87% of you use it…
…but only 5% of you are able to keep your audience’s attention until the last second…
…that’s right, we’re talking about video marketing.
2017’s hottest marketing trend has quickly become 2018’s must-have strategy, and there’s good reason for its popularity.
Need proof? Here are a few numbers:
-Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users (wordstream)
-64% of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos (tubularinsights)
-More than half of marketers worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI (syndacast)
Yep, video’s killing it.
So, you’d think that businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketers are putting due care and attention into their video marketing campaigns…
…wouldn’t you?
Not exactly.
Here are 8 video marketing mistakes Einstein Marketer sees all too often:
Video Marketing Mistake #1: The Hard Sell
Have you ever wanted to slam your front door on a salesman? Or hang up on a cold caller?
Videos that take a hard-selling approach, will be greeted with a quick click on the X, or instant scroll…
…in other words, it’s just like that cold caller, but manners don’t oblige you to stick around.
Video content should be structured around our funnel, with different aims at every stage.
If you’re posting a lot of videos on social media, your main aim should be to educate, entertain and engage a new audience with interesting content.
This means ABSOLUTELY NO SELLING.
Create an awareness around the PROBLEM your product solves and introduce your core brand messages.
This will qualify your audiences’ interest in your PRODUCT for later content.
Video Marketing Mistake #2: No Subtitles
A staggering 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound!
Crazy, eh?
So, why aren’t all your videos subtitled?
Facebook has made videos auto-play on mobile WITHOUT SOUND.
Creating videos that don’t incorporate subtitles is like buying Lionel Messi for your Amateur Football Team and tying his legs together.
Einstein Marketer uses a company called 3playmedia for ours. If this company doesn’t look like your cup of tea, you’ll find plenty on Google.
Video Marketing Mistake #3: Too Long
Yes, size matters…
…in video marketing.
Videos posted on social media as Top of Funnel content should be short and concise.
Social media platforms have cottoned on too, Instagram allows a maximum of 1 minute per video, and Twitter won’t publish videos longer than 2:20 minutes.
Insta and Twitter do this because they want to keep their users engaged, excited and not bogged down.
The stats are there to back them up:
-Videos under 90 seconds retain 53% of watchers, but videos over 30 minutes retain just 10%.
This doesn’t mean you should rush through your content though. Avoid Mistake #4, and you’re golden…
Video Marketing Mistake #4: Too Many Messages
Every marketing video should have ONE CLEAR MESSAGE.
Videos with too many takeaways, or concepts that can’t be boiled down to one valuable point, will confuse and annoy your audience.
If you want them to stick around to the end, and return to watch future videos, go for QUALITY over QUANTITY.
You can’t sum up all of life’s lessons in 60 seconds, so don’t try to. Explain one, make it good and…
…they’ll come back for more.
Video Marketing Mistake #5: All About You
Have you ever watched a marketing video that talks too much about a business, its product or its staff?
We see them all the time.
They’re great. Honestly. Keep them. Show them to all the team in the office…
…but don’t promote them to your target audience when the content DOESN’T RELATE.
Insider videos work a treat, but only when they mean something to the people who are watching them.
Videos all about you will cause your audience to…
…zone out and go browsing.
Grab your audience’s attention by making content that relates to them!
Hit their PAIN POINTS!
Video Marketing Mistake #6: Poor Quality Equipment
It’s 2018…
…so, how in the hell are marketers creating videos with poor quality picture and sound?
And, why does it happen so often?
It’s like you’ve all forgotten that smartphone cameras have really high specs, and instead opt to record footage using a webcam you received for Christmas 7 years ago.
A modern phone has all you need for a selfie video or a simple educational marketing video.
If you’re creating a clip with higher demands, invest in a decent camera and microphone…
…otherwise you’ll lose your audience straight away!
Just IMAGINE what’s going through your viewers’ minds when they see a grainy picture with inaudible sound. It’s probably something like…
…‘if this is how bad the video is, I bet their product is awful too!’
Video Marketing Mistake #7: No Story
Videos are content…
…so put stories in them.
If you’re an Einstein Marketer regular, you’ll know that content stories don’t have to be heroic brand victories.
You don’t need a cast, multiple settings or recording equipment worth ££££’s…
…just yourself, a camera and a small amount of planning will do.
Use this modern-day content strategy to increase return readers and drive an interest in your brand.
If you’d like to find out more about Content Stories, visit the Storytelling for Marketers link at the bottom of this post
Video Marketing Mistake #8: No Next Steps
You’ve made an awesome video and it’s receiving loads of views, but then…
…nothing.
No new followers, likes, website traffic, buyers, leads…anything.
If you don’t create any next steps, the majority of your audience will simply move onto the next video on their newsfeed.
Einstein Marketer recommends doing something really simple at the end of your videos, ASK your viewers to take action…
…you won’t believe the difference it makes.
Seriously, just say something like, PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE THIS VIDEO, or IF YOU ENJOYED THIS CONTENT, FOLLOW OUR PAGE HERE.
It’s that simple.
Video Marketing Mistakes
Video Marketing is just TOO BIG to ignore…
…and it’s still growing.
If you’re running campaigns of any kind, USE VIDEO! There’s a reason so many businesses, entrepreneurs and marketers adopt this content type, IT WORKS.
There are no signs of this marketing phenomenon slowing, so get started today…
…and hopefully, this article might stop you making the same video marketing mistakes we see time after time.
Did you enjoy this content? What do you think about video marketing? Leave a comment or send us a message and we’ll reply as soon as our social media manager has stopped stealing other people’s possessions from their desks.
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Storytelling for Marketers (Part 1)
