Video for business: how to attract the target audience, and not to scare away by accident. 11 killer video message errors

“Almost all success stories on the Internet have one thing in common - the use of video in one form or another. This is a trend that is unlikely to change in the near future. ”
Jim Cochrum “Internet Marketing: The Best Free Tools”



Video marketing is an absolutely worthless, and often even harmful, tool.
How it is? - you ask, because the opposite is written above.
If you already have a business on the Internet or you are on the path to creating it, then I’m sure that on all sides you hear today that you need to use video to develop your project.
Why is everyone repeating about the video? What is so special about the video?

Video is always some kind of action that takes place before our eyes, here and now. We are watching and empathizing with him. We are involved in the process, it’s more difficult for us to distract ourselves, especially if the video is well done. In addition, only video allows us not only to see everything with our own eyes, but also to hear. That is, the video affects us more voluminously, allows us to fully immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of what is happening on the screen and get our own emotions. In a word, video is the best storyteller, it is able to win and retain the attention of viewers, like nothing else. It evokes emotions and gives rise to trust. And if you were a little interested in marketing, you probably already know that nothing sells better than emotions.

Every year the video increases its presence and enhances its influence on the Internet.
And now a person starting his own business on the World Wide Web hears that it is necessary to use video, but how to do it - a person who has never been involved in this is not very clear. And he begins to look at others and copy ...

And as a result, as the Internet business develops rapidly, the online space is filled with video clones, and the viewer ultimately all faces and names literally merge into a single “biomass”. It sounds rude, of course, but I judge at the moment as an ordinary user, to whom someone offers something every day, and if this is slurred and uninteresting, then I do not distinguish between Petrov and Sidorov, and Sidorov and Ivanov.



Does the video sell, as many gurus say? Sells, but not at all. In general, I would like to dispel some of the Internet myths associated with this, because, in my opinion, if a person in a frame and the picture as a whole look unconvincing, then they could harm the business rather than bring benefits.

In addition, the quality of video on the Internet is growing year by year. And if earlier it was possible to stand against the white wall and say something to the shaking camera with a barely audible sound, now it’s not just a bad tone, it’s the very harmful tool that works against you.

Here are 11 of the most common mistakes when creating selling videos.

The first and perhaps most important thing is uninteresting content, that is, what you offer people is of no value to them. It does not coincide with what they believe and what they dream of.

The second common mistake is the blurring of the main message , that is, it is not clear what the author wanted to say, because it is either a whole bunch of different thoughts or their absence.

The next repulsive moment - the image of a person in the frame contradicts what he is talking about. For example, he reports that he knows how to become rich, and he looks completely opposite, and the viewer has a logical question: why didn’t you help yourself at first, since you know how. And this causes distrust. Even elementary negligence in clothes, the lack of thought in an image can ruin very valuable knowledge. An exception to this rule can only be very well-known and charismatic personalities that are called stars, which cause interest in any form. But this still needs to be earned, and at the initial stage to shape your image very carefully and thoughtfully.

The next error is a continuation of the previous one. This is when the place of shooting does not create the desired atmosphere and as a result does not work for the main idea.A man grabbed a camera, stood up to the nearest wall, said something, and he was done. It's not gonna go. Not only that, this option is not very informative at the non-verbal level and simply uses the capabilities of video at a very small percentage, and, like its appearance, forms an unconvincing image. That is, you should avoid filming on the background of wallpaper, carpet, and most importantly, where horrible or distracting background, when some action behind the back of a person in the frame distracts from what he says.

Unreasonably prolonged timingcan also lead to the fact that the video is simply not watched until the end. I want to emphasize the word "unjustified." That is, the abstract timing can be different: a minute, and three minutes, and ten and twenty-four. It depends on the purpose of a particular video product and its genre. If we talk about the most common option on the Internet - an appeal to the target audience with a specific call, say, to attend a webinar, then the timing should be no more than two to three minutes.

Another video poison, so to speak, is the monotony of presentation.I mean not only the softness of speech, although this is important, but to a greater extent the even presentation of material from the point of view of dramaturgy, that is, the lack of accents, intrigue for the viewer. When everything is clear from the very first seconds, why look further? The lack of speech structure, highlighting key points and a call for specific actions lead to the fact that the video does not fulfill the planned task.

This also implies the next very important point - poor sound and, as a result, difficult to distinguish speech.This happens if you use the built-in microphone in the camera and the shooting takes place in a noisy place. For example, even proximity to a working refrigerator or air conditioner can give a strong hum that will pick up the microphone in the camera, because it is non-directional and equally records all sounds, whether it be your voice or extraneous noise.

Incorrect or insufficient lighting when shooting , when a person is standing against a bright window or sky, and there is no additional light, only a dark silhouette with an indistinguishable face appears on the screen, which also does not contribute to the quality of the video, unless, of course, it was specially conceived and justified .

Bad picture qualityin general, they also do not contribute to increased views and cause a feeling of carelessness and disrespect for the viewer. This is camera shake, that is, shooting is done without a tripod or other stabilizing device. This is a compositionally incorrectly built frame when a person takes up too little space in the frame, or is it just a head somewhere in the corner of the frame.

The unjustifiedness of special effects is another negative factor. A chaotic mishmash of graphic transitions creates confusion and visual overload, behind which the main idea of ​​the video is lost.

Well, and the final place in my "hit parade of mistakes" that work against attracting the target audience is technical dirt.If a video is shot and without editing is laid out for viewing with superfluous, irrelevant phrases, or vice versa breaks off at a glance and does not have a pronounced dot, is also less pleasant for the viewer and greatly reduces his professionalism.

The conclusion, in general, suggests itself - you need to shoot competently and make a vivid video that will be remembered by the viewer. Only such videos will be watched by the viewer to the end. And this means that he will know what you are calling him to and what he needs to do.



Now you probably thought: if it is so difficult, then let the professionals do it.
Yes, of course, professionals have better equipment, the picture and sound, as they say, are cleaner, but, firstly, it’s not so important for the Internet, and secondly, I’ll honestly say that it’s not enough which professional will mess with you, licking every nuance, making a bunch of takes. Only you yourself can try as much as you see fit from different angles, with different intonations, without hesitation, without being pinched, and as a result achieve a much better result.

The second weighty, in my opinion, reason to do presentation and selling video on my own is this: over 30 years of working as a television director, I have often come across a situation where customers don’t know what they want, can’t create a technical task, so they get what it turned out, and not what they needed, while paying a lot of money. Therefore, it is necessary to at least understand video technologies so as not to throw money away, ordering videos for professionals. Imagine what can be done at all, what is expensive, and what is more effective and so on.

When you shoot a video message, first take a picture and meticulously examine it through the eyes of your future viewer. Remember, if you are standing in the dark corner of the room, because it is a Feng Shui wealth zone, your viewer is unlikely to guess this by looking at a gloomy unattractive picture. Consider even more meticulously, through the eyes of your target audience: will they see and understand what is important to you? Do you inspire confidence in them?
And only after that, having corrected all the inaccuracies, start shooting.

The filming process has many components. These are the choice and organization of the shooting location, lighting, sound recording, size of plans, multi-camera or single-camera shooting, pseudo-multi-camera shooting. But more about that next time.