Most people do not know how to use a video to market to consumers, but they should!
Video is shared more than any other type of online content. It’s the most efficient way to spread a message and it’s an effective way to make consumers feel more confident about buying a product or service.
Unfortunately, only a small percentage of small businesses are taking advantage of this powerful marketing tool, and an even smaller percentage are using this powerful tool correctly. Pee-yew.
Here are 8 reasons why your video marketing strategy stinks:
1. You don’t ask for input
Many businesses release videos with a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not their target audience will like their content. There are two ways this can be avoided. First, before even creating the video, ask customers what they would find useful. Second, once the video is made, send out a secure version to a test audience. A pre-release will tell you if the initial concept and the desired action is clear.
2. You don’t use the first few seconds wisely
Get to the meat of the message quickly. Attention span data says you have about eight seconds to capture your audience before they leave. If the video aims to entertain, grab the attention of viewers by jumping right into the action. If the video is informational, make the first line of the video super specific. You’ll lose the portion of the audience that doesn’t care and you’ll be left with those in your target market you can actually persuade. Keep the entire video between 90-120 seconds.
3. You give a sales pitch
You focus on selling when you should be educating, entertaining, and inspiring. A tennis club, for example, could make a video on how to hit a faster tennis serve. Before creating a video, think of what the online community will be interested in. Making a video that is compelling to a niche audience will result in great organic growth.
4. You don’t personalize the content
The best way to deliver compelling digital experiences is to understand what your audience wants and then personalize the content they receive at exactly the right time. To do this, consolidate video viewership data within a marketing automation platform. You will be able to see patterns in people’s viewing history and send automated, targeted emails to leads based on the content they watch.
5. You put all your eggs in one basket
Yes, video is a fabulous medium. But it doesn’t mean you should go for broke by investing your entire budget in a single high-production video and hoping it becomes a breakout success that drives millions of dollars in sales. Videos are meant to be part of a wider content marketing campaign meant to generate ongoing, sustainable outcomes.
6. You only post once
Similar to the above point, don’t focus on creating one blockbuster hit. Instead, look for video concepts that work as a series to keep viewers coming back. Regularly update video content so there is always something new to discover. Consistency is the key to any marketing effort, especially when it comes to video.
7. You don’t optimize for SEO
Start by uploading the video to YouTube. It’s the most popular video site, and since Google owns YouTube, the search engine giant give a lot of authority to YouTube videos in their organic search results. Create an engaging title that uses keywords. Also include these keywords throughout the video, in the description, and keyword tags. Additionally, YouTube allows you to upload transcripts of all your videos, which also helps SEO. Finally, to get referral traffic, include a link to your website in the video description.
8. You don’t have a process
You post videos whenever you feel like it when, instead, you should create a video process. Carefully construct content based on a schedule and use analytics to understand what’s working (or better yet, what’s not working) so you can ultimately modify your upcoming content to perform better.
Follow these tips and your marketing video will smell better in no time.
