Video marketing is fast becoming main stream for businesses. This article covers some of the biggest mistakes I find businesses making and offering some tips and tricks of ways to avoid them.
As a video producer I’ve had the opportunity to make some of these same mistakes first hand!
We learn, grow and get better every time we step out and market our businesses in new ways.
So here’s the list in no particular order:
1. Too much tech jargon
It’s so tempting to look and sound smart. The only problem is it can make your viewers feel dumb. Understand where your customers are in the buying process and script your videos on their level. If you need to use technical terms to describe something always make sure to explain what it is in “laymen’s” terms.
2. Boring
Notice how in television and film the action scenes cut fast together. The camera hardly ever hangs on one thing for too long. Web video is no different! Audiences have been conditioned to watch extremely captivating and engaging content thanks to Hollywood and modern film techniques.
There’s no hard and fast rule as to how long your shots should be. Use your gut to tell you if its getting boring.
Never let a shot go too long without cutting to a close up, supporting photos and graphics, or a scene change.
3. No call to action
Give the viewer something to do during, or after the video is complete.
Get engagement!
You’ve hooked them in with your information now ask for something specific. Like: call this number, like us, visit our site, share this video, subscribe right here… etc.
This gives power and purpose to your video.
4. Have little to no distribution
It is essential to have some form of audience pre built in which to distribute the video. All those hours or posting, retweeting, blogging, commenting, sharing and liking and adding new subscribers and fans will have paid off! You’ve got a real fan base that loves you! Sure, the video will only help to build more of a fan base, but having one in place gives your video momentum right out of the gate.
5. It’s too “me me me”
It’s not about you it’s about your audience! More specifically, it’s about the pain they are having and how you can solve it.
Mentally picture them as you talk on camera. Get into their emotional space and feel where they are coming from.
Write down all of the struggles and pains you understand your clients to be having.
The more you can communicate that you are listening and that you care, the more it will resonate and build trust.
Features and benefits will fall flat until you establish trust.
6. Not emotional
How many non passionate motivational speakers have you watched lately? I have never seen one!
Humor, excitement, joy, anger and even frustration can serve to make your videos resonate.
Skip the monotone lecture.. and put some passion in your video!
7. Not memorable
The internet is a distraction’s paradise. How do you cut through the noise?
Stimulate thinking by asking the right questions. Use metaphors and examples that your viewer can relate to.
Ask your audience to imagine and to see, feel, smell, or taste what you are describing. These are all memory triggers that connect their senses to your ideas, products, or services.
8. No pre built audience
Social media is a “progress over time” endeavor. If you don’t have a sizable following or subscriber base created yet.. start one as soon as you can!
It will take time and effort, but there is tremendous value in pre building your viewership.
Why?
Because putting a video up on YouTube with no fan base is like showing a movie to an empty theatre.
Creating valuable, client centered, video content is a great way to build a targeted fan base, (but even better) when you have a fan base already established.
9. Not specific enough
This gets back to the viewer attention span and keeping it focused. Make sure to let them know what the video is about at the beginning. I wrote an article about this on the “five second rule.”
Keep it focused on one pain, using one example, with one solution to solve it and ending with one call to action.
10. No video at all
Video is the king of content marketing. Here’s what the 2014 Video Marketing Trends Report has to say about.
If you don’t have video on your site or in your social media channels… The best thing to do is to start right NOW!
Go small and work your way up if you need to.
You could simply shoot a selfie video talking about a typical customer problem and how you solve it.
Nothing fancy.. just start the process.
What are some other big mistakes video Marketers make?
Please comment below 🙂
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