So you have finally put your resources together and now have a company video for your website. Naturally, you are excited to see how your clip performs.
Yet to your disappointment, your video is receiving lacklustre views, and/or your engagement rate is poor.
Before you lose heart and give up on video marketing altogether you first need to recognise that the majority of people over the world turn to video before making a buying decision. So by attempting to tap into this form of advertising media – you are a step in the right direction.
With over 160 billion views of video worldwide – over a variety of online platforms a year, there is no wondering why start-ups to fortune 500 companies turn to video to broadcast their branding message.
With so much competition vying for consumer attention, you need to consider what viewers sub-consciously look for before deciding what video to click on.
Here are some pointers on why nobody is watching your video.
What reason would somebody want to watch it?
People usually click on a video clip for 2 reasons: either for information or entertainment. With the assumption that you have created your video for commercial reasons, your clip needs to supply your viewers with information. So does your video answer an often searched question? Does it offer any value compared to competitors in your industry that are also implementing video?
Can prospects find you in the first place?
Properly titling your video is a big part of being found on sites like Youtube. You may have an ambiguous brand name, so unless the public is aware of your company – titling the clip with branding alone will make your video invisible on the search results.
Even if your business is well known, it is wise to title your video with highly searched for keywords. Go to the Google ‘keyword planner’ to find everything you ever wanted to know about what search phrases your prospects are using to find your product or service. Don’t assume you already know what keywords people are using. You may be right on many of these search terms, but you will probably find more with greater search volumes. The keyword planner will tell you exactly what keywords consumers are using and how many searches per month.
When you gather your list of search phrases, use the most popular in your video title, then use a handful of others within your video description. If you happen to have plenty more to use, add them at the bottom of your description with a hashtag in front – but don’t go overboard.
Your clip is too “salesy”.
You don’t need a pile of stats to believe that advertising is crammed down our throats every day. Sure, the whole idea of commercial video is to sell, but if you come on too strong, it will put prospects off. Think about the last time you went to a car yard or furniture store… did you enjoy the salesman who came on too strong with his pitch, or did you prefer the one with a more subtle touch?
Much like trying to entice someone on a date, you need to use a little charm, like a little humour, or an unorthodox approach. This will set you apart from everybody else and get you closer to your goal.
You think that hosting your video on Youtube looks ‘cheap’
There are many other video hosting platforms to choose from other than Youtube. And many of those platforms offer some great benefits that Youtube can’t give you. Some of these benefits are faster load time and better analytics. But many businesses have opted for an alternative because they think Youtube embeds look ‘cheap’. Well, that type of arrogant thinking will be your competitors benefit because everybody uses Youtube a video search engine. This means if you are not visible on Youtube, you are missing out on a lot of exposure.
By all means, use a different video host if you are savvy with analysing viewer data, or want faster loading – but at the same time, load it up on Youtube.
You are taking too long to cut to the chase.
Everyone knows that our attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. So take some time to assess how long your video is. There are always exceptions to the rule, but most video producers will recommend nothing longer than 90 seconds. Ideally, you want it under 60 seconds. And if you can get it to 15 seconds, you will be able to promote it on vine.
Most viewers won’t watch your video until the end. So the bottom line is to cut to the chase quickly and be sure to get your most important points first (before they click off).
You have failed to promote your video on social media.
This is especially true if you are creating videos on a regular basis. supporting your website with social video marketing is not only important for driving good quality traffic back to your site but also for building trust with Google. Once trust is gained, your organic search rankings will rise.
Syndicate and promote your videos on multiple social sites (not just Facebook). This will drive up your views and give your campaign a good running start.
As you can see, the mindset of “If you build it, they will come” is not the attitude to have if you expect a good return on investment with your video. Instead, try to be open to making changes and even split testing your content for maximum exposure.
Great engagement starts with quality video production. Contact Web Videos Australia for a hassle-free quote today.