There are very few marketing mediums available at the disposal of marketers globally that tug at the heartstrings of all prospective clients. However, video content is one such medium that does this effectively. This medium offers marketers an invaluable channel to connect with audiences emotionally while also portraying their brand’s products and services. If anything, the conversion rates generated by video content are proof of that!

Many marketers tend to jump into video marketing too quickly. While many of them find quick success, there are many that end up wasting valuable resources and committing time that they simply cannot get back. These less than stellar strategies take away from those that can actually make video marketing successful. It can prove to be helpful to diligently research before diving into video making and marketing so you know what your dos and don’ts should be!

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1.  Keeping Your Videos Short

Human attention span is depreciating with time as distractions continue to increase. Even your most loyal customer will now find it harder to sit through a long-form video regarding your products and services. It’s not exactly their fault, as it’s more their attention span to blame! Try and keep your videos as short as possible to ensure that people follow through and watch the whole thing.

Suppose you want to market an explainer video; the ideal time for that should be 90 seconds but can potentially extend to 3 or 4 minutes, depending on the educational nature of your video. The leeway surrounding the length of the video can definitely vary based on the kind of content you want to create.

When you know your audience through different platforms, this will become much easier for you to do. Suppose someone comes across your video on a website; they will have a longer attention span for it than someone who comes across it on social media. With so much browsing to do, why would they fixate on your long-form video? Keeping it short and quirky is so the way!

A short video doesn’t necessarily contain incomplete messages. Many long videos contain moments that can easily be cropped out, so shortening it up into a fast-paced video can actually benefit your brand by creating awareness on social media.

DON’T

2.  Avoid Sounding Too “Salesy.”

People tend to be selfish viewers when it comes to video content. As a general rule, they prefer watching videos with stories they can personally relate to. Videos that are ‘salesy’ and entirely focused on products and services don’t do as well as videos with a story. The very authoritative “buy now!” CTAs will not generate the kind of leads you expect them to and will result in fewer conversion rates.

However, you can turn this situation around by explaining to your audience your product or service’s value proposition that they can get on board with as a customer. Don’t waste time explaining what your product is. Instead, use that time to explain to viewers how their pain points can be resolved with these products. And before you know it, they’re invested in your brand!

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3.  Have a Relatable Story

As we mentioned earlier, your video should focus on customers’ pain points that your products can resolve but don’t let that fool you into thinking you need to give viewers a list of said pain points. What you do need is a relatable story that the clients can easily identify with. Relatability through stellar video storytelling is what will enhance your overall video content marketing strategy.

When viewers identify with your video and experience those pain points in real life, they will automatically think of your brand as the solution, which is the ultimate goal. The emotional response triggered in the minds of viewers can have an incredibly significant ripple effect. Suppose you offer household cleaning supplies that make the average stay-at-home mom or dad’s cleaning day go by in a breeze. One SAH mom or dad might share this information with others, generating, even more leads for your brand and result in a higher ROI.

DON’T

4.  Ignore Mobile Users

Platforms such as YouTube reach more individuals on mobile devices during prime time than cable networks now do. Pretty incredible, isn’t it? Not thinking about this viewership while creating video content to market can have massive repercussions down the line. Even when people are home, they prefer viewing on their phones than TV because they can share it with a million others. Create videos that cater to all platforms and their aspect ratios. If you have created a video that simply cannot be viewed on mobile devices, whether phones or tablets, you are missing out on massive viewership.

Aim always to create videos that can be effortlessly viewed on smartphone and tablet screens so individuals can enjoy them on the go. This includes portrait, vertical or square videos. Another key factor to remember is that while these viewers watch videos on the go, they don’t necessarily watch it with sound, so they don’t end up disturbing those around them, such as on the bus. To fix this problem, your videos should be understandable without sound by way of enunciation, close captions, or text overlays. Through these fixes, your videos will generate a much higher viewership.

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5.  Branded Video Content

Storytelling can be difficult because while you cannot simply say “buy our products now,” you also cannot stray too far away from your brand’s ideals. Your videos should, at the end of the day, say something regarding your brand or company. Your brand has a unique style and signature, which could be anywhere from your slogans to your color schematics in a video that would make your videos stand out to the crowd. Take Coca Cola for example, and just how unique their ad videos are. The moment you see red on a bottle, with dew surrounding it, you know a Coke ad is on the way. Similarly, you need to use your brand accordingly in a marketing video to obtain surefire success.

When you are constructing a plan for your upcoming video, keep in mind the following:

·        Logo

·        Color palette

·        Typography

·        Overall attitude

The end goal of your video should be to generate effective leads and create a positive perception of your brand, whether it is professional, innovative, fresh, unique, or all of the above! Your videos need to scream this message, albeit in a more subtle way than that!

DON’T

6.  Waste the First Few Seconds of Your Video

I think we have told you plenty of times by now that people have a very short attention span. When an individual comes across a boring video, they don’t take long before switching to the next one, much like tapping away boring Instagram stories. It is just what you do! Statistics show that most people will get tired and move on to the next video within the first 10 seconds of watching, which means you absolutely have to make the first 10 seconds the most interesting in a video. The video engagement levels fall significantly after the first few seconds of a video. Waste another 20 seconds, and you will lose 33% more viewership. Waste one minute, and you’ll lose almost 45% of all viewers.

For the sake of this guide, we will focus on the first 10 seconds that can make or break the success of your video. Aim to start your video in the most exciting manner possible. The way to do that is to think hard about what the audience gains from viewing said video while keeping in mind that these are very short attention span holding viewers indeed. Suppose you are offering a promo code of 40% off on your services or product…. You can start your video off by mentioning that if viewers follow through till the very end, they will gain access to a promo code with a massive discount for your brand. Or, what you can do is mention the specific pain point you are trying to target in the first 10 seconds.

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7.  Measure Video Metrics

The importance of measuring video metrics cannot be stressed enough! So, you are producing one video after another, how do you know if they are doing well or not? You may very well be throwing money down the drain with videos that aren’t successful at all. It is better to know sooner than later so you can cut your losses and reinvent your video-making and marketing strategy. You need to know exactly what your audience prefers so your strategy can be modified to suit those needs.

This applies to both organic videos and ads. You need to always check their performance so you have a general idea of where your investment is going. The number of engagement and views can help determine your strategies going forward. There are a few metrics you can keep an eye out for:

·        Average Video Watch Time

Being mindful of the average video watch time informs you of how long the viewers stayed on your video. Knowing this metric can help you figure out if your videos are too long or just right. It is possible that your first video or two might be a hit and a miss, but their goal should be to get this specific metric so your next video can be a total success.

·        Shares

Though people share videos through their desktops, they mostly do it through their mobile phones due to their portability. If you reach one person organically who shares your video with six of his friends, you ultimately reach seven people in total. These shares can help you figure out whether people are reacting positively or negatively to your videos, but either way, you are generating views that could ultimately turn into sales.

·        CTR (Click Through Rate)

This metric helps you understand how many people clicked on your video once it caught their attention. With the help of this statistic, you will be able to determine if your video titles and thumbnails are catchy enough for your viewers. If they are not, you can amend that in your next video and perhaps hire a different designer to create more effective thumbnails for your videos.

·        Audience

There are social platforms that gather information about viewers such as their names, ages, locations, and genders which could help you determine how many of your target audiences you are reaching with your videos. However, it could also help you determine if your targeted demographic is wrong and perhaps should either be younger or older. Remember, it is never too late to reinvent your video content marketing strategy.

Final Words

Video marketing is on the rise and is proving its effectiveness more and more every day. It isn’t too hard to see why as they absolutely captivate their audiences’ attention spans, which continues to shorten with every passing day. They need content that can compel and convince them that your brand is the solution to all their pain points.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for creating effective videos that generate traction for your brand. This is why a lot of these strategies will have to be based on trial-and-error so you can determine which works best for you and what you stand for. Try to pique the viewers’ attention by creating bold and out-of-the-box content that they don’t normally expect to see on sites like YouTube or your own website. The more you stand out, the better your chances are.

Think of this guide as a checklist for your upcoming videos to know exactly which metrics contribute to your overall ROI relating to the videos you produce. These dos and don’ts are definitely a good way to start in order to stand taller than your competition in the market. So, do you know what your next video is going to be?