Videos are one the most effective way to communicate to your potential buyers and even investors if you are trying to raise money via online crowdfuding sites like KickStarter. If you’re not using online video content to draw in traffic and new customers for your small business, then you are missing out in a big way, says marketing experts. Studies show that video is a major component with global customers watching a lot of online content.
Video is all about show and tell. It’s also about providing added value. So, say you run a restaurant you might provide video content offering cooking tips on an item from your menu. Online video content is an opportunity to put a human face on your brand.
But as much as we want to believe we know how to make an exceptional marketing video, there are many things video-makers do that take away from their projects, notes Stanley Meytin, founder and Creative Director at True Film Production, a New York City-based video production company that creates videos for businesses and brands all over the world. Known for his creative visual storytelling, brand building and digital marketing expertise, Meytin has helped many businesses establish their company image and transform into iconic brands.
The following reasons are why he believes many business videos aren’t up to par. Here’s how you can avoid these mistakes to improve the quality of your video as a marketing tool.
It’s too long. Give viewers all the information you can, but there is a point where that amount of information begins to bore viewers instead of intrigue them. Expect the best response from your viewers when you keep your videos less than two minutes. It’s been proven that you only have about 10 seconds to get the attention of your audience and that after a minute has passed, 45% of people leave. So keep it short and to the point.
There are too many features and not enough benefits. As awesome as your product’s features may be, customers really just want to know what’s in it for them. Talking solely about features throughout your video can do more harm than good. So instead, use that time to show how these features will make the customer’s life better or easier.
There’s too much story. You’ve created the product and know everything about it, so, obviously you’re going to want to let your customers in on all of it. However, this can easily backfire. Give your customers a taste; if you show the customer everything, what would be the point in them getting the product themselves? Think of your video as a trailer; you want to persuade viewers to see the whole film, not just give it away.
The script is boring. In order to have a great video, you need an interesting story to tell. Without it, your viewers are way more likely to get bored and drop out. A great story requires a beginning, middle, and an end. The beginning of your video should incorporate the problems that your product will solve; the middle should show the solution to these problems; and the end should tell your viewers how you use your product to solve the problem and how they can get it.