As more companies leverage video marketing in their digital strategy, it’s essential to follow best practices to achieve the results you’re looking for. We spoke directly with the experts about common video content marketing mistakes to avoid.
Online video and podcasts have become two of the most important and most powerful types of content in marketing terms, and video is by far the leading choice for impact. With video being so important to every small business’ marketing efforts, social media marketing campaigns, and content marketing strategy, making effective and powerful content will be a critical key to success.
We spoke with several of our top SEO, video marketing, and social media experts to get their advice on common errors you’ll want to avoid in your video and content creation projects. From your landing page or business homepage to TikTok, YouTube, email marketing, explainer videos, live videos, and much more, they offered up a wealth of advice that you can immediately apply to make your online video content more effective and avoid common mistakes that negatively impact conversion rates in video marketing.
Where Do You Start?
All of our video marketing experts were quick to congratulate people for getting started on making videos for their brands and taking the process seriously. And several of them noted that the biggest hurdle was also the first one—where and how to get started.
“Many brands don’t even know where to get started. But they all need foundational content, such as brand awareness videos, recruitment videos, customer testimonials, and product reels to get things started. These are the base of video marketing content, and from there you can build out and specialize with more precise video content.” —Tyler Mose, Founder & CEO at E3M
For the most part, everyone said that getting started was the most important part of the video marketing process. And those examples provide a great place to get started. But once you’re ready to get rolling, you still need to spend time developing a video marketing strategy. Much like any other marketing content, you don’t want to jump into video without a full plan.
“One of the biggest video marketing mistakes you’ll see frequently is companies lacking a proper goal, strategy, and plan. Too many videos are created merely for the sake of being there. However, just like any marketing or SEO plan, you need to create an objective or a goal for your video marketing.” —Ashif (Ace) Rashid, SEO Expert & Founder at Ace SEO Consulting
The idea of proper planning came up again and again with several of our experts, who noted that video needs to be planned just as carefully as any other content. From what you’re going to say, to who the video is for and how you’re going to get it out to viewers, there is a lot to account for when it comes to video content.
“The biggest mistake that you can make in video content marketing is not effectively planning out what you have to say. Before the camera starts rolling, create some version of a script that clearly showcases who you are and what you do. Not having a plan for your video could result in one of two problems—either the video ends up being too long with too many messages, or it ends up being too short with no message at all.” —Megan Marshall, Customer Success Coordinator & Content Specialist at WEBii
Planning your videos is also the number one way to avoid making the wrong video—as in, one that your audience doesn’t watch or connect with. Referred to as “missing the point” in some cases, ask yourself not only who the video is for, but what they will care about hearing or learning from you.
“Often when we ask people why a possible client should choose their company, they answer with what they think are good reasons—reasons or features that customers don’t care about. To avoid this, you should ask customers why they choose your company. Then base your marketing campaign on those answers.” —Richard DePaso, Managing Director at Aardvark Video & Media Productions, LLC
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Shout About It
Another big pitfall that our experts warned against was creating a video or a series of videos without then supporting that content with a full marketing plan. Whether your video is for B2B lead generation, positioning your company with branded video content, reaching existing and potential customers, or for a different reason, it won’t have any impact unless people are watching and sharing it.
“The first video marketing mistake is throwing a video on YouTube or Vimeo and NOT creating a campaign around it. Producing a compelling video is great, but people need to actually see it. Sharing videos on social media, embedding on websites, or sharing in emails are just a few ways to ensure more eyes actually find your wonderful content.” —Lindsay Sutula, CEO at Top Fox Marketing
Distribution is key. After all, with the amount of planning you’ve done, you wouldn’t want your video to merely sit on a homepage without getting significant viewership. Video is a powerful marketing tool, but only when people have a chance to see it.
“Time and time again, the biggest mistake we see businesses make is not distributing their video. We recommend spending 20% of your time creating the video and 80% distributing it, which includes creating snackable versions for various social networks, using the transcript to turn it into a blog on LinkedIn and Medium, and exporting it in different sizes and formats for networks.” —Michelle Tresemer, Marketing Execution Strategist at Foundations First Marketing
Perhaps the most important takeaway here is that you don’t want to just make a video; you want to make a big deal about the video, too. It’s a crucial part of your marketing efforts, so don’t forget to get it out there!
Does This Sound Bad to You?
Everyone knows that your video needs to look good. But don’t forget that it has to sound good too. And in more ways than one.
“One of the biggest problems people run into with video is bad audio. Dropouts or audio level problems should be addressed during the recording process. Because if people can’t read your graphics or hear your audio, they will go on to the next video. And then you lose.” —Linda Livorsi, Owner/Executive Producer at Concept One Media, Inc.
Related to that, another big concern for many of our experts was the potential to miss the mark on accessibility. Optimizing your video for all users and all the different ways that they may engage with it includes having good, clear audio, as well as clear captions. And automatic subtitles are not always the answer, at least not on their own.
“Do not just rely on Zoom or YouTube’s automated subtitles! Subtitles are critical for success in 2022, as more videos are viewed on mute than ever before. Additionally, social media platforms will show videos with subtitles to a larger audience than videos without them.” —Nick Mattar, Founder & CEO at Digital Detroit
Both the audio and the captions or subtitles are critical because, as one expert points out, what you say is even more important than what the viewers see. But too often companies will focus solely on the visual appearance of the video without the foundation of solid, concise messaging.
“The biggest mistake when it comes to video content marketing is focusing on what you see in the video vs what you hear. For B2B marketers and sales teams, what you hear will drive what you see. So first, start with what you would say to someone standing in front of you and then craft your video message from there.” —Robert Weiss, President at MultiVision Digital
While you may already be developing videos as part of a larger marketing campaign and message, it’s important not to forget about that message, and to pay attention to the best way to include and reinforce your message within video content.
Keeping Track of Video Performance
When you work hard on any marketing campaign, you always want to know how the elements performed. And it should be no different with video. A common pitfall that you should definitely avoid is jumping in and not learning from the process and experience. Data and tracking are incredibly valuable, and will certainly help you drive future video projects as well.
“I’d say not tracking your video performance data is the biggest mistake you can make. You should always use video analytics so you know what’s working and what isn’t, what changes to make to increase conversions, and your return on investment.” —Gio Toninelo, Creative Director at Rocket House Pictures
Tracking should even be a part of your planning process, too, in order to avoid spending big money on a project that doesn’t convert. To avoid this, one of our experts recommended trying many different types of content and using the information gained to plan for the bigger projects.
“The biggest video content marketing mistake you MUST avoid in 2022 is spending a ton of money on video without testing what yields the greatest results! Too many business owners jump the gun and spend a ton of money on one “big video” that ultimately doesn’t perform all that well. Instead, take different videos on consumer-grade video equipment (such as your iPhone) to see what your target audience responds to the BEST.” —Hunter Ray Barker, Co-Founder of Bullfrog Digital Marketing Agency & SEO Company
More Video Content Pitfalls to Avoid
There was a great deal of advice, and several more errors that our team wanted to make sure you avoid in 2022 and beyond.
“Surprisingly, the most common video marketing mistake I’ve seen is not having a clear call-to-action. The video should not simply describe what your company does, but should make clear how you help the viewers achieve their goals.” —Brian K. Saunders, Founder/Owner at Agent Hi5 Marketing
You have to make it clear why someone just watched your video, and what they can (or should) do once they have reached the end. And speaking of reaching the end, the consensus among our group of video marketing professionals was that you need to keep people’s attention spans in mind.
“Video creators often forget to keep it short and sweet. Unless you are creating long-form videos for YouTube, you should aim for about 20-30 seconds.” —Michelle Daides, Video Expert/CEO/Founder at MD Media Inc. Video Production
Related to that, you also want to make sure that you get to the point but without packing the video so full of information that no one ends up watching it.
“TMI. Too much information packed into one video can derail the entire goal and make it unwatchable. Pick one focused topic and stick closely to that topic. Cut out what’s not necessary and focus on just the most important points.” —Nick Leffler, Owner of Loclweb
“We often see businesses publish videos without understanding the attention span of the audience. For instance, using the first 15-20 seconds to show their logo animating, followed by a full introduction of the person talking and their credentials. But you’ve got to get to the point right away.” —David Wurst, Founder at WebCitz, LLC
Worse still is the all-too-common practice of making a long video about how great your company is, rather than a video about what your company can help customers do.
“The biggest mistake? Making a long video that’s all about you and not communicating your benefits to others. After you watch your video, ask yourself, “Is this about us, about our customers, or about the customers’ pain points?” That 3rd option drives the most results.” —Zed Williamson, CEO at TrackableMed
Ready to Roll
Video creation is a process that’s every bit as important as the rest of your marketing strategy. It requires planning, audience knowledge, and being ready to make changes as you go. But the energy and effort you put into video content development, including avoiding some of these common video marketing mistakes, have the potential to pay huge dividends for your business.
And as far as video marketing know-how, this is just a sampling of the expertise and advice available from many of the professionals you can find within the UpCity network. There’s much more to learn from them, though, and they can help you demystify the video content marketing process and integrate it seamlessly into your overall marketing efforts.