Video marketing has become an increasingly popular marketing strategy with many small businesses all over the world.
When done properly, video marketing can help create brand awareness, build relationships with customers, generate qualified leads and increase profits. However, going about it the wrong way will produce very little Return on Investment (ROI) and could be very detrimental for your brand reputation.
Here are some of the mistakes small businesses need to avoid in video marketing:
1. Not Having A Clear Marketing Strategy
Before embarking on any video marketing campaign, you need to have a clear strategy. The video marketing strategy should clearly specify who your target audience is and what message you want to send to them. You should also think about how what results you would want to achieve with your videos. This could be getting more social media followers or increasing email subscribers.
Another crucial element of your strategy is to know who will be responsible for what in the video production process. Finally, you need to figure out how you will measure the performance of your video.
2. Giving Too Much Information
People don’t like being overloaded with information. If your videos contain too much information, you audience will get overwhelmed and might not even watch to the end. Therefore, make sure each of your videos address only one message.
If you have much more to say, you can always create a series of videos such as Intel’s ‘Jim Parson and the Intel Innovation Adventure’.
Having more videos allows you to build a loyal following and attract even more customers and prospects.
3. Creating Boring Videos
If people find your videos boring, they might not be interested in seeing anything else you produce in future. Therefore, you need to ensure that your videos have some entertainment value. No matter how ‘boring’ your industry is, you can get creative and insert some humor in your videos.
However, an entertaining video does not necessarily have to be ‘funny’. It could simply be a video that addresses relevant issues from a different perspective. You can get ideas by watching marketing videos that have been successful in the past.
A good example of a humorous video is the recent Cricket Wireless campaign that has generated millions of views.
4. Creating Lengthy Videos
Most people have a very short attention span, especially when online. It has been proven that if a video is not engaging enough within the first few seconds, people will click away. Therefore, you need to ensure that your video is short, sweet and to the point.
Get to the point right from the start and eliminate fluffy intros, music, and other unnecessary details which will only make your video longer. Unless it is an educational clip such as a tutorial or webinar, it would be advisable to keep your videos at ninety seconds or less.
The KFC Rollerskater video is an example of a short but effective campaign.
5. Not Adding A Call-To-Action (CTA)
A call-to-action shows your audience what you want them to do after watching your video. This could be reading a case study, downloading an eBook, watching another video, joining a mailing list, buying a product or signing up for a trial.
This allows you to build a stronger relationship with your audience or eventually make more sales. All you need to is to have a link in your video that directs people to the relevant page.
6. Being Too ‘salesy’
The ultimate aim of your marketing videos should be to build your brand and improve your bottom line. However, avoid the temptation of being too ‘salesy’. If every video you create is a direct sales pitch, you will only end up putting off your audience. Therefore, your aim should not be just making sales, but building relationships with your customers and prospects.
Create educational content that will help improve their lives such as the Dove ‘Choose Beautiful’ video.
In the process, they will trust you and develop interest in what you have to offer.
7. Using Poor Titles
The title of your video is very crucial for the success of your marketing campaign. If the title is vague and uninspiring, many people will not even bother watching the video. Before loading your video, take time to brainstorm titles that will pique the interest of your audience. Instead of
7 Tips for Business Success
you could have
7 Business Secrets They Didn’t Teach You in College
You should also ensure that your titles are optimized with keywords that are relevant to your industry. This will make your videos more visible in search engines, thus generating more traffic.
8. Failing To Use Analytics
Most video platforms come with analytics which help you gauge the performance of your videos. Which are your most popular videos? How long are people watching them? How much engagement have your videos generated? These are some of the questions which video analytics will help you answer. This will give you an idea of what your audience is interested in, and thus allow you to tailor new content accordingly.
9. Poor Branding
No matter how entertaining and professional your video is, it is useless if the viewer cannot associate it with your business. You should always remember that the purpose of the video is to promote your brand or business. Therefore, be sure to include your website URL, business logo or anything else that identifies you in the video.
A good example is the ‘Meet the Makers’ campaign where the Intel logo is seen throughout the video.
10. Expecting Immediate Results
Many small business owners expect to get thousands of views two days after uploading their videos. However, the harsh reality is that tangible success in video marketing usually takes time, which could be weeks, months or even years. Therefore, patience, dedication and consistency are very important. Set small, realistic goals as you begin, then aim higher as you move along.
With time, your efforts will start bearing fruit.
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