Video marketing is one of the best ways to engage and convert your audience, but it isn’t without potential pitfalls. Whether you’re new to video marketing or have a good grasp on what it can do for your business, take a look at this list of video marketing mistakes. You could learn something new that will help you strengthen your marketing strategy and achieve even greater results.
Pitfall #1: Assuming B2B marketing can’t be as fun as B2C
It’s not like B2B marketers release viral Superbowl commercials and get mass followings, right? While that may be true, if you’re in a B2B market, don’t make the mistake of thinking that video marketing isn’t for you, or that your videos will be too boring and won’t engage audiences.
B2B marketers are not forced to make stiff, talking-head videos. Have some fun with your brand, your products, and your message. Remember, just like a B2C brand, you’re marketing to real people who like to laugh! Take a look at the following video from Pure Storage, for example. It addresses pain points and the solution, but in an enjoyable way. Did you think that IT hardware could be this entertaining?
Pitfall #2: Turning your videos into a sales pitch
Like I said above, B2B marketing should be engaging, and can even be fun! You know what isn’t fun? Feeling like you’re being force-fed a sales pitch. Of course marketing is part sales pitch, but you also need to build relationships with your audience. That means showing them that you understand them and their needs, rather than focusing solely on you.
Pitfall #3: Bait-and-switching to get clicks
You don’t want to be sales-pitchy, but that doesn’t mean you should go to the other end of the spectrum and use flashy, exciting fibs in your title, content, or thumbnail to encourage clicks. Remember, you don’t need a million people to watch your video; you only want the ones who would actually be interested in becoming customers to watch your video. Be direct about what your viewers are going to see; that’s how you’ll snag the viewers who are interested in you and your message.
Pitfall #4: Using generic thumbnails and poor titles
You certainly don’t want to lie about your content and try to oversell its excitement, but you definitely don’t want to go the other direction and refuse to exhibit any creative control over how your video is presented. If you want people to click on your content, be direct with your titles, and choose thumbnail splash screens that will encourage people to click. Stay away from auto-generated splash screens; they’re often bland or poor shots!
Pitfall #5: Cramming too many messages (or having no message!) in one video
Don’t make videos simply because they’re engaging and popular. They need to fit your strategy, and each video needs to have its own clear message. That means one message. Your audience needs to know what they’re going to get when they click play, otherwise you’ll lose their interest, or worse, their trust.
Pitfall #6: Creating ultra-long videos
You’ve probably heard that our attention spans last for about 8 seconds these days, so you need to make those seconds count. If your videos are too long, audiences will click away from you. So get to the point of your video right from the beginning; put the meat first! Cut out speaker introductions, long music and text intros, and other unnecessary add-ons that delay your message. Generally speaking, you should shoot for sixty to ninety seconds at most unless it’s a long-form educational piece like a webinar.
Maybe you’re thinking, but all my content is necessary! I don’t have fluffy intros! Okay, okay, so try this: cut up your video into smaller, bite-sized pieces. This technique works well on content like webinars; each serial video can be a different topic. A video series will also keep your viewers coming back for more, which gives you more opportunities to convert them. Need I say more?
Pitfall #7: Thinking video marketing is only for top of the funnel
Yes, video marketing is the best medium for engaging audiences. It’s perfect for raising brand awareness, and for promotional campaigns. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that video should remain at the top of the funnel. The medium shouldn’t be underestimated. For example, video webinars help move audiences through the middle of the funnel, while product demos help convert customers at the bottom of the funnel, and so much more. Video can be used at every step of the funnel to engage and turn audiences into brand ambassadors…and customers.
Pitfall #8: Not using CTAs or email gates
Calls-to-Action (CTAs) and email gates can boost the success of your video marketing. Why? Because they help you identify your viewers and convert them along the buying journey. A video should never fade to black; a CTA at the end of your video can move your audience to the next stage of a content journey and keep the attention that you worked oh-so-hard to get in the first place. Try driving your viewer to watch another video, download an ebook, read a customer case study or sign up for a trial!
Email gates help you collect valuable information on your viewers. When you know who is watching, you can discover what they are watching. And you know what you can do with that? Check out the final two pitfalls to learn more!
Pitfall #9: Not using video analytics
Video analytics like who is watching (collected from email gates, for example), what they’re watching, how long they’re watching, and which parts they’re watching give you valuable insights on your customers and content.
This kind of information tells you what your leads and customers are truly interested in. The analytics also tell you which content is performing the best, so you can edit current content and create new content that performs better than ever.
Pitfall #10: Not integrating video with your marketing automation or CRM
When video is integrated with your marketing automation platform and CRM system, magic happens. With insights gained through analytics, marketers can nurture leads with targeted content that’s relevant to their interests.
Video doesn’t stop there. It has a direct impact on revenue and closed deals when it’s used with CRM systems, because Sales can use those insights to have better conversations with leads, more quickly and easily turning them into customers. Okay, so it’s not magic, but it will feel like it. Give it a try, and you’ll see!
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