Video Marketing: Avoid Pitfalls and Do What Works

In the first part of my blog series on video marketing, I threw out a lot of stats as to why videos should be incorporated into your marketing efforts. The proof is in the pudding. It works! That said, not ALL videos are stellar. I’m sure you’ve experienced many a “Bueller…Bueller…Buelller…” moment watching a video or two or eight thousand.

My experience has taught me many lessons. Here’s my two cents on what doesn’t work.

Long Videos…Yawn
People don’t have all day. The quicker you can get your message out, the better. According to comScore, the average user spends 16 minutes and 49 seconds per month watching online videos. That might seem like a lot of time, but it really isn’t when you consider how many videos and streams are watched online. That 20-minute product overview you made? No one will ever see your cliff-hanger. I know you want to make Lawrence of Arabia, but it’s 2015, and nobody is sitting through all that walking-through-the-desert action.

Boring Talent
Sometimes you’re stuck with what you have, but if your talent has the personality of a sea prawn, you’re in trouble. When our talent was dull, our video views suffered. When we had engaging talent and content, we experienced an increase in views by 5 to 10 times. If you’ve got the bucks, hire out good talent. If budget doesn’t allow for outsourcing, hold a contest at your office to find the best options. Food is always a good form of bribery. Just make sure it’s not a co-worker’s food.

Don’t Pontificate
It’s a big word, but here, it fits. As marketers, we can fall into bad habits where our message is very ‘me’ centric. “This is why we are great.” “This is why you need to buy from us.” We hear this time and time again. We need to focus on the customer and their needs, not what we do. The quote, “It’s about them” stands tall. The same should go for your video marketing. The visuals and script should be developed for the consumer. If you’ve got time, test your video on a focus group of your target audience to see if it reaches them and also meets your objectives.

I’m a positive person at heart, so I don’t want to focus only on the “DON’Ts”. Here are some best practices that I’ve learned over the years.

Watch The Clock
So while we mentioned previously to not make Ben Hur, let’s assess how long your videos should be. I personally recommend a three-minute limit for a product overview or product interest video. If you can get your videos to fall under 60 seconds, do it.

We saved the 10-minute videos for prospects that were more invested and further along in the buying process. These viewers were willing to dig deeper into content that called for more detail. For example, we used mini-demos and tutorials to save Sales from repeat demonstrations, allowing them more time to mine leads.

Intro Is Everything
Visible Measures reports that you have just 10 seconds to get your viewers’ attention before they click away. Speaking from first-hand experience, I tend to agree. Videos we produced that had a strong and interesting opening outperformed our slower-build videos by at least 2-to-1 in views. We also noticed a bump in email forwards where those videos were used as calls-to-action content. Draw your viewers in quickly. There’s a lot out there for them to consume. If they aren’t engaged quickly, they will “change the channel”. Make sure the opening is engaging and relevant and that any dialogue is energetic and powerful.

Be Different

The transcript: 
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes…The ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules…You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

There’s power in doing the unexpected. Videos we created with the best impact, both internally and externally, bled outside the lines. For example, we once created a video that let people have a taste of our company’s culture by showing highlights of a Cinco de Mayo celebration with a spicy pepper eating contest. We built good will and good leads by being true to our voice and being different. We didn’t settle for a talking head or full on-screen demo which, by the way, is totally okay, but not exactly revolutionary. Be the crazy ones.

Videos are a solid way for creating consumable content. If you’re a beginner, start small. You don’t need to become Disney-Lite right away. Keep your audience in mind, craft the message around them, and find ways to stand out. There are also a number of marketing firms who can lend a creative hand. I know a few, so feel free to reach out. Or, if you have examples of quality marketing videos you’ve created that inspire, post them in the comments section below.

The End.