Our Nottingham video production team has had several clients come to us in the past doubting the value of video. Often, this is after experiencing a disastrous video production project in the past. Not one where we’ve been involved obviously! Actually, we can’t think of any client we’ve worked with that hasn’t returned to us for more projects after their initial video, so we must be doing something right!
So while video can be extremely beneficial for your business, a successful project clearly isn’t always easy to pull off. Especially without the proper experience and know-how that an award winning corporate video production company like us has.
Here are some of the most common reasons why corporate videos fail, as well as tips on how you can avoid these issues. Consider this your video production for dummies tutorial!
no clear objective
This is a common pitfall that affects many businesses striking out on a corporate video project for the very first time.
Why are you doing it? Is it just to say you have a video? Are you trying to copy your competitors?
In the era of YouTube, businesses of all shapes and sizes are clued up to the value and usefulness of online video as a marketing tool. But they fail to properly grasp the necessary planning and preparation that’s required for successful video production.
Every video needs to provide your audience with a clear message and a call to action.
Without these, there really is no true purpose for your video, and it is highly unlikely that it will generate sales or leads.
A call to action doesn’t have to be complicated either, far from it! It could be one of many things:
- Make a sale
- Subscribe to a mailing list
- Pick up the phone
- Send an enquiry through a website
- Make a donation
- Follow on social media
- Make an online booking/reservation
- Use a voucher code
Make sure you’ve thought about it. A single, simple and clear call to action should be present in every video, especially sales videos.
They can be used throughout but are most effective at the end of a video so people know what to do when they’ve finished watching.
Consider indirect call to actions as well. These subtly guide the viewer towards what to do rather than overtly expressing it.
Take a look at this short video we did for npower and see how many direct and indirect CTA’s you can spot!
A simple, clear & concise call to action should be present in every #corporatevideo. #fact
— Boxset Media (@boxsetmedia) May 8, 2017
the video production doesn't relate to the target audience
Another common problem is when a video project fails to connect with its target audience.
There’s so much to consider when starting a video marketing project that if our script writers have no guidance on the target audience you’re aiming for, it makes our job very tricky!
Your audience can be as broad or niche as you like, of any age and background, working in any industry with differing education background. But it needs to be made clear. This is because the visual language and narrative tone of a video is massively impacted by the target audience.
For example, the level of jargon used in a script will depend on how educated the audience is on the subject matter. Or the age of the audience will impact the rhythm and style of the editing, those sorts of things.
At Boxset Media, a lot of our work in corporate video is for internal communications projects. Which means we can’t show them off publicly, sorry! This means that the target audience for projects like those are totally different to external videos like sales videos or promotional videos.
As an example, an audience for internal communications videos will have a clear understanding of the subject matter and have more patience to take in the messaging.
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Whereas a sales video audience may not have any understanding of the product or service at all, let alone be interested!
So the styles of both videos need to be different to adapt to the target audience. So an internal comms video might be allowed to use snippets of jargon where relevant, and a sales video needs to have simpler language and kept as concise as possible.
Our video production for dummies recommendation: make sure you really know your audience before doing a video. If a video uses too much jargon and is too complex it likely won’t connect with your audience — and they won’t respond to your call to action.
No Video Marketing Distribution in Place
The third common pitfall occurs when nothing is done to distribute a video after it has been produced. This was much more common in the early days of social media.
Businesses were either uncertain of what their social media / video marketing strategy was or probably just couldn’t remember their YouTube password!
I’d hate to think how many videos we’d worked on in those early years that ended up sat on client’s desktops. Always after their insistence on dealing with the marketing side and then promptly forgetting to do anything with their video!
At least with YouTube being a drag-and-drop broadcasting platform, getting any video online or embedded onto a home page is simpler than it’s ever been.
Having said that, it’s highly unlikely that a video will deliver the results you need if it is simply left on your website without any promotion.
Our video production for dummies recommendation: make sure you really know your audience before doing a video. If a video uses too much jargon and is too complex it likely won’t connect with your audience — and they won’t respond to your call to action.
Ultimately, don’t let a bad past experience with video put you off from this valuable marketing method. Corporate video can actually be one of the most beneficial marketing tools for your business, as long as you avoid these common mistakes.
By doing your video project right, we can help you get the most from your video project. Email studio@boxsetmedia.co.uk to discuss your next project!
