We are reaching the end of our social media video series, so we’re going to hit on the last few things to avoid. I think some of these suggestions are fairly easy to avoid but also VERY easy to fall into. For example, overly lengthy videos. It’s easy to tell yourself to keep a video short and sweet. But once you get started with your “how-to” or “show and tell” your video can quickly get away from you. We’ve seen what social media has done to attention spans. They are virtually nonexistent these days. My blogs are rarely more than 3 paragraphs because I know I can’t hold onto my readers for a long drawn out tome. And that’s okay! You just need to keep the facts in mind when filming. How about this for more to worry about? Facebook videos will play automatically on someone’s news feed but with NO SOUND. So you also have to make sure you can grab attention with a video on mute!
While you are obviously creating these videos to advertise your product, you have to be careful not to force your products on your users. To add to the challenges you’re already facing you’ve also got to balance your advertising efforts with not making it feel like a commercial. Some of that comes with trial and error as you learn what your audience is into. Think of it as building an audience, not selling to them. Avoid mentioning your product in your videos, especially if you’re offering “how-to” lessons. Again, you’re building a relationship with existing and potential clientele so you want to try to focus your efforts on camaraderie, not money.
As always, Marlin is here to assist in any endeavor for your business and your website. If you’d like to dive into the social media video world we will jump in right there with you!