Intro or no intro?

[Tito Tims Videos]

My opinion may go against the grain here but I find introductions to videos put me off. I feel it makes people look self-important and celebrity like when really they're just on YouTube (I love YouTube- it's great, but people get bigheaded fast)! I think viewers like me just want to see the content, not some bore droning on about insignificant guff "Hey guys, this is____ and why not take a look in the ____. And Can I tell you a little bit about my dying cat?" No. Just get the video, thanks.
But this is just me and the people who do these annoying intros have A LOT more subscriptions than I'll ever get so what do I know. Peace.

I agree. When I got serious about my channel, one of the first things I did was make an intro - I thought you were supposed. But as I watched other channels I found the intros were a waste of time, and made me click away, or at least fast forward the vid. If you do a quick blurb about what the vid will be about, then have a 2 or 3 second intro (flashing your logo or something), and get into the meat of the vid, it might be ok. The folks with 20 and 30 second videos get tiring real quick. I am not watching multiple vids in a row, if I get assaulted by someone's intro. I moved my intro to the end, and an outro. Then dumped it completely. (well, did a total redesign and cut the time in half).

I do not watch the opening credits of a TV show, why would I watch opening credits to a YT vid?

 

[Momentum Productions]

After studying a lot of channels and using many pols on my YouTube channel, it looks like my viewers prefer no intro. AND I also realized that I am the same way. Us millennials especially want info immediately without having to wait.

 

[alesandrtr114]

I think the intro is fine, but it has to be really short that people wouldn't get bored or smth.

 

[logderson]

I loooooved Furry Gurus videos! I'd say that the intro is always needed but it has to be short and catchy.

 

[Egrag]

Only with Intro, this is a cool feature!

 

[KennyT]

I have one in my videos, its not that long about 10 sec i guess, i think its more of a personal preference than anything else, still people these days sometimes don't have the patience for waiting for the video to start, so i say, see how it goes, if it bringa more people to the channel or most of them like it then keep it, or make a poll in one of your videos and let people decide.

 

[OrdinaryBiscuit]

A while back I started to add a short (2-3 second) intro to my videos, but someone pointed out to me that I shouldn't do that. Now I have started to doubt myself, what do you guys think? (the video in my signature does not have that intro).

I'm personally not a fan of intros in the sense of it being a channel intro put into every video. If I'm already subscribed I already know who you are and don't need reminding every video (it can also come off as lazy though that's just me), however I use intros in a different way say I'm making a series I will have a splash screen with say the name of the series over the top of the video as I'm already speaking at the start of a video, so new people can get an idea of what a series is but returning audience members don't get annoyed everytime it comes up because it doesn't actually interupt the content of the video. Intros in the old sense like a channel name graphic with music is outdated and anyone looking to do well should not be using that at the start of their videos. If I see an intro graphic with a channel name and music sometimes if it's too long I click away. Better practice is to do that sort of branding stuff at the end of the video so that people who have watched and likely enjoyed your content are reminded at the end where they can subscribe & doesn't interupt the videos content. So basically channel intro each video is a no no but an end screen is the way to go. Hope this helps.

 

[skagenstats]

I think intros are still important because it helps with consistency which will keep your brand looking professional.

 

[evnanonymous]

i think an intro as well as an outro, are both great to include in your videos

heres the catch - only if the quality of the intro and outro matches the content of your channel

your intro and outro reflects directly upon you/your brand, so if you want to come off as an authority on a subject, whatever it is, you need to make sure your intro/outro matches that

just my opinion

 

[wchap001]

I dont have an intro and seems I am still getting subs at a fast rate and still holding at least 50 - 60% of audience retention. I tend to skip intros on other peoples YT channels bc I hate them, but every1 is different. If your content is good, I dont think it will matter