How Many of These Video Marketing Mistakes Are You Making? Pushing that sales pitch hard in your video is your first mistake.
By Michael Georgiou Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Video marketing is huge right now and if you do it right, it can yield incredible results for your business. It does, however, require careful planning. There are many tools and services available to help you create and share videos, but it can be an expensive and time consuming endeavor. Knowing what not to do can improve your chances of a successful video marketing campaign. Are you making any of these common video marketing mistakes?
Posting in only one place.
One major mistake businesses make on a regular basis is posting videos in just one place. This simply isn't going to earn you the reach you need. Many people have this idea that making money and creating traffic happens from a single url, like magic. While there are occasions where a single video just magically goes viral, for the most part businesses have to put real work in to spread the news. Don't just post on YouTube and forget about it. Post on Facebook. Share it on your other social platforms. If your video is under a minute, you can post it to Instagram.
Related: Top Tips to Create Facebook Videos to Market Your Business (Infographic)
Not knowing your audience.
In order for video marketing to be successful, you must know your audience. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to start creating videos without a good grasp on their audience's interests and tastes. Try gathering as much information as possible about your target audience. Do they enjoy short videos or in-depth explainers? Do they use YouTube, or are they more of a Vimeo crowd? This info is essential for your video marketing strategy, which brings us to the next mistake.
Lack of strategy.
Engaging in video creation cannot just be for the sake of it. Without a long-term strategy, a video is just a video. You need to know why you're doing this in a clear and concise way if you're going to be successful. No strategy = wasted effort.
Not investing in video production.
Today's devices require high-quality video. Make sure you're using tools that will yield a professional result. If you're inexperienced, a video production agency is a worthy investment. For lots of companies, there's no reason not to invest some capital into the process. The more you put into it, the better your return.
Making bland, boring videos.
Videos are a visual medium. If they are not great to look at or fun to follow, they will not achieve their purpose. Think to yourself as you watch it -- would I have clicked away yet? Plan for constant engagement.
Being too "sales-y."
While there is a place for videos focused on sales, those typically come later on in the funnel. For customers who are early in the sales funnel, videos should be about giving them something, whether it be business advice or explaining a concept. Whatever you might be offering them, it needs to be something that you can deliver without a hard pitch. The minute someone feels sold to, they're going to move on.
Related: 7 Secrets for a Successful Video Marketing Strategy
Not sending a clear message.
This comes down to two mistakes mentioned earlier -- not knowing your audience and the lack of a strategy. You need to have one or two takeaways from the video to ensure that the message doesn't get muddled. Videos need to be short and tightly focused. Don't try to tackle too much in one video. Each video should focus on one topic, question, task, process, etc. If your videos lack focus, break them up into separate videos.
Lack of integration.
Another mistake most people make is not aligning their video with the rest of the content strategy. For the video to be successful, you need to start integrating it into your strategy. It is highly recommended that you put a relevant link in the first two lines of the description.
Leaving out a call to action.
Don't forget the reason why you are making a video in the first place. After watching your video, you want people to act in a way that will be beneficial to your business. You want them to agree with what you are saying, and you want to persuade them to use your products or services. You need to make that clear at the end, even as you try not to make it a sales pitch. Make it seem like you are just suggesting something but in a strong and persuasive way.
Not optimizing your video.
YouTube is second only to Google as the biggest search engine. They both search the metadata that accompanies video for phrases and keywords. It's important that you use relevant keywords in the categories, title, tags and description. This will help people find your video. Be sure to do the same for Facebook and wherever else you post your video.
Related: 5 Things You Need to Know About Video Marketing
Failure to track.
In order to know whether you're doing video marketing right or not, you need to track your results. YouTube and Facebook have their own metrics, but you can also use a tool like MediaNest. Analytics give you solid, objective data that you can use to improve your videos. Make sure that even if you don't get the conversion rate that you're looking for, at least you get some great data to help you in your future video efforts.
Remember that practice makes perfect. Your first videos won't be your best. You will, however, get better at producing and distributing high quality videos. Avoiding these common video marketing mistakes will clear the way to success for your business.
