TOP FIVE VIDEO MARKETING MISTAKES
Video marketing is a complex strategy that pays huge dividends when it works, but it can fall flat on its screen. Leaving out even the smallest details such as a call-to-action or information about your brand destroys the potential in video marketing efforts. When we talk about video marketing strategy, we always talk about the things you should do, but often forget to mention the things you shouldn’t do. Avoiding certain mistakes is just as important, though, because they can detract from your fruitful efforts. The top 5 mistakes include:
- Running out of steam. If you’ve ever worked on a creative project, you know how quickly ideas flow in the beginning stages of planning. Unfortunately, while incredible ideas arise, some of them are too broad and don’t really encompass the whole picture. In other words, the team will eventually run out of ideas during the later stages of the project, and quality will suffer. So how do you avoid this? Simple: by implementing a holistic, long-term strategy. Whether it’s for this single video project or a strategy for a series of video uploads, maintaining a strong vision will keep you from running out of steam and ideas. Consistently focusing on storytelling will always help you keep the momentum going. Remember, there is always a story to be told!
- Lacking a unique voice. While it’s great to look at your competitor’s content for encouragement, the downside is that you might emulate their style too closely. What ends up happening is that everyone’s content sounds like everyone else’s. Can you say boring and ineffective?! Spend time cultivating your voice on screen, even with the visuals that you present. One of the best ways to gain inspiration without sounding like your competitors is to look at videos from a completely different industry for inspiration and then figure out how you can translate that into your industry. By doing this, you can still be inspired by ideas, but seem fresh because the ideas are from a completely different area of specialization.
- Failing to do research. No matter how good your video is, if there isn’t interest in the topic or subject covered, you’re not going to get views. Thus, doing keyword and trend research is a crucial element of video marketing. Be sure to take advantage of Google Trends, Yahoo News, YouTube Trends, and other tools to determine what’s popular now and what’s expected to be popular in the future. By doing research before you even begin filming, you can ensure that the final product will strike a chord with viewers.
- Not measuring the results. How do you know if a video is a success if view count isn’t the only measurable element? Be sure to take advantage of YouTube analytics and other tracking tools to determine the success of your video. Measuring the results will help you determine the traffic funnel and help you improve future performance.
- Leaving out the CTA. The ultimate goal of video marketing is to encourage the viewer to do something. It doesn’t matter whether you want the viewer to make a purchase or visit your site – just be sure to make a CTA somewhere in the video and take advantage of the engaged traffic! Or, if you don’t have the CTA directly in the video….make sure you have a CTA somewhere near the player.