For content marketers, video has rapidly evolved from something optional that's nice to have…
Into one of the most important forms of online media for brands to spread their message.
It's on par with text-based blogs, and just about every business can benefit immensely from creating awesome videos for their audience.
But as with any medium, not every piece of content is going to get any attention from its intended audience.
A lot of companies find that their first attempts at video content end up falling flat.
There are actually some pretty common reasons why this happens.
Whether the problem lies with the content itself — like a video that's too long or too boring and dry — or it's an issue of promotion and distribution, it's usually possible to pinpoint the underlying reason why your videos aren't getting the view counts you'd hoped for.
If no one's watching your videos, it's possible you might be making one of these seven common mistakes.
Why No One is Watching Your Videos
1) They’re too long.
It seems like we’re past the point of requiring evidence that supports the dwindling human attention span, but just in case — studies say it’s about eight seconds. On top of that, roughly two-thirds of consumers prefer video under one minute, so in sum: Keep it short.
2) You're going after the wrong audience.
When you set out to create a video marketing strategy, one of the most crucial things to consider is what your target audience wants to watch — current and prospective customers alike. Entertainment aside, what’s going to be helpful to them? What’s going to get their attention, make them glad that they let you borrow their brains, and answer the questions that brought them to your content in the first place?
3) You're using the wrong channel.
When people think of “video marketing,” often, the first thing that comes to mind is YouTube.
But YouTube isn’t the only place where videos are consumed — and it’s not the only place where you’ll find your target audience.
That’s why it’s helpful to figure out where the different segments of your target audience spend their time online, which can help dictate what kind of video you’re going to create and where it will be shared. The Pew Research Center’s annual Social Media Update is especially helpful for that, which breaks down who’s using what.
4) You're not promoting them on other channels.
Let’s say you create original content video on Facebook. Don’t just leave it there — because that limits its viewability.
“But doesn’t that go against what you just said about using the right channel?” On the surface, maybe. But here’s the thing — repurposing that Facebook video for other channels can help to drive both engagement and traffic.
5) The title is misleading.
Facebook, for example, announced in May that it would be taking measures to remove clickbait from users’ feeds.
In other words, while it might seem tempting like giving your video a click-worthy title, if it doesn’t actually describe your content, you’ll ultimately be punished for it.
And even if it doesn’t immediately get you removed from social media channels or lower your SERP ranking, it’ll tarnish your brand — once the user sees that you’re applying misleading titles to your videos, she’ll likely associate you with unauthentic content.
6) You're not optimizing it.
Giving your video an accurate, clear, and concise title is just one part of optimizing it.
Below, we describe some of the most important things to optimize on YouTube.
Description
This should be limited to 1,000 characters — and remember that your viewer came here to watch a video, not to read a lot of text.
Tags
Using tags doesn’t just let viewers know what your video is about — they inform YouTube, too, which uses tags “to understand the content and context of your video,” according to Backlinko.
Category
Choosing a category is another way to group your video with similar content on YouTube — but that might not be as simple as it sounds. YouTube's Creator Academy suggests that marketers “think about what is working well for each category” you're considering.
7) It doesn't make the viewer feel anything.
Emotions are what make people want to share something. It’s what makes watching video more of an experience than an occurrence, and what will make the viewer want to remark on it to others. So doing what you can to make sure your viewer feels something in response to your video doesn’t just provide her with value — it makes her more likely to share it.
You can find more great video marketing advice over at Hubspot.
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