There is no denying that video is an effective marketing tool for businesses to make the most of. Videos are able to connect with viewers in a way that other forms of content cannot. They stir up emotion and they convey a concept in the easiest manner, so it is not hard to see why video should be part of your marketing strategy. However, you cannot simply create a video for the sake of it. You need to have a plan. You need to ensure you execute this plan properly as well. With that being said, read on to discover some of the most common video marketing mistakes businesses make so that you can avoid making the same error.
- Making a video without having a plan – As mentioned in the introduction, it is imperative to have a plan if you are going to produce a branded video. You need to consider the purpose of the video and the message you are hoping to pass on. Sit down and map out exactly what you are hoping to achieve from your video and how you are going to get there. Not only is this imperative in ensuring that your video reaches its objective, but it is key in ensuring that you do not end up straying off track or addressing too many things in the one video.
- Making your videos too long – The key to an effective video is conveying your message in a concise manner. Of course, there is no optimal time for a video, as it all depends on the type of content you are producing. An instructional video, for example, will often be longer than a video for a special promo you have running. Nevertheless, making your video unnecessarily long-winded will only walk against you. Plus, do not overlook just how important the first 10 seconds are. This will dictate whether people continue to watch the video or whether they switch off and watch something else instead.
- Failing to select the right video production partner – In addition to the points that we have mentioned so far, it is vital that you select a video production partner with care. This is a make or break decision. You need someone who has the required skill, experience, and creativity to make your vision a reality. We always recommend taking the time to watch some of the videos that the company has already produced so that you can determine whether or not you would be happy with videos of a similar standard and creativity level. You can also read reviews that have been left by others.
- Placing the selling points in the incorrect place – Just like you need to place keywords in the correct place when writing content, you need to make sure that the selling points of your brand or product are placed correctly in the video too. It can be tempting to leave the valuable information until the end of the video, but if you do this, there is a high chance that your viewers are going to end up missing it, as not all viewers will watch the entirety of a video. This is why it makes sense to include your selling points early on in the video. Placing them within the first 10 to 20 seconds is an effective approach.
- Not adding a call to action (CTA) – Another incredibly important part of your video marketing plan is the call to action. This could be a prompt to visit your website or give your team a call, for example. It is basically the action that you want the person in question to take once they have finished watching your video. You need to ensure that you have a CTA at the end of your branded videos.
- Focusing on multiple messages within one video – Aside from the mistakes that we have discussed so far, another error that we see a lot of people make is focusing on numerous messages in the one video. It should be a case of one video per message. If you include more than this in your video, it is only going to make it appear messy and viewers will struggle to determine what the main purpose of the video is. Plus, the chances are that they will lose interest when you go on about too many things in one video, so you actually end up diluting the effectiveness of the content that you have produced. So, if there are several topics you want to discuss, you should make a separate video for each one.
- Making your video too complex – The final mistake that we see a lot of businesses make when it comes to video content is making their videos too complicated. It is easy to lose sight of the simple when you are in the middle of producing videos and you have all of these amazing options available to you. In the end, you can go off track and you can end up making your video way more complex than it needs to be. This is something that is very easy to happen, but the consequences can be rather negative! After all, when a video is complex, it means you are not going to be communicating what you need to. Keeping it simple is important. Once you have a plan or idea for your video, you should then go over the details and ask yourself whether there are any ways that you can make this more straightforward and easier to understand.
As you can see, there are a number of common marketing mistakes that we tend to see in a lot of branded videos today. While video marketing is a great way of branding and advertising your business, this is only going to be the case if you use it successfully. Take note of the advice and suggestions that we have mentioned above so you can ensure that your video marketing campaign is a great success.
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