YouTube has released a new feature that its research shows encourages viewers to watch more of a video and to revisit the video more often on average – a potential boon for marketers in the promotional products space and other industries who are eager to get audiences to engage with their video content.

Called simply “Video Chapters,” the new offering allows creators to put chapters on their videos. Functioning as a guide similar to chapters in a book or time stamps in a podcast, chapters works with YouTube on desktops, phones and tablets. YouTube could eventually offer chapters on gaming consoles and set-top boxes, The Verge reported.

0:00 Get excited…
1:00 The Video Chapters feature is officially here!
1:30 When Chapters are enabled, viewers watch more of the video, and come back more often on average.
2:30 Test chapters on your own videos by adding a set of timestamps starting at 0:00 to the description. pic.twitter.com/FIFLbLImaj

— YouTube Creators (@ytcreators) May 28, 2020

With the feature, a video’s playback timeline can be segmented into chapters, or sections, of different lengths. Once highlighted, a particular chapter segment expands and a brief description of the section appears. This video about Southern comfort foods from Mashed shows the chapters feature in action.

YouTube made chapters available as an opt-in feature in early May. Now, anyone who uploads a video can outfit it with chapters. To do so, click “Edit Video.” In the description box, input the timestamp “0:00” and what you’d like to name the first chapter. An example might be “0:00 Branded Face Masks.” From there, you build out additional chapters by inputting them where you want at different timestamps, again using short descriptions to indicate what the section is about.

Tech Crunch reported that mobile users will benefit from haptic feedback with chapters; they’ll feel a slight “thump” that indicates the video is progressing to a new chapter. Tech Crunch continued:

“On platforms where haptic feedback is not available, YouTube instead uses a ‘snapping’ behavior that will snap you to the start of the chapter. That way, viewers who want to land on a precise spot near the chapter start can wait for a moment before releasing so they aren’t snapped to the start of the chapter. In addition, users on mobile and tablet devices can also slide their finger up and down while scrubbing — without releasing — to reveal the scrubber bar and see exactly where they’re placing the playhead.” Ultimately, Video Chapters aims to make it easier for viewers to find the precise content they’re looking for in a video. Proponents say that will create a more user-friendly experience that will help boost engagement.

Cameron Faulkner of The Verge writes: “Chapters aren’t the most exciting feature to land at YouTube, but still, they’re a welcome (if slightly overdue) quality-of-life feature that will make navigating video content much more accessible.”

Research from Wyzowl indicates that 87% of marketers use video as a marketing tool. Video marketers get 66% more qualified leads per year, according to OptinMonster.