Common Social Media Video Mistakes

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Creating video content for social media should be central to any digital marketing strategy. That’s because videos drive more engagement and sales than any other social media content type. But if you’re not reaping the benefits from your videos, you may be making some critical social media video mistakes.

The good news is that once you know where you are going wrong, you should be on track for some wins with practice.

Let’s go over a few of the most common challenges so that you won’t fall into any more of these traps.

Why Creating Video Content for Social Media Is a Must

The biggest mistake is not including any videos in your social media marketing strategy!

Here’s why…

Including videos in your marketing campaign will get you more:

Common Mistakes When Creating Video Content for Social Media

Your research may indicate your target audience doesn’t care too much about video quality. But there’s still a baseline standard your content should be hitting.

Even the most receptive audiences will drift away if they’re dealing with low-quality, glitchy video that’s a drag to watch. Here are some common social media video mistakes you should avoid.

1) Using the Wrong Social Media Platform

There are now multiple competing platforms for creating videos for social media. Each one offers a different video experience and potential for reaching your audience. But using the wrong one can cost you engagement and conversions.

As a marketer, you must note the benefits and drawbacks of each platform and place videos accordingly.

2) Focusing on Yourself Instead of Your Audience

People watch videos to find out if your awesome product or service can solve their specific problem or transform their life.

But you can’t hope to help them without understanding their needs and motivations. So, if you are creating video content for social media but it isn’t getting traction, you might not have done enough research.

Focusing on the features or specifications of your product is another mistake when creating video content for social media. Depending on the product, these details will only become important when a buyer is getting ready to finalize their commitment.

Make sure you…

3) Creating Unfocused and Rambling Content

Viewers won’t wait long to find out if your video will answer their questions or solve their problems. Nobody wants to waste time watching an unfocused video with little to say.

4) Having Shaky Camerawork

It’s hard to hold a camera steady at the best of times. But a shaky image will irritate your viewer, so a steady camera is a must.

Here are things you can do to prevent camera shake and improve your image:

5) Using Patchy Lighting

Poor lighting can also ruin your viewer’s visual experience. Highly contrasting light can lead to uneven lighting, silhouettes, shadows, underexposure, and overexposure.

To overcome poor lighting, consider the following:

6) Lacking Basic Video Equipment

A man’s hand starts a social media video recording of a female professional on a smartphone mounted on a tripod.

Without the right equipment, you’ll struggle to create video content for social media that looks professional. So, you need the following video tools:

You may also consider getting a high-quality handheld or lapel microphone. Although it’s not necessary, it may be nice to have when sound quality is an issue.

7) Having Poor Sound Quality

Nothing turns viewers away faster than not understanding what they’re hearing.

Think carefully about where to position your microphone, background noise, and so forth.

Also, remember to include closed captioning so that viewers understand the content when they watch with the sound down.

8) Editing Carelessly

Editing videos involves joining clips to create a coherent story. Most people know the timeline is just an illusion. But you shouldn’t remind them with poorly edited clips that are clearly out of joint.

Social media video mistakes caused by poor editing can shatter an illusion of a time sequence. These include continuity errors, where someone may be wearing different shoes or earrings. Also, avoid joining clips that have different quality lighting, sound, or image definition. And don’t mix portrait and landscape camera views.

Here’s how to avoid these editing problems:

To make professional-looking videos, you also need the right editing software. The functions on most photo and video apps you get with your smartphone are limited to very basic adjustments such as cropping, brightness, and a few filters. Here’s a list of our go-to video editing software tools:

Don’t Neglect Marketing When Creating Video Content for Social Media

When creating video content for social media, you need to make sure your videos reach the target audience and allow viewers to engage. Otherwise, your ROI will suffer. Use the following tips to ensure your video content fits your overall strategy.

Include a CTA

When creating video content for social media, you need a call to action (CTA), whether you are driving brand awareness, engagement, or moving prospects down the funnel. If you don’t, you’re defeating the purpose of making the video.

You can use a CTA to encourage users to react or look at additional content. This will help to drive engagement and may get your video to rank higher. For example, if you’re offering tips, your CTA could say something like, “more in the caption!” or “see more in the comments.” Make sure to respond to viewers’ comments, especially questions. But avoid clickbait such as “leave a review,” “comment,” “like,” or “share the video” because they can actually hurt your rankings.

You can also use a CTA to convert a lead into a customer. Your CTA could be to accept an offer, read your blog, or take a step to purchase a product.

Balance Production and Promotion Costs

Video creation includes two main areas—production and promotion—both of which cost money.

You can determine how much to spend on promotion with A/B testing. Test a small portion of your video marketing budget to test each new campaign.

Test several audiences. Try various platforms, video types, and pacing options to see what resonates with your target audience.

If your audience likes watching your video, you’re ready to invest more in production.

Analyze and Learn from the Data

Creating video content for social media that wows your audience and attracts viewers is a learning process. Without data, it will take you much longer to improve your technique.

Comments, reviews, and other feedback can help you gauge how popular your videos are. But data is necessary to see if you’re achieving your goals for reach, engagements, and conversions.

Most social media platforms include data analytics, so you can compare how your videos perform on each. You can then improve targeting and allocate resources to versions that provide the best ROI.

Here are some key performance areas you need to consider when evaluating the success of your video:

Takeaway

Creating video content for social media has been the single strongest force in online marketing and advertising for most of this decade. And it’s only becoming more and more popular with every passing year.

But if you don’t see the benefits, it can be frustrating. When creating video content for social media for your marketing plan, check the recommendations above to see how to correct basic video mistakes.

When you avoid these social media video mistakes, you will start to enjoy higher engagement and conversion rates.

Learn about our social media marketing services and get started with a FREE audit today!

 

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About Lauren Zylyk

During her time working for Walt Disney World, Lauren quickly grew a social media presence on platforms, mainly through Instagram. With a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing paired with her passion for marketing, Lauren grew her audience even more by creating a blog and through use of other social media platforms. She loves the impact that social media has and how quickly it can get information around worldwide.
When she is not busy keeping up with the latest trends online, she can be found baking cookies in the kitchen, watching hockey, or at the gym. She loves hot yoga and trying out any new dessert recipe. She can’t cook, but she can sure bake!