10 Common & Biggest Mistakes in Video Marketing and How to Avoid Them

Video Marketing Requires good lighting, camera, editing, and clean background because these are some of the things required to shoot a great video for marketing. Even though all of these are indeed required, the acceptability and effect the video has on the targeted audience are more important. Most marketers fail to consider this. They spend too much time ensuring the quality of the video while unknowingly ignoring the quality of the content. They at the same time don’t consider the most effective strategy for distribution.

Here are ten common and biggest mistakes to avoid during the planning of video marketing:

1. Generalized Audience

Everybody can’t be your customer. Research and know your targeted audience first, before anything else. Creating a video to market to the general populace is a waste of money and time ― except you have enough money you intend to burn for no result.

2. Too Promotional

When planning promo videos, it is important to ensure they are not too sales-ly. Don’t force customers to buy, instead, convince them. People prefer being given freedom of choice. Create choices for them, while subtly convincing them your product is the best of all the choices.

A good way to achieve this is by building relationships with the customers via the video before selling to them. People will only buy from someone or a brand they trust. A video may start with challenges they are most likely to have been facing and then follow by how your product can be of help. Also, avoid using a cliché scenario. Watch competitors’ advertisements (or related) before your production.

3. Providing Too Much Info

Don’t overwhelm viewers with too much information about your products. You may end up confusing them. There is enough information around already, hint on the ones you are sure they might not know.

4. Too long video

Industry experts recommend that marketers should keep their videos within 2 minutes long. Shorter is better. Some marketers who know this fail to consider the platform they are targeting. Two minutes video might be fantastic for YouTube and bad for an Instagram story. Video for Twitter promotion for instance should be no more than 45 seconds. So, research your targeted platform before determining the length of your video.

5. Inconsistent Message

Video marketing should have a specific objective. You only have a few seconds to engage viewers. Choose a message to focus on, make it your sales pitch. If you intend to communicate additional messages, make another video for the purpose, or else, the promo video will be communicating no message.

6. Wrong Branding

Business URL, brand name and product name are very important and no excuse for typographical error can suffice if you misspell or forget to include them. Avoid this mistake by cross-checking over and over. Do not rush to publish your video immediately after the edit is completed. Take some time off and come back to re-watch.

7. Absence or abuse of SEO

Some marketers make the error of thinking Search Engine Optimization is only meant for text promotions. This is not true. Search Engines rank both texts and graphical (photos and videos) contents, and this is why your video needs to be well optimized for search.

Each social media platform also has its search engine optimization strategy. Make sure they are correctly implemented.

8. Use of jargon

You may be tempted to try to impress customers by using terminologies in your industry to show your competency, but that could be a disaster except the targeted audience are in the same industry. Don’t make the video another board meeting or a dentist appointment.

9. No Call-To-Action

The video is meant to achieve a specific purpose. So, make the purpose your call to action.

It is also important to make this explicit. If more than one, make it very easy to follow through. Instagram video marketing for instance allows you to input a call-to-action such as Visit Website in the call-to-action. You may include others such as Call Us or Schedule Visitation in the caption.

10. Expecting Instant Conversions

Video marketing is a gradual process and most unlikely to instantly generate results, except for a viral video which is very rare. Marketers behind viral videos have a strategy of spreading their video especially through the use of influencers with a large following while the brand account usually has a large social media following.

For brands with a lesser budget to execute such grand promotion, consistency and a clear message are important. Viral videos are a result of luck and the momentum may not last but a well-planned strategy is sure to give a sustainable result.