As much as we want to believe we know how to make an exceptional video, there are many things video-makers do that take away from their videos. Most of these things can be easily avoided, so check out the following reasons why many videos out there suck and avoid them to improve the quality of your video.
You Made It Too Lengthy
A common and easy mistake to make is having your video turn out too long. We want to give our viewers all the information we can, but there is a point and time where that amount of information begins to bore the viewers instead of intrigue them. Expect the best response from your viewers when you keep your videos less than 2 minutes long. It’s been proven that you only have about 10 seconds to get the attention of your audience and after a minute has passed, 45% of people leave. So keep it short and to the point!
You’re Showing Off Too Many Features of the Product, and Not Enough Benefits for the Customer
As awesome as your product’s features may be, customers really just want to know what’s in it for them. Talking solely about features throughout your video could do more harm than good. So instead, use that time to show how those features could make the customer’s life better or easier.
The ShamWow commercial doesn’t go on about how absorbent the towel is. Instead, it shows how that feature helps the customer. The man shows that customers can use the towel to dry their clothes, clean stains, and pick up anything wet. This method shows the customer the product’s feature without directly saying it.
You’ve Told Too Much of the Story
Obviously since you’ve created the product and know everything about it, you’re going to want to let your customers in on everything about it. However, this can easily backfire on you. You want to give your customers a taste of your product, but if you show the customer everything what would be the point in the customers getting the product themselves? Showing your viewers everything can be too much. Think of your video as a trailer; you want to persuade viewers to see the whole film, not give the whole film away.
Your Script is Boring
In order to have a great video, you need an interesting story to tell. Without it, your viewers are way more likely to get bored and drop out. Like your English teacher most likely told you, a great story requires a beginning, middle and end. The beginning of your video should incorporate the problems that your product will be solving. These problems should be common things customers may deal with. The middle of the video should show the audience the solution to the problems you’ve presented. The end of the video should tell your viewers how you use your product to solve the problem and how they can get it. Using this sequence in telling the story for your product will maintain the interest of your audience and keep them engaged.
You’ve Used Too Many Words in Your Voiceover
A key point to remember is that voiceover’s purpose is to complement your video’s animation. However, sometimes too much is done to the voiceover and it ends up harming the animation on screen. In a one-minute video, you can usually get about 140 words in. Even though that may not seem like enough to get your points across, expert copywriters could easily help you tell your story in that amount of wording.
You Have Badly Recorded Voiceover
Something that’s often overlooked is using quality microphones for professional voiceover. It actually makes a big difference in the outcome of your video’s overall quality. Using a more enthusiastic voice, doing several takes, and making sure to pronounce your words clearly and correctly are just a few of the things that could go a long way when it comes to the nature of your video.
You Didn’t Pay for the Music You Used
Unfortunately, if you don’t pay for the rights to use tracks that you’ve incorporated your video, it leads to a lot of trouble. YouTube now mutes your audio when you add music you don’t have the rights to, which could ruin your entire video, especially since audio’s usually needed to understand a video. Try buying songs online for your videos; there’s all different royalty music that you can use to enhance your video.
Your Characters Are Badly Drawn
Using characters in your video can be helpful in telling your story, but having badly detailed illustrations can dampen your video. Using expert illustrators is important in maintaining a good quality video. No one likes to see poor animation or faces not drawn properly. Skilled drawers are your best option.
You Didn’t Incorporate Enough Movement
As we said before about voiceover being too much, animation can often not be enough. Having movement on the screen is essential, and having enough movement is what keeps your audience engaged. No viewer wants to sit through a video with mostly narration and barely anything happening on screen. People want to watch your video, so give them something worth watching.
You Don’t Have a CTA (Call to Action)
You can’t leave out a call to action at the closing statement of your video and expect to get a lot of sales. You want to leave off on a note that will have customers waiting to see more from you. Give them access to your web page or phone number so they have a way to contact you, and make sure to remind them why your product or service is for them.
Stanley Meytin
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