Mistakes. We all make them. A wise person once said that it’s not how we make mistakes, but how we correct them that defines us. And as long as you belong to that 81% who uses video marketing, you’re on the right track. Nevertheless, we’ll admit that creating videos isn’t a piece of cake. It takes persistence, knowledge, research, and a lot of creativity. Marketers can possess all of this, but they can still make some of the most common video mistakes in the industry.
Frequently, marketers release videos that fall short of the company’s expectations. They don’t engage their audience or prompt them to take some action. If you’re on the sidelines, you might be wondering, how does this even happen? Well, we’ll be honest with you, there’s no secret or magic trick for producing a successful brand video. Something like that simply doesn’t exist.
But, we can open your eyes to some common mistakes people make with videos. That will steer you in the right direction and help you reach the good decisions.
So, read on to find out the video creation errors you should avoid to make the videos your brand needs and deserves!
Most Common Video Mistakes During Pre-Production
Before you start filming a marketing video, you should prepare for it in advance. Our advice is to ask yourself:
- What is the objective of the video?
- Will we post the video on a social media network, a video platform, or a website?
- What is the best video type to get your message across?
If you consider this, you might avoid the most common video mistakes. To help you, we’ve listed some mistakes which appear during the pre-production stage.
Scriptless? Think Again!
Here’s one fun fact. While they were making Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere would often run out of lines to say. The director Garry Marshall would pause the shooting until he had written some new dialogue. But, when he didn’t come up with anything, he would just yell: “Be funny! Action.” However, video marketing is no Hollywood movie. Spontaneity and improvisation might get you far in Tinseltown, but they aren’t the winning combination in the marketing world.
Obviously, one of the most common video mistakes you should avoid is not using a formal script. Don’t let screenwriting scare you — it’s no rocket science. In fact, it’s quite helpful. By writing down your thoughts on paper (okay, on a computer or laptop), you can think up more ideas and form a cohesive story.
Don’t forget to show your script to other team members to get their take. While you’re at it, read the lines out loud before you create a video. You’ll then see whether some sentences sound unnatural and decide how to make them more casual.
Set the Right Tone
You can’t develop the concept for your video without having all necessary information. Just imagine a president making a crucial decision for their country without a proper understanding of the issue. That just won’t do. Although video creation isn’t a life-or-death situation, you should still take it as seriously as possible. What does this mean?
For starters, it means that you need to know what product or service the video will promote. With this information, you’re basically one step closer to coming up with the concept. But this isn’t enough. You also need to consider your brand values and decide how that product/service aligns with them. After this, your head will swarm with creative ideas! As you can see, both of these most common video mistakes can be easily avoided.
For instance, if you’re promoting an entertainment news website, the video should align with the fun aspect of your brand. You don’t want to set a solemn tone because this won’t be the actual representation of the brand. Trust us, your viewers will be left confused if the video doesn’t reflect the style of your brand.
Your Audience Will Care… If You Give Them a Reason
Another mistake to avoid is believing that your audience will love your video just because your friends and family do. Having a good support system is important, but your brand’s audience won’t instantly love your video just because you’ve released it. Remember this: Your audience will care about your video content only if they find it useful or entertaining.
They want something useful? Then, create a video that mentions how your product can solve their problems or what kind of benefits it provides. But, they also want to be entertained? Sure, you’ll satisfy this need as well (don’t forget that our average attention span is only eight seconds). There are many ways you can entertain your viewers while also promoting your brand’s message. Just think about how you can hook your potential customers and encourage them to keep watching. This is how you won’t make one of the most common video mistakes in the industry.
What’s more, you’ll create the best video if you try to take a walk in your customers shoes. So, ask yourself the following: Would this video be interesting to me if I weren’t already familiar with my brand? The answer can teach you what approach to take so you can leave a good first impression.
Tell a Story, Don’t Go Off On a Tangent
Video is one of the most engaging and versatile types of content out there. It has such a power over people that 55% of them watch it every day. Marketers adore this content type because it allows them to tell stories about their products or services while getting the message they want across.
This is why you shouldn’t go off on a tangent in any video you make. Choose one story or example you want to feature and base your video on it. The viewers will be more interested in a video if it relates a story or gives an example. Not only that, but they will also follow and understand the content without any problems.
Furthermore, experts agree that customer testimonials are one of the best ways to tell stories. And we actually agree with them. If you ask the right questions, you can emphasize the ways your product or service has helped those customers. In turn, your prospects will hear how your product/service can solve their issues, too. In addition to this, customer testimonials make your brand more credible. After all, people don’t trust brands — they trust customers just like themselves.
Get Creative, Stat!
Regardless of what your business has to offer to consumers, video is the best way to get them to pay attention! Video is also effective when you’re answering customer’s questions or sparking their interest. Yet, companies are still afraid to shake things up and make funny video content. Yes, lack of creativity is also one of the most common video mistakes today.
Let’s say that you want to announce a new product. The only concept you have is the following: During the video, someone will provide a hands-on how-to and talk for three minutes straight. However, you can make this entertaining as well! You and your team just need to think outside the box. For instance, you can record a catchy jingle that highlights the product’s features. This will surely catch the attention of your customers more than a text-based content.
As you can see, creating video content doesn’t need to be boring. Just try to do something out of the ordinary that’ll make your video more interesting and memorable.
Most Common Video Mistakes During Production
Okay, now that you’ve chosen the purpose and tone of your video, it’s time to start making it! Here are the most common video mistakes that appear during production.
Bad Lighting
Is your lighting poor and low? If yes, this won’t look good on screen. But, no worries — you don’t need professional equipment to have great lightning. You just need to critically analyze your shot and decide which areas need additional lightning. Take a look at the camera once again and determine whether that supplement lighting improved the shot or not.
Poor Sound Quality
Apart from lightning, you also need to think about audio. If you ask us, audio is one of the most important aspects of videos. It can make or break your production. Not only that, but it also influences the way your viewers experience the video. Namely, if they can’t understand your message, then you won’t boost engagement and raise brand awareness. Consider the following when recording sound:
- The setting you’re recording in
- What kind of microphone you are using
- How far that microphone is from the person who’s speaking
Where’s Your Call-to-Action?
You take a look at your video and determine it’s up to your standard. Once you release it, the views start pouring in. However, for some reason, you’re not driving as many conversions as you were expecting. Did you forget to add a call-to-action? If you did, some say this is the biggest mistake you can make. How will your audience know what to do if you don’t tell them?
You can drop a hint by adding a call-to-action to your script or in post-production. If you’re using an online video platform like TargetVideo, you can monitor the performance of your video and see how many people are taking your desired action.
Avoid Most Common Video Mistakes
We hope that after our article on most common video mistakes you’ll feel more confident about video creation. As you’ll see, video provides you with a lot of opportunities to capture customer’s attention with educational, engaging, and entertaining content.
Recording a great video content can ensure that your audience’s first exposure to your service or product is equal parts memorable and positive. However, if the video doesn’t deliver on some level, then you can have the opposite effect. Therefore, make sure that you avoid these most common mistakes and produce a video your audience expects!
