Video Marketing: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Regardless if you are a huge company making a killing or a startup still trying to find your way around, it would be safe to assume you consider every marketing dollar you set aside to be valuable.

In other words, you want to make sure your marketing allocation is spent on something that will yield the most in terms of ROI.

Reports and statistics have indicated that in today’s highly connected world, video marketing is one of the best options marketers have at their disposal.

However, there is no guarantee your video will always perform according to your expectations.

The good thing is you can significantly increase your video’s chances of faring exceptionally by avoiding these common video production mistakes at all cost:

Budget is too small.

The fact that video production costs money is not up for debate.

And this is understandable since the video production company you will be working with are composed of highly trained professionals who will spend countless hours creating the perfect video to sell your product.

If your budget is too small, chances are you’ll get nothing more than limited animation, stock character designs, and copy and paste scripts.

Typically, compelling and high quality explainer videos require a budget of at least $2,500.

Factors that can affect cost include complexity of scenes, video style, and the experience level of the video production company, among other things.

While videos can come across as costly investments, they are worth every penny if you take into account all the amazing benefits they offer.

The time you allot for the project is not enough.

If you want your chosen video production team to come up with the best concept for your brand, you need to give them ample time to brainstorm.

Creative thinking will take time.

Give your chosen team enough time to bounce ideas around as opposed to settling on the first idea that pops up.

In addition, don’t encourage ideas from videos done by your competitors.

While it would be wise to keep track and be aware of what they are up to, it is way better to create something that will make your brand stand out.

The video’s message is not clear.

If you want to make your video powerful, memorable, and effective, you need to ensure your message is clear and straightforward.

In other words, it should not beat around the bush and should be devoid of details that are unnecessary.

Sure, it can be tempting to include as many information possible about your product in one video.

Unfortunately, this would prove counterproductive.

Not only will it overwhelm the viewer, it might also confuse them.

Do yourself and your target audience a huge favor and get rid of all the elements that are unnecessary and focus on the primary message you would like to convey.

Once you get the attention and interest of your target audience, they’d most likely look for additional information from the other marketing materials you have on your site.

Also, since your video also functions as a sales and marketing tool, make sure you include a call-to-action as the end of the presentation so you can guide your viewers accordingly in terms of the action they need to do.

As much as possible, use your video to generate more leads for you.

So rather than merely inviting your viewers to visit your site, suggest that they sign up for any freebies you are offering or check out some of the amazing discounts you are providing.

You use too many jargons in your presentation.

While you might be familiar with corporate jargons, it is very likely that most of your target audience is not.

And since the video will be made for their consumption, their needs should rank high in your priority list.

That being said, ensure your script is jargon free and presented in a way that’s easy to understand.

Contrary to popular belief, your viewers will not be impressed with your use of jargons.

It might even do the opposite and cause them to stop watching your video.

Your video’s humor is done in bad taste.

Using humor can be tricky.

Understandably, the things people will find funny differ and is based on several factors like age, political views, economic status, etc.

In line with this, you have to be extra cautious when injecting humor in your video.

After all, the last thing you would want to do would be to alienate prospective customers who stumble upon your video.

If you want to incorporate humor into your script, it would be best to test the humor elements first with the help of people who mirror the people you would like to target.