Video marketing is rapidly becoming the dominant force in online content. By now, most businesses realize that it is something they need to include in their overall marketing campaign.
However, using video simply because experts tell you to only scratches the surface of what it can offer as a key component of your marketing strategy. Too many companies are only doing the bare minimum to provide video marketing content.
Here are a few simple mistakes to avoid that will help you stay ahead of the curve.
Wrong Length Of Your Video Marketing Content
Yes, people are becoming more and more receptive to watching marketing videos, but there are limits. While there is no magic length for all types of videos, it is crucial to provide the necessary information as simply and concisely as possible.
Very few people are willing to spend more than a couple of minutes watching something unless it is extremely entertaining. You need to make sure the first 10 seconds are particularly engaging as most viewers are lost within this time frame, and most of the time 60-90 seconds is a good overall target.
Lack of Focus In Your Video Content
When it comes to video marketing, as with almost any marketing tool, it is essential to have a plan. Posting video just to follow the trends doesn’t do you any good if the audience doesn’t understand what the videos are about or why they are watching them.
Jide Alufa of Sophiads explains, “Many businesses create videos and launch them giving their audience the barn and the kitchen sink of information on their services which can be overwhelming. During your first videos, it’s important to teach the what, not the how. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to get you started: What is your service? What is it about? What does it do for your customers? What is the end result? What happened to others who used your service?”
You should start by setting down a timeline of the information and content you want to share. Then produce videos that hit these key points and share them in an order that flows.
Completely Ignoring SEO In Your Video Marketing
SEO strategies are just as important for video marketing as any other type of content. Optimizing your titles, captions, video description, alt-text, and tags will both increase traffic and serve to target a specific audience. Just because there isn’t a bunch of text to fill with keywords doesn’t mean you can’t make your video easier to find.
Beyond optimization of the video itself, video content is a key component that can be used to support other on-page optimization efforts. For example, you can use video content to provide a second option for consuming content on a page. This is a smart method for increasing user time on a page, which has a direct correlation to the ranking of your content.
The more time people spend on your page – the better you will rank.
Way Too Promotional Video Content!
The biggest turnoff for most users watching online videos is an overly promotional tone.
One of the reasons people are moving away from network television is because they don’t like watching ads. Videos posted as thinly veiled ads talking about “how great your company is” will never work.
Not only will most people click out before the video is over they are also far less likely to return. It is important to provide original, informative content that users will find valuable and entertaining.
Marco Hernandez, from Kaizen Social, suggests “Don’t be perfect, the more authentic you are the better. Have a script to follow, but don’t read – be spontaneous.”
People respond best to something that is genuine and useful. Focus on what you can share with people that will actually help them and only allow promotion to come through the establishment of your expertise and knowledge.
When people recognize that you know what you are talking about – they will be that much more excited to talk to you!
Poorly Branded Video Marketing
Ok! This might be a bit of a contradiction to the last tip, but you must always remember to make it clear who created the video and why. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should ram promotion down the audience’s throat. It means that you should make it clear that you and your company are responsible for the video.
Sometimes businesses get so caught up in producing riveting content that they forget to prioritize branding. Sure, you need viewers to enjoy your videos, but they still need to understand the connection between the content and your company. If they don’t see the connection between the topic and your product – or, even worse, aren’t clear on who made the video – then their interest will fizzle out.
If people enjoy your content, then they need to know who, how, and where to contact you! It is as easy as including a simple call to action in every video.
Wasting Time and Effort
Creating solid video content can take a lot of time and effort. Your video content deserves this attention, but you don’t need to kill yourself with an obsession on the minutia.
As Kirsty Deeble-Rogers of D-R Ads tells us, “People often spend too much time worrying about creating different content for each platform. It’s true that square videos work better on Facebook and portrait videos are better for Instagram but that doesn’t mean each platform needs difference content, just reformat your Facebook posts to work on Instagram, Twitter, etc.”
It is much more effective to create one incredible piece of video content and promote the heck out of it. Spend as much time promoting your video content as you do create it to truly maximize the impact.
Don’t Get Left Behind!
Video is undeniably the next wave in marketing but, like any other method, just including it on your site isn’t enough. It also needs to be good. Videos require a slightly different level of user commitment. Once people actually decide to watch your video it is critical to impress them or you will lose them.
Produce informative, compelling and concise videos to increase engagement and shares. It will make also it much more likely that you can eventually turn viewers into paying customers.
Have you ever made any big mistakes with a video marketing campaign?
Share your story in the comments below!
