When I first began creating videos to market my business I could have reduced the learning curve if I had known what mistakes to avoid. By reading about the top 10 mistakes I made during my first year of video marketing you’ll get a better understanding how to create better videos. Keep in mind your videos will only get better as you practice.
Top 10 Video Marketing Mistakes How To Correct Them
1. Shaky shots
I created my first few videos while running around the local lake. Even though the background scenery in the videos looked great they were a little shaky which made them difficult to watch. Use a tripod to hold the camera steady or for action shots or use a camera that has stability controls.
2. Long videos
Most people only have the patience to watch a maximum of 3 minutes however less than that is even better. If you can’t record all you want to say within a few minutes create a series of short videos under 3 minutes.
3. Boring videos
No one wants to watch a person just talking about him or her self throughout the video. Break up the monotony of your videos by adding music, images, text and most importantly provide high quality content your viewers love.
4. Insufficient lighting
For one year I used standing lamps in my office to illuminate a light green back wall. Even though it worked for a while the feedback I received from others was that the video background looked a little washed out so I decided to invest in a 3-point lighting kit. As a result the quality of my videos drastically improved as I was able to create an Apple White Background that makes the subject stand out.
5. Lack of quality sound
I used the built in microphone of my iPhone or Laptop for in first series of videos I created. It wasn’t until I received feedback from others who said the sound was hollow and tinny that I decided to invest in an external microphone. For the iPhone I simply used the external mic built into the head phones. It allows you to start and stop your video without running behind the camera between each clip.
For my laptop I purchased the Blue Snowball Microphone. It enables you to record studio quality sound for podcasts and screen recorders. Read my full review here
6. Create slide show videos only
Many marketers ONLY create slide show videos because they’re afraid to be on camera and are easier to make than talking head videos. Even though you can create very slick slide show presentations a talking head video allows you to connect with your audience in a more personal way. This is essential if you want to get your visitors to know, like and trust you.
7. Making your videos look too professional
You can hire professional video production companies to create movie style videos for your business. Even though they may wow your audience initially, in my view a short personal video showing you passionately talking about your product or service carries more weight and increases the trust factor.
8. Failing to optimize
Video marketing is a great method for generating free traffic if they are optimized for the search engines. Without learning to optimize your videos correctly you won’t expose your content to your targeted audience. Perhaps you and your friends will be the only ones that know about it.
Make sure you include your main keyword phrase in the video file name, title, description and tags. Improve your rankings by embedding your video on other websites, social media sites and getting links from related web properties.
9. Thinking ranking is everything
Even if you achieve top rankings in Google and/or YouTube if your videos don’t convert into leads or sales you’re wasting valuable time spinning your wheels. Track how many visitors your videos receive and how long people are watching them by logging into your YouTube Analytics account. Continually work to increase the quality of your videos and make sure they provide solutions to the problems of your viewers.
10. No clear call to action
Without directing people what to do and where to go at the end of your video you’ll keep losing visitors. To remedy this problem tell people in the video what steps they need to take next ( ie “click the link below this video”) then reinforce it by giving directions in a text box or providing a link within the video.
Watch Video Marketing Mistakes on YouTube
Before you create your next video review these 10 video marketing mistakes so you’ll not only attract more visitors but convert them into leads and sales.
Learn how to create and market your own professional videos by investing in a step-by-step video marketing course called Video Traffic Academy
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