5 Video Marketing Mistakes You Might Be Making

Everyone who’s anyone is already doing video marketing for their brand or business. If not, they might be bracing for their first attempt at it. Entrepreneurs are recognizing the potential of including video in their marketing campaigns, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that more videos are being produced by businesses these days.

While there is no single right way to do video marketing, there are some things you just shouldn’t do. If you don’t know any better, you might not get what you want out of your campaigns. It’s important to understand what it truly entails to include video in your brand marketing efforts.

Let me give you an idea about some common mistakes marketers and business owners are making when creating video content. Don’t fall into these traps and try to do better. If you’re already doing them, it’s time to get better at video!

Not knowing your audience

You might be churning out great content, but did you think about your audience before making it? Sure, you have your own agenda for jumping into video marketing, but for you to actually get results, you must produce content that appeals to your audience’s interests.

Besides the fact that you won’t be getting much engagement from your audience, it can mean that your video marketing campaign will fail. If you don’t cater to your audience the right way, they will stop responding to your videos and eventually lose interest in your content. Make sure you begin with your audience in mind so that none of your efforts will be in vain.

No strategy in place

Did you think that video marketing is as easy as planning your content, shooting it, then posting it? It’s not like that at all. Your video marketing campaigns should not stand alone. You have to determine where video stands in your overall marketing strategy. What will it contribute? What will you dedicate to it?

Once you make the choice to start adding video to your marketing efforts, you must understand that it’s not a platform you can use to sell your product. It’s more about telling your brand’s story and adding real value to your customer’s lives. Use it accordingly and don’t push your sales goals there too much. There are different avenues for that.

Making boring videos

Since video is a visual platform, it goes without saying: you have to make sure that your videos look good. Think of your audience as you’re watching a cut of your video. Will it be fun for them to finish, or at least follow? Do you think it will be able to sustain their interest? How long until they close or scroll past your video?

Dull and bland content will not help you achieve your video marketing goals. It’s important to ensure that your content looks great. Otherwise, the video platform might not work for you. Your campaigns will be in vain if you can’t keep them interesting through graphics or editing.

Not investing in production

While it’s possible – easy even – to create video content for a low cost, if you’re looking at doing it for the long run, putting some capital into the process will really help your brand. These days, all devices where your audience can watch your content will require high-quality videos. So make sure you’re using tools that can support it.

If you’re only starting and don’t know much about the production side, you can hire a small video production company to help you take off. As time goes by, or if you don’t require highly sophisticated material, you can learn to shoot and edit on your own. Getting high engagement rate and conversions, eventually, will prove to you that video is worth investing on.

Forgetting your call to action

While videos aren’t meant to be a platform for hard selling, you will still lose out on potential customers if you leave out your call to action. What is your purpose for producing the video? You have to make sure that it will benefit your business. A call to action will definitely do that.

How can you effectively add a call to action to your video without sounding too salesman-like? You can make it seem like you are simply suggesting something. Do it in a very conversational but persuasive way. It doesn’t have to be like a sales pitch, but you have to make it clear so that it won’t be lost on your audience.

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