5 Video Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
July 3, 2019
Video marketing has become an entity unto itself, working for marketers on various platforms, including social media and video streaming sites like YouTube to promote products, services, and more. While this advertising niche provides a broad canvas on which to work, there are some dos and don’ts to consider when creating a video campaign.
Every business has its own unique dynamic and motive for selling what they sell. These unique characteristics are what set your brand apart from the competition. It’s difficult for some marketers to determine how best to insert these quirks into their video campaigns in a way that’s still palatable to the audience.
While there’s no 100% fool proof guide to video marketing, this article will cover 5 of the pitfalls to avoid while strategizing your campaign.
1. Relying on Imagery Alone: Video marketing may be about sharing visual information, but that’s not the only benefit. Posting videos opens doors to further recognition from search engines, easier access by consumers, and a whole new method of tracking analytics.
When you create and upload a video, be it to Facebook, YouTube, or some other streaming platform, remember to include plenty of text. Everything from the title of your video, to the hashtags you use to describe it increases your chances of being found. This happens by creating a digital map, which consumers can follow to find your content.
2. Leaving Viewers Waiting: Successful vloggers gain an audience by creating content on a regular basis. This brings their audience back time and again. In fact, some YouTube users mark their calendars for the updates from their favorite vloggers.
You don’t need to be an aspiring vlogger to use the tactic of regulating updates to create a larger and more loyal audience. You can be posting videos to social media, your website, or inserting them into blogs, and still benefit. The key is to determine which videos and platforms are being frequented most by consumers. This will tell you where to spend your time and efforts uploading videos and creating a schedule.
3. Forgetting a CTA: A call to action at the end of a blog or video post is the digital equivalent to handing a client a business card at the end of a meeting. It tells them where they can get more information, and more importantly, that you have something more to offer them. A CTA in the form of a link is best because it directs traffic to your website, which is a greater source of information and usually a sales portal.
Forgetting a CTA might seem like a small problem, but from a big picture standpoint, it makes a difference. Not every viewer who watches your video will click the link in your CTA, but every viewer will see it. This creates potential for a visit later when missed opportunities remember the link they saw.
4. Posting and Forgetting About It: Once a video is posted, many business owners believe their work is done. This is only half the task, however, because it’s the viewer interactions afterward, and your response to them which make the biggest impact on rank and visibility. In social media platforms, like Facebook, posts which receive comments resurface in the news feed. This means if you want your video to remain visible, you want consumer engagement. The best way to retain this engagement is by engaging in it yourself. Liking and replying to comments increases the chances that others will strike up a conversation and get your post noticed.
It’s easy to forget about a video once it’s live. Keep notifications turned on for comments and check back to see if anything interesting is happening. This is true for older videos as well. You might be surprised to see that some videos don’t gain a reaction right away.
5. Being One Dimensional: A video is more than just an opportunity to record yourself sharing a promotional message with your audience. They can be used to market in various ways. In fact, some businesses see the most success when they post non-business-related videos. For example, a pizza place might post about daily specials in weekly videos. While this is informative to your audience, it isn’t exactly persona. From time to time the pizza place could post a video of them attending a local event, a video about the history of pizza, or a video showing viewers a day in the life of a pizza place. It’s still pizza centric but doesn’t seem like a marketing ploy.
Businesses which focus on the sales side of marketing in their videos could miss out on an entire demographic of internet users. Vloggers have become such a integral part of social media and digital living that consumers enjoy seeing what’s new, and even watch for new videos to be updated by a favorite vlogger. To create this kind of buzz it takes more than your basic video ad.
Knowing what to avoid in your video campaign is one step in the direction of success. Videos have always been a popular method of entertainment and advertising, making it the perfect medium for digital marketing. If you’re trying to improve your video strategies, consider the above suggestions and focus on metrics. Your videos tell you a lot about the success of your current advertising plans, including whether they’re working, or if it’s time for a change. Videos which improve traffic and receive multiple view and comments should paint a precedent for future campaigns.