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5. Trigger Next Best Actions

With interactive video you know what your viewers did down to the second. Where they clicked, how they answered questions and what they searched on next. By linking this detailed interactive data back to a CRM platform using Mindstamp Webhooks and API, you can create compelling follow on experiences where the next campaign you trigger (email, phone) or video you share is tied directly to their prior engagement. The result is a powerful ‘closed loop’ of content that feels heavily personalized to the viewer themself.

In 2021 and beyond, maintaining audience retention on video will all be driven by interactive content. Enable viewers to play an active role in their viewing experience - to guide their own content consumption in a manner that grants their attention, reinforces their interests, and piques curiosity on ‘what will happen next’. Bring them in. Keep them involved. Serve them personally.