We live in a digital age. Many people spend large amounts of time on their phones, often scrolling through social media, looking up information, or watching videos. In fact, approximately 78% of internet users actively watch online videos. This means that video marketing can play a significant role in engaging with potential customers and attracting their attention. Shooting videos and posting them to social media or your website sounds simple enough, and many people will dive right into making them. But, it is a little more complicated than that. Here are some things you need to avoid when creating and posting videos.
Forgetting SEO
Learning how SEO (Search Engine Optimization) works is important for ranking higher on search engines and bringing more quality traffic to your content. If you don’t incorporate proper SEO techniques and tactics, then there’s not much point to creating and posting videos, because not many people will actually see them. To get started with SEO, properly title your videos with keywords related to the content, take the time to fill out your video description, and add keyword tags that are relevant to your industry and your brand.
Not Including a Call-To-Action
If you create a video and do not include a call-to-action, then your customers will not know where to go to learn more about your business. A call-to-action is a simple direction that tells your customer exactly what you want them to do, such as “If you want to learn more, click here,” or “To read more on this subject, click here.”
Selling Too Hard
A marketing video is not the place to go in for the hard sell. The purpose of these videos is to build a relationship with potential customers, as well as to connect with current customers. In the beginning of the sales funnel, customers are more interested in what you can offer them. So while you want to incorporate selling your product into your videos, the most important thing you can do is offer useful advice and try to grow awareness about your business.
Selling Too Late
If you put your selling points near the end of the video, then you risk losing your audience before they even get to the important part. Because people have short attention spans, they will want their answer immediately and may only watch the first few seconds or minutes of your video. Make sure that the most important parts of your message, including the call-to-action, are communicated in the beginning of your video, preferably in the first 10-20 seconds.
Posting Videos That Are Too Long
If you post videos that are too long, you will lose your prospects interest.
When posting videos on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, you need to make sure they’re the optimal length. If you make a video that is too long, you will lose the interest of the audience. Once they click on your video and see that it is 10 or 15 minutes long, they’re only going to watch if they’re very committed; otherwise, they will make a quick exit. Studies show that people have a short attention span when it comes to media, so the optimal video length is approximately 2 minutes.
Posting Poor Quality Videos
Nothing is more irritating than trying to watch a poor quality video online. Posting poor quality videos will not only reflect badly on you, but it will also reflect badly on your business’s brand as a whole. Do not rush to make videos and throw them out there. Make sure you invest in good video equipment, plan your videos out ahead of time, and edit them if necessary. These days, even an iPhone will work to produce good quality videos, just make sure that the lighting is good, the audio is clear, and that the camera stays steady.
