In our last post, I discussed the hold rate: what it is and why it might be low. If you haven’t read that yet, check it out here.
Today, let’s dive into improving the hold rate. But first, a quick recap of the formula:
Hold Rate = (Thruplays / 3-second video views) x 100
Thruplay is when someone watches your entire video or at least 15 seconds if the ad is longer than 15 seconds.
You can set this up in your dashboard using custom metrics, just like the screenshot I’ve shared below.
Now that you’re up to speed, what can we do to improve our hold rate? If your hold rate is below 25%, something’s amiss.
Here are tips and tricks to make people watch from 3 seconds all the way up to the 15-second mark of your video:
1. Time Bar or Counter: Consider adding a time bar at the bottom of your video or a counter showing the length.
2. Eyegasmic Video: Take inspiration from Zapier’s ad – it’s captivating and delivers the message effectively. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0TD-7NBSyI
3. Jumpcuts/B-Rolls: Right after the 3-second mark, introduce jumpcuts or B-rolls to recapture attention.
4. Multi-Angle Shots: Especially effective for e-commerce, showing your product in various angles/lights helps visualize the product, encouraging viewers to watch the entire video.
5. Flash Forward Tease: Flash a compelling scene from later in the video to spark curiosity.
6. Mid-Video Plot Twist: Introduce a dramatic twist right after 3 seconds.
7. Use Pets: People often keep watching videos with cats and dogs. Explore beyond the usual choices.
8. Sudden Format Change: Switch from live-action to animation, or vice versa, unexpectedly.
9. Mini Game: Introduce a challenge for viewers to spot something hidden in the next few seconds.
10. Celebrity Voiceover or Meme: Use a familiar voice or a popular meme, but it must be contextual.
11. ‘Did You Know?’ Fact Pop-Up: Share a surprising fact or statistic relevant to your message.
12. Use of Illusions: Introduce optical illusions that only become clear after watching for a few seconds. For example, blur the Excel or software screen, whichever software you are using, and then allow viewers to try to decipher it. Eventually, unblur it so that they can read it clearly. Trust me, this is highly effective.
13. Time-Sensitive Discount Code: Display a discount code that’s visible for only a few seconds. I refer to this as the KSI effect. If you’ve seen his videos, you’ll understand.
14. In-Video Polling: Pose a question and encourage viewers to respond in the comments. This approach not only increases the hold rate, but also, the heightened engagement significantly reduces your CPM and, consequently, your CPC.
15. Rapid-Fire Trivia: Present quick, engaging trivia related to your product or service.
16. Unconventional Product Demonstration: Show your product being used in an unexpected way.
17. ‘Spot the Difference’ Challenge: Encourage viewers to notice subtle changes.
18. Hidden Message Reveal: Start with a coded message that gets revealed after a few seconds.
19. Freeze-Frame’ Moment: Temporarily freeze the video, encouraging viewers to understand why. Not many people are doing this, so it provides a fresh pattern interrupt, which is beneficial for us.
20. Incorporate a Shocking Statistic: Share a surprising or shocking fact related to your message. It’s even better if you show a screenshot of a case study, like Dhruv Rathee’s older videos, and highlight the stats from those studies.
21. ‘Guess the Outcome’ Game: Pause the video for a moment and let viewers guess what happens next. Needless to say, it’s a double-edged sword, but what the heck. Try it! If we fail, we learn and move on.
22. ‘Silent Movie’ Segment: Temporarily switch to a silent film style with subtitles. This is another unusual pattern interrupt.
23. ‘Before and After’ Transformation: Show a quick before and after, especially effective for products with visible results.
24. ‘Product Evolution’: Display the evolution of a product over time, leading up to its current version.
25. ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ Peek: Offer a quick look behind the scenes of your product or service.
26. Reverse Storytelling: Tell a short story backward, compelling viewers to stay to understand it. Only a genius can pull this off
At Baweja Media, we also follow the 1.5-second rule: introducing something new on the screen every 1.5 seconds to maintain viewer attention. Attention spans are short, so we need to constantly engage our audience.
I hope these tips help you boost your hold rate significantly. Looking forward to seeing your progress!
Have a great day!