Video marketing goes more viral with each day and it is not for nothing. Put simply, it represents yet another popular strategy that marketers apply after creating high-quality written content. Moreover, this method of spreading a word or two about your service or product is much more engaging in contrast to tediously reading piles of articles. But myths surrounding video marketing to this day confound the average video marketer. This article will help clear up fact from fiction.
If you can remember back to the days of good old-fashioned content marketing, you might remember a number of myths revolving around this article-based marketing strategy, like the absolute perfect length or the optimal time to post an article. The truth of the matter is that video marketing is clouded with a number of myths as well. Yeah, and some of them are ridiculous, but others bear watching. In this article, I’m going to introduce you 9 the most notorious video marketing myths leading up to 2017.
Let’s begin.
1. Video Marketing Is Too Expensive
This myth is more a source for reflection than an actual problem. You can certainly spend a great deal of money creating video material by purchasing specialized software or hiring some professional video editor. However, taking into consideration the fact that almost everyone uses multifunctional smartphones today, there are no longer any problems with shooting a high-quality video material for virtually no cost. There are a just few considerations to make as you prepare – background and lighting.
You, as a marketer, must always focus on the information you want to introduce in your video. Moreover, if the information demands to be heeded, all additional visual effects will deflect user’s attention away from the content. Let’s, for example, have a look how Rand Fishkin from Moz introduces his “Whiteboard Friday” videos:
Image via Minutely
As you can see, there are no super cool visual effects – simply, a white board as a background and Rand sharing his SEO ideas.
Summing up, if you have a budget to spend on expensive video material, please, go ahead. But don’t be reckless! Better to focus on the information you want to share. The rest can be done by your imagination and your smartphone’s camera.
2. Is a Short Video Better Than a Long One?
I won’t give you a quick “YES” to this question because the length of the video depends on the type of content you want to introduce. First things first – marketing videos are completely different from purely entertainment-based videos. This means the style must be determined by the information you are going to share in each particular video.
Yes, there is a misconception that a long video tends to “kill” users’ attention and it is in some sense. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter whether your video is long or short, the most important aspects are the audience’s expectation of your content and the level of quality within. By the way, speaking the attention span of viewers watching videos, I would like to mention one important facet: According to YouTube recommendations, the critical part of any video is its first 15 seconds. If you don’t catch the viewers’ attention in this small window of time, there is little if any chance your video will be viewed.
Image via Videotime
Despite the fact that any marketing video must have an educational aspect, it is not forbidden to add some creativity to it. Visual innovations will make your video interesting to watch – that means your users will watch the full material till the end.
In conclusion, try to stick to the golden mean in terms of video length. Both short and long form videos have their place, depending on the type of content and the expectation within the niche. Marketing video reminds me of a piece of candy, which must have both a bright wrapper and a sweet taste to hold attention.
3. YouTube Is a Sacred Place For Videos
YouTube is the platform with approximately 4 billion video views every day by 1 billion users and these metrics seem to grow with every year. Sure, you are not surprised with the fact that YouTube is a home for most every video from around the world (and I bet you spend a good deal of your spare time watching some funny or entertaining videos there).
Unfortunately, it is not always the best platform, especially, if you are a marketer. Let me explain why. If we put an inquiry “internet marketing” on YouTube, we will quickly be flooded with loads of results published by various professionals and newbies marketers alike:
It means your video might be placed on 10th or 20th page, while in reality, nobody skips further than first three pages.
Yes, YouTube contains lots of videos on different topics, but the major source of high video views belongs to the entertainment niche. Sad but true. Likely, there are a number of platforms that go in contrast with YouTube, such as Vidyard, Vimeo, Wistia, etc. These very resources are primarily for businesses and not solely for entertainment.
So don’t focus on YouTube primarily; use those additional platforms that are related to business and marketing.
4. It’s All About the Amount of Views Your Video Material Gets
The truth is that the increasing the number of views makes your video more popular when uploaded to YouTube. For you, as a marketer and a business person, these views mean nothing. Your primary goal is to attract users to your website in order to turn them into your customers. Instead of focusing on the number of views, pay your attention to users’ behavior after watching the video.
If the video is discussed avidly in the comment section or it has lots of likes, you have succeeded. It gives you a higher probability for viewers clicking the link that leads to your website and, perhaps, on their path to buying your product or service.
So, while the number of views appears to be important, in reality, theyare not as important as other types of engagement.
5. Video Must Be Brilliant
Everyone enjoys a good movie, and sometimes we start to believe our marketing videos need to look as good as what Hollywood is putting out; you want the same dynamic graphics, edgy music, and cool imagery. We unrealistically expect our marketing videos to be of the same quality, and the same professional look and sound.
Image via Wikimedia
Yeah, if you have a high-level budget, you can go ahead and produce videos costing several thousand dollars. Moreover, if you represent some well-known company in a particular niche and manage to save them a little money on their first-rate videos, these customers will realize that your main purpose is not to earn money but to do whatever it takes to win their loyalty.
However, if you work for a small business and you don’t have the financial resources to produce mind-boggling videos, please, don’t worry! Your secret weapon must be the content, give them solid gold information that’s relevant to your target audience. Furthermore, everyone can use a good smartphone to shoot a good quality video. And working with free video editor tools allows you to improve until you have quality video material.
Thus, don’t bother with trying to create a blockbuster.
6. Video Improves Search Engine Results for Your Website
Unfortunately, it is no longer the truth. Since YouTube rules the video world, it is not necessary to put any videos on your website. Videos on your website might bring some value in terms of diversity of material for users but is not the best source for getting your website ranked better.
Image via Weebly
It is going be more resultative for you to run a channel on YouTube. It allows you to customize your video set in different directions – video tutorials, case studies, etc. Here how Moz does it:
Following this strategy, you will get an exposure for your brand, get new customer, and improve your website’s rank on Google.
7. Videos Must Go Viral
It goes without saying that getting your videos to go viral a video marketing dream. Nevertheless, it is not easy to achieve, especially in terms of your niche.
If you consider the main video platform, YouTube, you know that your videos could get tons of views by some random users, who are irrelevant to your niche. Yes, this will make your video goes viral, but it doesn’t mean you’ll expand your client database.
Remember one important thing – you must always create content for your target audience. This way will help you get those people you aim to reach.
8. Nobody Wants to Watch Your Videos
Of course, if you believe no one watches your videos, it will be so. It is all about time and convenience, because busy people would rather spend 5 minutes watching an informative video instead of reading a huge detailed article.
Just think of it – YouTube is the second largest search platform after Google, so it makes perfect sense to upload videos there. If you introduce quality content, it will be in-demand. Maybe, your videos won’t get a huge amount of views from the start, but you will obviously get recognition over the long term. You, as a marketer, must not give up on videos because they’re not getting the attention and conversion numbers you want. Improve your video strategy over time and watch your viewership grow.
9. It Is Just for Lead Generation
Those marketers who see a video as only a tool for lead generation don’t understand that video marketing has expansive opportunities. First and foremost, it has an educational aspect. With the help of videos, you can teach newbie marketers various marketing strategies, tactics, and tips. Secondly, lots of marketing schools use such videos in their own course of study, so you might gain your popularity as a talented marketer academically. In fact, a great way to improve your video marketing strategy is to watch and study the videos of your competitors.
Use your videos as the way to build business relationships with your target audience. Try to give answers to the questions that might be interesting to your users. Assuage any doubts about your service by giving them information they need, and prove credibility in your niche.
We now know that lead generation is not a foremost goal for video marketing, it is simply one element of it.
Conclusion
By taking all these myths into consideration, and dispelling these notions, you can be sure to view your video marketing development in a new light. Video marketing is a lucrative endeavor for any business, so don’t let these myths hold you back!
If you have some other myths that must be dispelled, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. Be social, don’t forget to share it:)
SIDENOTE: if you are interested in actionable SEO tips, you should check out this noob friendly guide.
Author Bio:
Sergey Aliokhin is an Outreach manager at Ahrefs. He spends most of the time discovering and learning SEO and Internet Marketing tendencies. His primary goal is to study and practice new aspects of an outreach strategy. In his spare time, he likes to spend his time with family, visit specialized sports club, study martial arts. If he has nothing to do at all, he prefers reading books on science-fiction and playing the bass guitar.
