Congratulations! You finally jumped on the video marketing train, you’re full of steam and you’re in a content groove. If you can look at your website and see a library of videos that all share useful, engaging and unique information, you’re setting up your organization’s marketing strategy for success. However, not every video is created equally. Good video content should be gauged by quality, NOT quantity, which can sometimes be difficult to assess.
Even though there are tons of companies who have incorporated videos into their strategy, we still see plenty of silly mistakes being made. Here are 5 things to avoid when producing your marketing videos.
Mistake #1: Relying on Your C-Suite
As they say in TV newsrooms, “nobody cares about the guys in ties.” Sure, your CEO or your VP may be the face and leader of your organization, but when it comes to relating to your audience and sharing detailed, helpful information, your best bet may be the guy in the cube with 15 years experience.
Additionally, c-suite execs tend to be big picture and visionary in their thinking, which may not always be what your audience wants to hear..
Producing a culture video? Let the “average employee” tell you what makes the culture special. Creating quick and helpful video blog content? Allow your best speaker with loads of presenting experience to show off your product’s benefits. It will help illustrate the many faces of your organization while helping you sound authentic.
Along those same lines, don’t let internal office politics determine who gets chosen to be on camera. Think about what’s best for the business, your audience and your goals and stick to that plan.
Mistake #2: Stealing Marketing Messages Verbatim from Your Website
In many organizational overview videos, your key messages may come from your core values, your list of services, or your unique business approach. All great information to share.
However, taking those messages word for word from your “About Us” page is not the most effective or engaging way to inform your audience. Though people are influenced by the power of the play button versus reading web copy, you want to provide a unique experience through both platforms.
It could be as simple as just re-wording your messages or presenting them in a fun and different way. But remember, video is a visual communication tool, take advantage of being able to show something more than just talking about it. Use your videos as an opportunity to show the benefits of your products or services. Show stories of the people behind your product, your team, or your customers.
Mistake #3: Talking, Talking, Talking
Simply put, too much talking can be a snooze-fest. When planning your video, make sure video is actually part of it! Make sure your video actually shows something. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make when producing a video.
An on-camera talking head interview is video, yes, but make sure to incorporate cover video, or b-roll, that helps tell a visual story.
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Before filming, brainstorm some of the visuals that could be captured that relate to what that talking head is communicating. Even if that’s a team meeting, a whiteboard working session or folks doing their everyday tasks, it helps to bring your story to life.
Mistake #4: Fitting Too Much Into One Video
Since video is such a great way to communicate with your audience, it’s very easy to want to squeeze in as many messages as possible. However, putting too many people and messages in your video can, in fact, do just the opposite and make it harder to soak in everything.
Our brains can only make interpretations in small increments. Meaning, if you’re trying to put too much in front of them, they may only remember the very first and very last thing you said. Everything else in the middle will disappear.
In Sheena Iyengar’s TED Talk video, she uses a great example of “choice overload” and how it affects our consumer behavior. When a grocery store customer is presented with a taste test of six jam varieties, patrons are six times more likely to buy the jam than the patrons who taste tested at a table with 24 jam varieties.
The takeaway? Putting more in front of your audience isn’t always necessarily better. If incorporating more messages into your video is a must, consider producing several shorter videos that are each focused on different audiences.
By starting with that in mind, it may help you target the right audience with the right content versus throwing everything at everybody.
Mistake #5: Using The Wrong Camera
Video is being consumed by everyone on a daily basis now, allowing for a bit more forgiveness for poor quality video. Look at all the hilarious baby and cat viral videos shot on an iPhone.
Don’t let that fool you into thinking your business video can get away with the same unprofessional approach. Even if you have a strategy in place with enthusiastic characters and a great distribution plan, using your phone and no microphone washes all that down the drain.
If you don’t have the right tools to create a great video internally, take a step back and dedicate the dollars to producing a higher production piece of content that represents your business well.
All in all, if you’re producing video and engaging your audiences with that communication tool, that’s awesome! Keep up the good work. But if you are looking to take your video to the next level, keep these common mistakes in mind, and be sure to keep quality at the forefront of your strategy instead of focusing on quantity.
