How to get it really wrong with video for your business…

Business Videos – What not to

It’s now an undisputed fact that video should be an integral part of every businesses marketing and communications mix; because it works, customers are used to consuming messages through it and they expect it – whether they are potential customers, new customers, old customers or staff and stakeholders, its not novel anymore, it’s normal! However the difficulty is that the ‘normality’ status video now has also means that companies feel that it is easy to produce video and “hey lets give our amazing young social media whizz who knows everything about computers the job of creating our videos”. Of course we all know that is not going to necessarily result in a successful end result with video content for your business.

If you are currently using video, about to be using video or considering using video here are 10 ways that you can get it really wrong………

1/ Don’t have a clear goal: It’s incredible how many businesses say “I want a video” but have no idea why they want it or what they want it to achieve. Like anything, you can’t get a result or a return on investment unless you have a clear objective and know why you are doing it.

2/ Have too many goals: Don’t try to cram all your messages into one piece of video – break it down, chunk it up, create a greater number of short videos rather than one long video that tries to cover all bases. Your video has failed if your audience is confused, unclear or worse switches off or falls asleep because it is too long, too complicated and there are too many messages.

3/ Involve everyone: Just because you are shooting some video doesn’t mean everyone has to be in it! And remember some people might be best left out – they might be fantastic in the boardroom and on tasks but not everyone can communicate in a way that engages on camera! And what you really don’t want are 10 people all repeating the same messages just so they can all be represented on the video. Think of it from your audiences point of view – is that what they need? It’s always about the audience – not you!

4/ Don’t consider your audience: Not thinking about who your audience is and why they are watching this is the most fundamental thing you can get wrong – in all your marketing communications actually, not just video!

5/ Go on about how amazing you are: Of course you know how great you and your products are but what does the audience actually need to know? The key thing is always to think ‘it’s not about what you want to tell them its about what they want to know’ And usually they don’t care how long you have been in business and how many bricks it took to build your new factory.

6/ Tooooooo Long……….: You might think its important to get everything across but less is more – better that someone watches the whole thing and wants to know more than turns off half way through.

7/ Going for the cheapest: If you are just emailing companies who claim they can do video, ask for quotes on email and then go with the cheapest you deserve what you get! Video production really is an area where you get what you paid for! A bad video is not only potentially damaging to your brand and image, if the video is critical you risk ending up having it re-done anyway spending twice as much or more in the long run plus a load of hassle. With a good quality company the price will be fair but won’t be the cheapest and will not only reflect the end quality of the video but will make it an easy, informed and enjoyable process for all involved; not giving you headaches and hassles!

8/ Devalue expertise: You can just do it in-house! Rob from marketing is into that iMovie stuff…and he’s not that busy doing his actual job. In these situations, if it actually ever gets finished, it will often be a headache and nightmare and the end result will rarely look like a professional job that you paid money for (although you have still paid for it, through Rob’s time and salary!) Experienced video makers are trained professionals just like you are.

9/ Forget about being proactive with your video once it’s done: Just stick in on You Tube. After your mum sees it, it’ll probably get found among the 100 zillion truly amazing videos posted every nano-second! Don’t waste the opportunity that social media gives you to engage people in your content and get it out there and seen. But it can’t just be posted once, because people will miss it, get it out there again and again.

10/ Assume your audience will know about the call-to-action: Of course once they are wowed by your amazing video they will immediately know what to do, how to order / find out more even if you don’t tell them! Make it easy for them and remind them at the end.
The best way to avoid all of these blunders is to speak to an experienced, reputable provider – remember Red Adair said: ‘If you think a professional is expensive, wait ’til you try an amateur.’