Video marketing is huge. Many savvy marketers invest in online videos with compelling content to expand their reach and engage more audiences. That being said, running a successful video marketing campaign is definitely not a small feat.
There are some awful common mistakes many marketers (especially beginners) make along the way. Those video marketing mistakes will not only cost you big but also harm your brand’s online reputation.
So, before you start your next video marketing campaigns, just make sure you avoid these huge video marketing mistakes below:
Table of Contents
#1. Creating video just for the sake of doing it
One simple yet costly mistake is creating marketing videos without a plan or a goal. You just create them because you see your competitors are doing it – and you feel like you have to do it too.
Bram Jansen, Chief Editor of vpnAlert says “Video marketing without goals is just a waste of money and energy since you don’t really know what you expect from it”
At the very beginning, you need to define your video marketing goals. Ask yourself, “what do I create this campaign for?” Once you have such visions, it’d be much easier for you to focus on your efforts and track the right metrics.
You also need to set a timeline for the whole process in your video marketing campaign. Because without one, your goals will just be a form of wishful thinking.
#2. Not focusing on a single message
Videos are an ideal format to deliver complex topics without overwhelming the viewer. The combination of stunning visuals with intriguing audio elements makes it much easier for the viewers to retain and remember the crucial information.
However, it doesn’t mean that you can deliver multiple topics at once in a single video. It’ll confuse and scare your viewers away. In other words, it’s crucial for a video to convey one single message only.
Leo G Dickson, Owner of Practically.Green says “Videos should be able to deliver snackable information to help the viewer digest the core message better and more effectively. This way, they understand what your content is all about”
#3. Making the video way too long
The reason why target customers love videos is that they can get the information they want in no time and in an engaging way without having to read all the bulky paragraphs.
But, still, you need to make sure that you provide them with a straightforward and short marketing video. No one wants to see an hour-long video of you bragging about how awesome your features are.
You need to remember that you’re creating a marketing video, not a vlog. So, the shorter, the better. You can highlight the viewer’s pain points right off the bat and offer a solution using your product or service to make it straightforward and avoid any fluff.
#4. Ignoring the video SEO
Videos are also well-known for their ability to higher your website rank in the search engine result pages, making them an ideal tool for driving more traffic to your website. However, you can only achieve that by optimizing them.
Just like articles or blog posts, videos also have their own SEO rules. If you host your videos on YouTube, there’s no reason for you to ignore them. Not only will video SEO increase your website rank, but it will also make your videos stand out among millions of other videos on the platform.
To make things much easier, you can leverage some video SEO tools such as TubeBuddy, Tubics, or vidIQ. They will automatically point out some areas that need some improvement to make the video more SEO-friendly.
#5. Creating one single video to achieve multiple goals
There are tons of marketing video types out there. Each of them has its own way of delivering your message and helping you achieve your video marketing goals. That’s why you need to craft a single video for one goal only.
For instance, customer testimonial videos do the best job in generating viewers’ trust and help them to convert smoothly. If you create a testimonial video to also grab the viewer’s attention, it won’t get you anywhere.
Jay Lu, from Sofary Lighting says “Make sure your marketing video has a specific goal. It will help you make your messages more focused so that the viewer can easily be convinced to perform your desired action”
#6. Forgetting call-to-actions (CTAs)
A high-converting marketing video always includes a clear, obvious call-to-action (CTA). Creating marketing videos without CTAs is like fishing without a bait – in a desert!
A CTA is crucial for guiding the viewer to the next step they need to take after watching your marketing video so you don’t leave them hanging. Do you want them to purchase your product? Do you want them to visit your website? Or do you want them to join your email marketing list?
So, make sure you include CTA in your videos. It can be displayed with text on the screen or you say it through voice-over. You can also do both to ensure the viewer doesn’t miss it.
#7. Hosting the video on the wrong platform
A video marketing campaign is so much more than creating a stunning video and letting it sit on your website, hoping your visitors will find it and click on it. You need to give it more exposure by hosting it on video-sharing platforms. But, with tons of video-sharing platforms out there, it’s easy for marketers to choose the wrong one.
For example, if you want to target younger audiences like GenZ and Millennials, it’s better to use social media like Twitter and Instagram to host your video. And if you want to appeal to B2B companies or professionals, there is no place better than LinkedIn.
The key here is to find out where your target audiences hang out. In this case, you need to understand each video-sharing platform; its demographics, functions, trends, and more.
Final Thoughts
Creating a successful video marketing campaign isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it pays off big time. It’s easy to make mistakes and learn from them. Even pro video marketer has made at least one gigantic mistake in their career.
However, with some common video marketing mistakes mentioned above, you can easily dodge the bullet. Now you know what you need to do and avoid to ensure your marketing videos bring the best result for your business.
Author
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Andre Oentoro