Sometimes your viewers might not necessarily get the most enjoyment out of your videos by watching them in order, though. One form this takes is small Note annotations in the bottom corners of the screen, one linking to your previous video and one to the next. Annotations are used in a lot of successful YouTuber’s ending cards. Rather than hoping that your other videos show up in the ‘Suggested Videos’ YouTube will show after yours has finished playing you should always include an outro, or ending card, after your video to recommend your own work. If somebody watches your video and gets to the end then that means they enjoyed it and will probably be open to checking out more of your content. Pause Annotations used to stop your video for a set period of time when your annotation appeared. Pauses: are no longer available to add to your videos, although Pause Annotations added before they were removed still work. Labels: are completely transparent, like spotlights, but the user does not have to hover over them for your text to be visible. Spotlights are great for turning elements within your video into links. Your text only appears when a user hovers over the spotlight. Spotlights: have a subtle border and are completely clear inside. YouTube’s titles are not very nice to look at, but they are a decent option if you do not have access to video editing software. Titles: are large pieces of text that go either at the beginning of your video or in-between different topics within your video. If you need a large note annotation make sure to place it later in your video, when a viewer will already be invested in what they are watching and less likely to click away. Sometimes you need a huge annotation to get an important point across, but using huge note annotations too often – especially near the beginnings of your videos – will annoy viewers. Notes: come in a limited selection of colors and can be adjusted to take up a maximum of 30% of your player screen. Speech bubbles are great for adding in funny comments. There is a tail which you can adjust so it looks like one of the people in your video is saying what is written in the annotation. Speech Bubbles: look like the dialogue box in a comic strip. Adjust the position of Annotation, you can drag the rectangle to locate it at any position of the video, move the slide to set the start and end time of the annotation.On the right panel click on '+ Add Element' and select the kind of annotation you want to add.Click on the 'End screen & Annotation' tab.Click edit tab under the video screen shot you want to add the annotation on.They add interactive boxes which link to other websites or videos (any link you want). YouTube Annotation is addition of a text layer, link or hotspots over your video. Select the timeline for the playhead to appear which leads to the card slide.Once you finish the subsequent information required click create card.Click on the create button which will open the corresponding video.On the right panel click on 'Add Card' drop down menu and select the type of card you want to add.

Click 'Edit' tab under the video screen shot you want to add the card on.

A small box appears, clicking on which will activate the cards. They allow the owner of the video to add images and other links. YouTube Cards are similar to annotations but more interactive. Cards and annotations can even be used in combination sometimes. So, if you do need a link to be large and extremely noticeable, annotations might still be your best option. You cannot use Cards just to insert notes into your videos, though, and you cannot adjust their size like you can with annotations. Also, unlike annotations, cards will be visible to people watching your videos on their mobile devices.Ģ. YouTube Cards are often better than annotations for adding links to your videos because they look much tidier. When a card is clicked a thumbnail will appear with a link to your additional content. Irritating a few people with a big annotation might be worth it if you also draw other people’s attention to your cause or website, but it is not a good way to endear yourself to people you are trying to get views and subscriptions from. YouTube Cards are small and unobtrusive, unless a viewer chooses to click on them, which is why they are the better option when you are trying to get views on other videos. Moreover the main differences between the two are:ġ.

The cards slide in once you click the small 'i' button on the video where as the annotation is there based on the timings set by the user. Cards are more graphical whereas annotations are text based. The main difference between annotation and cards is their outlook.

Annotation edit