I had that same thought at first, why show a clip that will also be seen again in the full video.  For me, that is the point where I click the "X" and move on.  But, if those teasers are individual clips to be used as breadcrumbs to get people to the longer vids, then it might work. Short clip every Monday, short clip every Wednesday, 3-5 minute clip every Friday. 

Which begs another question regarding YouTube, how organized and consistent do the videos need to be? 

I had that same thought at first, why show a clip that will also be seen again in the full video.  For me, that is the point where I click the "X" and move on.  But, if those teasers are individual clips to be used as breadcrumbs to get people to the longer vids, then it might work. Short clip every Monday, short clip every Wednesday, 3-5 minute clip every Friday. 

I don't know, personally I wouldn't bother. It goes back to time and effort. I don't have the time to keep up with YT videos so if I see something short and sweet, I might bookmark it or press the 'thumbs up' button, but you'd have to make some serious effort to get me to remember to watch the next in the series - especially if I'd already seen some of it... Maybe that's just me though. I really don't watch YT videos as I've got so much other stuff going on.

Erm, except of course, as I pointed out this is not true for movies and TV shows. I think the location of content is an important difference in dealing with audience expectations. Hence I would agree with you on the last sentence but not the former ones.

He is on YouTube, not in a production studio in Hollywood.

Doesn't that end up with redundant content and dilution of audience numbers? For instance, I have a couple of tutorial videos but they were split up into smaller parts due to recording limitations. I find that the first video will have a lot of views, but the second or third in the series is about 1/3 or less of that. Wouldn't doing teasers amount to the same - dilution of views? And wouldn't it just amount to more work, because then you have to spend time reminding your audience not just to pay attention to the teaser, but to also pay attention to the full thing?

It's a matter of how you go about marketing something, everyone is different. Cut 10 sec clips out and use them on Vine then. Put stills on any of the social image sites. If you are a brand or entity you should be pushing people to your home page anyways, not a third party social network. Ask people who sunk all their time, money, and energy into MySpace how they feel about that now.

He is on YouTube, not in a production studio in Hollywood.

Re-read:

It's an interesting question. With cheap hosting you could technically upload your own videos to your own site. So you could curate a space that has a different atmosphere to YT.

Change the site you use. If YT is seen as downmarket videos, then go somewhere that's considered upmarket. Or create your own.

It's like Ebay vs Etsy. One has more of a bargain-hunting auction atmosphere, the other has a curated designer atmosphere. Doesn't change the fact that you could post the same high-quality product on either one. The trick is to find a way to have both audience numbers and the right location. If YT audiences don't sit around for 10 min videos, but will for Netflix, then that means there are other potential avenues for longer videos.

As an example, my local government-run TV station has an online video streaming service. They often have a section that is 'online only' with shorts, TV series or docos available to watch. You can't see them on TV. There's a potential there - if I had some good short shows - to approach them about showing my stuff in their curated space. Actually I think some of the TV stations even run community-based programs where you can participate and submit your own stuff or work with others to do so; and the videos end up online. This would be more likely for youth programs but still...

The point is to think outside of YT or Vimeo or whatever and see if there is someplace that has audiences that will sit still. (Actually Vimeo has from my understanding, more of a 'for pro video maker' feel to it) You could even show videos at a gallery as some sort of installation work.

Why limit oneself to the way one website works is all I'm saying.

It's a matter of how you go about marketing something, everyone is different. Cut 10 sec clips out and use them on Vine then. Put stills on any of the social image sites. If you are a brand or entity you should be pushing people to your home page anyways, not a third party social network. Ask people who sunk all their time, money, and energy into MySpace how they feel about that now.

I agree with this stuff entirely.