Don’t Just End Your Video, RecommEND More Videos

[dcs_dropcap2 color="#FF4545"]I[/dcs_dropcap2]f you want to grow your audience and increase your video view counts on YouTube, here is one thing your viewers should never see:

I’m talking about YouTube’s “Up Next” screen that recommends videos to watch next. While some of the videos in this view may be yours, many of them will drive viewers away from your content (and possibly towards your competitors). Using annotations and hotspots, many popular YouTube Partners are using the last 30-40 seconds of their video to make their own recommendations.

Here are a few awesome examples of video bumpers in action:

The Key of Awesome

At the end of every music video parody the Key of Awesome drops a whopping 15 video thumbnails on the right hand side while cast members urge you to subscribe, rate, and watch more on the left.

[dcs_btn url="http://youtu.be/-AL14KGWTU0?t=2m10s" target="_blank" float="left"]See it in Action[/dcs_btn]

The Fine Bros

The Fine Brothers, creators of the popular “Kids React to…” series, cram plenty to react to in the closing 30 seconds of their video. Some notable items include a subscribe button, last week’s video, bonus footage, and four older videos.

[dcs_btn url="http://youtu.be/DPcudaoGwtk?t=5m30s" target="_blank" float="left"]See it in Action[/dcs_btn]

Songify This

Here the Gregory Brothers end their auto-tuned remixes with a subscribe button, links to viewer remixes, the original video they’ve remixed, and a link to a karaoke version of their video.

[dcs_btn url="http://youtu.be/F2ZShmt19uQ?t=1m5s" target="_blank" float="left"]See it in Action[/dcs_btn]

Rhett & Link

In their latest video Rhett & Link use their closing bumper to promote their new TV show while still providing links in the top right to all their latest commercial videos.

[dcs_btn url="http://youtu.be/S7gbxAZ03mw?t=56s" target="_blank" float="left"]See it in Action[/dcs_btn]

Know of any others?

Leave me a comment if you find any other videos that are using these techniques in cool new ways, and make sure to get the most out of your own video endings!