YouTube Tips How to improve watch hours ?

[Sanjogita]

Hello Everyone !
There are time when watch hour totally get stucked.
I am facing the same right now.
My watch hours are still the same and don't know, what should I do ?
What all is lacking ?

 

[SILTHW]

Livestreams have been one of the most effective ways for me to increase watch hours. In fact, this is what I find - Let's say I do a 10 minute video and I have a 50% AVD. I'm getting about 5 minutes of watch time per view.

But let's say I do a livestream. For 1 hour I'm getting 60 minutes of view time. I might have only 10-20 live viewers, but that's (low end) 600 minutes of watch time. For the replay, my AVD is low, but people are often watching more than the 5 minutes I'd get from a 10 minute video. Not only do I get a jump in watch hours from the livestream, my livestream replays often give me more watch time per view than my standard videos.

 

[Pete A Turner]

Livestreams have been one of the most effective ways for me to increase watch hours. In fact, this is what I find - Let's say I do a 10 minute video and I have a 50% AVD. I'm getting about 5 minutes of watch time per view.

But let's say I do a livestream. For 1 hour I'm getting 60 minutes of view time. I might have only 10-20 live viewers, but that's (low end) 600 minutes of watch time. For the replay, my AVD is low, but people are often watching more than the 5 minutes I'd get from a 10 minute video. Not only do I get a jump in watch hours from the livestream, my livestream replays often give me more watch time per view than my standard videos.

SILTHW is right, there's an alchemy to bumping up watch time...you have to work it our for yourself as you progress. I do a Live Stream several times a week, but I also release clips from those full shows...and because my audience keeps asking for them...I also release a full audio version of the show...they all get spins. But they all behave differently....and at different times. If it works for your channel...take longer content and crack it into clips. This, I've found, is netting me more traffic as folks come back for more. I've not balanced my formula yet...but it's a LOT more efficient than it was before TB.

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

I agree... a weekly livestream 50 times per year adds up. Do the math; if you can get 10 people to watch a one-hour livestream once per week for a full year (we'll say 50 weeks so that you can take a couple weeks off) then you have added 500 hours of watch time to your requirements. And getting more than ten is not as difficult as it sounds either.

Another thing I would add to this conversation is the need for a really good long video or playlist series. Plan it out in advance and think entirely of the audience in mind. If you can make a single twenty-minute video or three videos which all play off each other in a playlist and these videos are super-intriguing for the audience then you stand a chance at some suggested views.

For example, very early on in my YouTube beginnings I did an offshore fishing trip that was really exciting. I had never done a trip like this and I was geeking out the whole time. That video ended up being 23 minutes long (my longest to date) but I was excited and the audience fed off that. I had about 50 subscribers at the time, but I got GREAT retention and a pretty good CTR. That video alone earned me over 4,000 hours of watch time my first year.

Don't go out and make a video 23 minutes long for the sake of just doing it. You need to have a good reason and you need to be able to provide 60 minutes of value in that 23 minute video. But if you can accomplish that then it only takes one video to accomplish both the 4,000 hours and the 1,000 subscriber thresholds.

 

[Avocado]

I have a problem with watch hours too. Now that I have had my channel for over a year (365 days) I am loosing watch time because older videos don't count anymore. I will make 100 new hours on a new video, then it will drop from a video I made last year. I am doing a lot of catch up. I agree with @Stanley Orchard on the Playlist. I have a few, and viewers sometimes get lost in your videos that way.

I like the idea of livestreams, but I mostly do videos outside. If I switch to playing videogames or just talking into the camera with no cuts. I feel my audience will shrink. With every new video I try to keep my fans on their TOES! lol

So I figure the only way I will reach that 4k view time, is a breakthrough video. That is why I am here on TubeBuddy. To learn!

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

Livestreams are good for engaging your current audience. Give them value, give them a god reason to be there with you. This is your opportunity to turn a fan into a super-fan.

 

[Beanie Draws]

How long has your watch time been lacking? If it's been a temporary pause, it could always be lag on YouTube's end. Sometimes they will show in your YouTube studio when some stats are delayed, so if everything has been on pause, it could be one of the glitches, in which case, don't worry about it and make more content.

I mean, to be honest, watch time comes from how much of your video someone watches, not the views it'self. So if your video gets very low watch time, that means you need to re-evaluate what you're doing in your videos. Are you making videos purely for views? Or are you making videos to answer a question people have? It all revolves around the audience and what they want and how satisfied they are. You can't FORCE someone to watch something (and that can quickly head towards spammy territory) it's far better to be compelling and interesting.

You can always look at your titles and thumbnails to see if they could be more interesting, and that can help push the needle a little more, but if someone clicks, and they don't want to watch the whole thing, there's nothing you can do except for use it as a learning experience on what to not do on your next video, and try a different approach.

I'm studying the phycology of the watching experience, and I don't think we often think about that as much as we should. Humans are interesting and complex creatures, and far more complex than any algorithm. They're hard to figure out and it's something I'm trying to study to boost my own watch time.

A lot can be done in studying editing and story telling as well.

 

[Bears and Butters]

I have a problem with watch hours too. Now that I have had my channel for over a year (365 days) I am loosing watch time because older videos don't count anymore. I will make 100 new hours on a new video, then it will drop from a video I made last year. I am doing a lot of catch up. I agree with @Stanley Orchard on the Playlist. I have a few, and viewers sometimes get lost in your videos that way.

I like the idea of livestreams, but I mostly do videos outside. If I switch to playing videogames or just talking into the camera with no cuts. I feel my audience will shrink. With every new video I try to keep my fans on their TOES! lol

So I figure the only way I will reach that 4k view time, is a breakthrough video. That is why I am here on TubeBuddy. To learn!

Older videos do count.... IF they are getting any new watch time or views.

You may not be making 100+ hours on those older videos, but your content looks "evergreen" like you could go back to the first video from a year ago. Maybe re-optimize your older videos thumbnail and descriptions?

We used to live stream...it's definitely a great way to get your hours, but you want to attract the people who would genuinely enjoy your content. It's definitely a dilemma for many!!

 

[Avocado]

Older videos do count.... IF they are getting any new watch time or views.

You may not be making 100+ hours on those older videos, but your content looks "evergreen" like you could go back to the first video from a year ago. Maybe re-optimize your older videos thumbnail and descriptions?

We used to live stream...it's definitely a great way to get your hours, but you want to attract the people who would genuinely enjoy your content. It's definitely a dilemma for many!!

I didn't think of that thanks. That they might start from 0 hours, however they can grow again.

 

[KUN'13]

make a video with a long duration or you can also do live streaming

 

[spookyboo]

I've been using premieres instead of livestreams mainly because of there isn't a time of day where it is really quiet here. If I'm chatting in the premiere people tend to stay longer while we all watch/listen and chat.

 

[Damon]

Live streams are a good, but ask yourself do you have the gift of gab? Do you like being around people? The more extroverted you are the better you'll do at live streams. If you're a semi-hermit like me, you'll feel like blowing your brains out after every live stream. That defeats the purpose of everything were doing in our own businesses.

In the end you'll have to build everything around your skills, personality and strengths. Either way live stream or regular upload, having 1,000 video backlog of clickable, searchable videos will solve any watch time problem.

 

[Kezito]

Try to do "how to do" videos and drop the main lesson at the middle and end of your video.

 

[FilipFIXtiger]

Hello Everyone !
There are time when watch hour totally get stucked.
I am facing the same right now.
My watch hours are still the same and don't know, what should I do ?
What all is lacking ?

stream

 

[Kezito]

Try doing How to Videos and drop the main points at the middle and end of the video

 

[Acltraninghalsa]

Thanks! Good advice

 

[Kezito]

You welcome

 

[Amanda Summers]

I also have this problem of retention. I have a travel channel for a tiny country in the Himalayas. Most Americans couldn't find it on the map. Nepal is a trekking capital of the world. After they finish their vacation here they lose interest in it and stop clicking on our videos. I think that's normal. I think I have about 1-year lifespan for my subs. Nepal becomes a curiosity, then a passion and then resuming a normal life with the memories, and finally we start looking for our next adventure. We have to build faster than the normal loss of subs of the channel. That's the challenge ultimately.

 

[Damon]

I also have this problem of retention. I have a travel channel for a tiny country in the Himalayas. Most Americans couldn't find it on the map. Nepal is a trekking capital of the world. After they finish their vacation here they lose interest in it and stop clicking on our videos. I think that's normal. I think I have about 1-year lifespan for my subs. Nepal becomes a curiosity, then a passion and then resuming a normal life with the memories, and finally we start looking for our next adventure. We have to build faster than the normal loss of subs of the channel. That's the challenge ultimately.

That's a good point. Fleeting interest is a very difficult thing we all have to face.

 

[Me Time]

Hello Everyone !
There are time when watch hour totally get stucked.
I am facing the same right now.
My watch hours are still the same and don't know, what should I do ?
What all is lacking ?

Make the content interesting and with suspense