When done correctly, video marketing can significantly boost a company’s visibility, establish it as an authority, and enhance customer engagement and conversion rates. However, creating video content can be complicated, especially for businesses that are new to it. That’s why we reached out to members of the Young Entrepreneur Council with this question:
What is one thing that regularly trips up organizations doing video marketing for the first time? How can they avoid the problem?
Here’s what they advise:
1. Selling, Not Telling a Story
When companies start with video marketing, they often put too much emphasis on selling. People are unlikely to watch a video that feels like a sales pitch. Instead, businesses should aim to tell a story through their video marketing. Your videos should be engaging, highlight what makes your brand special, and narrate a story that helps you connect with your audience. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
2. Not Optimizing Your Videos
Videos need to be optimized just like blog posts and articles. Video search engine optimization includes using keywords in your titles and descriptions. Otherwise, you have little chance of getting ranked. It’s important to research keywords when choosing your video titles. This also helps keep you on track and focusing on topics that are in demand. – Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
3. Overspending
Companies just getting into video marketing tend to not do enough due diligence on what they actually need. This tends to lead to overspending and not getting the necessary and strategic content needed to actually drive conversions. Spend the necessary time researching what’s working well in the industry and understand that getting high-quality video work done isn’t as expensive as it used to be. – Ryan O’Connell, Boomn
4. Filming Content for the Sake of Content
The biggest mistake with video marketing is making videos randomly without any strategy or content plan. This won’t get you anywhere. You should approach video marketing as any other marketing campaign. What is the purpose of your video? What does it have to do with your brand? What value does it bring to the audience? Give crystal-clear answers to these questions if you want to get the results. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
5. Setting False Expectations
Organizations doing video marketing for the first time often mistakenly believe that they are going to create a viral video. While that is a nice fantasy, the reality is that only a minuscule percentage of videos made actually go viral. Avoid the problem by living in reality and accepting that the probability of your video going viral is pretty low. Enter the project with realistic expectations. – Adam Mendler, The Veloz Group
6. Using Bad Audio
Seems obvious, but having great audio for videos makes all the difference in the world. Make sure to have someone who is savvy with audio and can help you out. It will make you look professional and your viewers won’t shut your video off 10 seconds in because your mic is scratching. – Zach Binder, Bell + Ivy
7. Using Static Imagery
There’s nothing that screams “cheap and low-effort” like making videos that are static, text-heavy frames with word-for-word narration. These glorified PowerPoint presentations aren’t engaging or impressive. You want to justify using video for your content with the aid of motion graphics, video footage, kinetic typography or other visually appealing tricks that are exclusive to the medium. – Bryce Welker, Crush The CPA Exam
8. Only Posting in One Place
If you’ve taken the time to create an awesome marketing video, don’t just post it in one place. Even if you’ve created it with the intention of putting it on the homepage of your website, post it in other places too. Share it on social media, upload it to YouTube and include it in email marketing campaigns. Your video will be seen by more of your target audience if you post it in a number of places. – Blair Williams, MemberPress
9. Not Including a Call-to-Action
Telling an interesting, engaging story in your video marketing is important. But don’t forget to include a call-to-action. If you don’t include a call-to-action, all of the effort you put into your video marketing will go to waste. At the end of the video, tell your viewers what to do next: Give us a call, visit our website, click the link below, follow us on social media, etc. – John Turner, SeedProd