4 Reasons Why Your Business Videos Aren’t Winning You Any Emmys Right Now
You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times – video is the future of marketing. In fact, with nine out of ten consumers wanting to see more videos from their favorite brands, you really can’t please everyone these days if you don’t at least put some effort into perfecting this focus.
Unfortunately for many businesses, video marketing can not only get pricey, but it can also fail to reap results when in-house teams are largely winging this relatively new form of content. This is bad news, not only because it can limit lead-creating opportunities, but also because it can send the wrong message to the consumers that you do have.
That’s obviously bad news, and improvements are dependent on your ability to overcome the following challenges that are keeping your video content from being Speilberg-quality right now.
You’re streaming on the wrong platforms
If you’re entirely new to video content, it can be tricky to know where you should be uploading. This can lead to the first and perhaps most fatal mistake of video engagement overall – uploading on the wrong streaming platform. To avoid that, it’s vital to remember that, for modern audiences, getting smart with video uploads most often means getting social. As well as being entirely free to use, YouTube is by far the most widely used video platform of the moment (used by around 73% of adults), while even platforms like TikTok and Instagram are becoming increasingly popular for shareable short-form videos. Uploading here especially brings the benefits of hashtags and keywords on a platform that even non-versed consumers are using, providing organic benefits that you’re unlikely to feel from business-only uploads on a website that no one’s visiting.
The problem with poor quality
The growing scope of the video content market means that, quite often, the views you receive will be dependent on blind clicks off the back of relevant searches. This is great news, but it also means that there’s likely a whole other list of videos waiting to take over if yours isn’t up to the challenge. Hence, fuzzy audio or unclear visuals are likely to see consumers clicking off in seconds in place of another video that provides everything they need. Success here therefore also depends on your ability to provide quality with every upload. Outsourcing video management is perhaps the most obvious way to get this right, providing accessible high-end equipment without the hefty price tag. Equally, perfecting in-house training focuses with video in mind could see your marketing team pulling this out of the bag using even modestly-priced camera equipment and microphones.
Staged finishes
Personality has been a content crucial for years at this point, but many companies forget that when it comes to scripted and stiff video content. As well as being unengaging, this kind of video entirely leaves personal connection off the cards. By comparison, more naturalistic video content that’s taken out and about either on the business floor or during specific events, etc. can provide a far more candid, and convincing, finish overall. For event content, especially, removing bulky cameras with on-the-day iPhone rental or similar can help to provide an up-close peek into who you really are, without even requiring as much legwork as the staged videos that you’re putting out there right now. Obviously, there are going to be times when you want to get specific about stats, product performance, and more. But, at least breaking this more boring content up with a few exciting uploads of office montages, etc. can help to spice up your video content life a little.
Length is letting you down
A general market leaning towards long-form content, and YouTube algorithms that seem to favor videos 30+ minutes long, can make it seem like lengthy is best on the video circuit. Unfortunately, with roughly two-thirds of consumers preferring video content that’s under a minute long, this belief has absolutely no grounding. As such, you should aim to keep videos concise, snappy, and practical, enabling the highest possible value in the shortest time so that, even if they don’t watch the whole thing, consumers are left with enough of an impression to come back to you later on.
Video might seem like one content too many when you’re still trying to get your head around blog posts and social media uploads, but the market is moving, and it’s moving onto the big screen. Make sure you put your best foot forward so that your company can be the one to walk away with that Oscar!