Fairfax Video Studio

YouTube Annotations can Make Your Video Interactive

Are you familiar with YouTube’s annotations feature?  You may have seen a YouTube video recently with speech bubbles and clickable links in the video.  These features are part of the basic, free account that all YouTube members already have. What exactly is an annotation on YouTube?  You can insert a speech bubble, text box or spotlight on your video after it has already been uploaded.  So what should you being doing with them?  Here’s a breakdown of the cool and not-so-cool features.

Cool – Add speech bubbles and notes to your video.  Pick the size, location and time.  Use these to add background information to your video.
Not Cool – These are NOT indexable by Google or even YouTube.  Don’t bother loading them up with keywords.

Cool – Include clickable links in the video!
Not Cool – Links can only be used for other YouTube videos, channels and playlists.  You are limited here but you can still use this to create interactive videos.  You can use links for viewers to subscribe to your channel.  If you include a URL to an outside site (which you should) makes sure it is simple and easy to remember.

Cool  - Automatically pause your video for emphasis.
Not Cool – This has the potential to confuse your viewers.  If you use this feature, do it right.  Pause it long enough that your viewers can consume whatever is on the screen.  Use speech bubbles and notes to explain your point and get back to the action before you lose their attention.

YouTube is always making their site better and more functional.  Here is their official help page for members.  Stay tuned for updates on this and other features from YouTube.  If you are looking to create web videos of your own, call the Fairfax Video Studio at 877.477.STUDIO for more information on getting started.