Videos are extremely powerful in the digital marketing world. They provide high-engagement experiences to viewers and allow for far more follow-up than simpler content such as text and graphics. Furthermore, with increasingly more accessible and easy to use tools becoming available, this powerful medium can be leveraged even by the smallest of businesses.

However, this results in there being a lot of competition for viewers’ attentions online. As such, every business that wants to compete effectively in the internet video space is going to need to know what to do, and perhaps even more importantly, what mistakes to avoid.

Probably the most important thing to remember with digital video marketing is that, like any other form of content marketing, having a cohesive strategy is essential. Simply creating one video, or even several videos sporadically, will not cut it in this space. Your approach should be to have video that engages customers at every stage in the buying process.

Fortunately, figuring out what content to produce is easier than you may think. Consider the sales materials that you are currently giving to prospective clients – these can be remade in video format. Similarly, you can answer common questions that you customers have by creating videos. Release videos regularly and deliberately in order to present information that will help convince more prospects to buy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Unfortunately, there are many common mistakes that marketers make when creating video content, especially those who are new to the process. While avoiding these will not guarantee a successful video, it will certainly improve the odds.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Unfortunately, there are many common mistakes that marketers make when creating video content, especially those who are new to the process. While avoiding these will not guarantee a successful video, it will certainly improve the odds.

• Overly Complex Videos: Often with video content, simplicity is the best policy. Viewers should be able to easily understand the point you are trying to get across. Try showing your video to a number of people who you can trust to give honest feedback before you release it.
• No Call to Action: Video is extremely effective at engaging and audience. Don’t miss out on the opportunity by calling viewers to take some sort of action. For example, give them a way to buy the product you are promoting, or ask them to share the video with friends.
• No or Bad Measurement: It is pretty unlikely that every video you produce will be great. Make sure you are using solid metrics to understand what is successful and what isn’t. Don’t just look at view count; for example, consider shares, and the sales increases for relevant items.
• Videos Like Commercials: Typically the most successful videos fit closer with blog content than with videos. Use them as a way to interact with your audience and sharing interest, compelling information with them, rather than as a pure advertisement.
• Poorly Integrated Branding: Your video content is only beneficial if viewers connect it with you brand. Be sure to integrate your branding sufficiently into every video. Of course, be sure not to over-do this either.

Best Practices for Video

Now that you know what you avoid, you may be wondering what you should be doing. Here are a few best practices.

• • Be Purposeful: Every video you produce should have a point to it. Ensure that the video relates entirely to that purpose. If you want to promote a specific product, don’t include information on unrelated products as well.
  • Know Your Audience: A general good practice in marketing, be sure that you understand who your audience is, what they want, and why they will be interested in your content. Use this to tweak your message for maximum impact.
  • Keep it Short: Finally, don’t create long videos unless you have to. The best videos are only a few minutes or less and immediately get to the point. If you fail to do this, you will likely lose your audience’s attention.

Following these best practices and avoiding these common mistakes will help to ensure that your videos are successful. Of course, make sure that you are also building all of your video content in accordance with a cohesive marketing strategy.