Six video marketing mistakes you should stay clear of (according the creators of content)

When he started creating videos Pat Walls, the Founder of Starter Story began to make the error of chasing any idea that came to him. He spent many hours creating videos using plans that were later scrapped.
Happily, Pat learned quickly that well-planned-out ideas ultimately save him his time and result in higher quality web content.

To create this piece We asked professional video makers to take you through the most common mistakes they make. Among them, chasing virality by talking too much, or overly fast, striving to achieve perfection as well as spending lots of money on gear before you're even confident in front of the camera.

You can hear from stars like Jay Clouse, Jay Acunzo, and Jayde I. Powell as they provide tips about how you can avoid mistakes like the ones they made.

First mistake: not vetting your thoughts

Recording videos without dedicating sufficient time and effort to developing them ultimately slows you down and wastes money.

When Starter Story's Pat Walls began creating videos and films, he committed this exact wrong choice. "So often I would just come up with an idea then invest the next 10, 20, 30 hours bringing this idea into reality and creating the video -editing, filming after-production, editing, and so on."

"I'd have saved a lot of time and moved faster by dedicating a little bit more time to think about what would be the most efficient use of my time." Pat admits. Pat.

Because, in reality the best-thought-out plans outline how the video will be presented via your title and thumbnail, while also keeping your budget efficient and under control.

What to do instead: Brainstorm and evaluate ideas pre-production

Spend time coming up with thoughts. Then commit to fleshing out the shortlisted ideas so each shot in the video will bring your concept to life.

The first step is "putting together a list of 20 ideas using a spreadsheet, and grading the ideas from 1-10. Then, sort them from most to least according to their score to pick only those that rank most impressive and then throw everything else away," suggests Pat.

One thing to be mindful of: Instead of grading ideas based on which ones that youthink are good, validate your ideas using:

• The relevance of these to the ideal target audience
• What is their alignment to your knowledge or the product you're marketing

The best ideas are ones that combine both.

Spending time thinking up ideas will make it easy for you to make videos that will entice viewers. You also wouldn't need to scrap ideas after you've recorded them.

Bonus hint:Identify who you're making videos for.

Because the success of any concept for video is heavily dependent on how relevant it is to your target viewers Consider: What content will my viewers engage with?

Instead of making assumptions, study the questions that the ideal audience has in relation to your field of expertise.

Start off with understanding exactly:

• For whom do you wish to make videos for?
• What are the topics that they look up or watch?
• Which channel(s) you watch your videos on

Essentially, your ideal audience is the audience you would like to sell your product to. Input the words that describe them into an online tool for audience research such as SparkToro in order to determine their

• Demographics (age and gender)
• Who do they follow on social media
• What do they discuss

Next, review the people who follow these people on video-driven channels like TikTok as well as Instagram to see what content they're publishing. It's not about copying their approach, but to find out the content and style of the video content that your ideal viewers are taking in and engaging with.

Second mistake: Thinking that a viral video will drive business results

Whatever your concept is it's not a guarantee that your content will become viral. It's impossible to predict what results a viral video could drive for you besides an increase in your followers number. But, Dan Bennett of Video for Entrepreneurs states that a majority of novice video makers are chasing virality.

"Oftentimes when I meet with people, especially in the beginning they'll be looking at videos as something really expensive and that they have to pay a lot for, and this video will take over all the work for them," Dan says. Dan. "It's likely be a success. It's going to change the direction of their businesses. And although that happens once in 10,000 video clips, it's definitely not an indicator to count on."

What should you do instead: Be consistent

Instead of assuming that one viral video is enough to be successful in the field of video marketing, consistently publish videos that entertain, educate and ultimately drive sales. Dan recommends "putting together a body of work -- making several videos about the same subject, focusing on various aspects and taking someone on a journey [with you."

An engine for video like this helps you stay on the top of your viewers' minds, letting you earn their trust that is crucial to improving business performance. A viral video doesn't offer this though, because folks see it once and soon enough, forget all about it.

Mistake #3: Investing in gear before nailing camera presence

"We would like to appear the part and that's why we invest in the most expensive light, we buy the expensive microphone, we buy a nice camera, or we invest time or money working on editing it so that it looks flashy. [add] gripping animation and colorful subtitles and emojis and B-roll and all these things," says Jay Acunzo, Co-Founder of The Creator Kitchen and host of the Unthinkable podcast.

Problem with this? The latest equipment won't be able to help you deliver your core idea well until you've mastered camera-related presence. Consider how you portray yourself on camera, the energy you bring as well as the manner in which you tell your story.

"Because [ultimately, effective video marketing is about being good on a microphone as well as on camera and if you're unable to accomplish that, all content will be worth your time until you can master the skill to sit in the chair or sit in front of the camera and present," Jay points out.

What to do instead: Master camera presence

"Put yourself on a deadline and do enough video content to get better [in front of the camera] before spending all of your time, or resources, any budget (team or your own) and trying to become better at what you can do incrementally," advises Jay. Check the recordings you've made for understanding:

• Where to look at the camera
• Which non-verbal cues are engaging
• And, how to pace your speech for maximum impact

After that, you can go back to the original content and make any changes you make to the content you record.

4. Talking excessively

When you speak too often, you unintentionally divulge a wealth of information -- confusing viewers and the viewers completely.

The founder of The Em Dash Co and host of Creator Tea Talk, Jayde I. Powell was battling the same. She explains "Oftentimes what happens is that as a marketing professional I'm trying to communicate the message through so quickly that I don't remember whom I'm talking with and what type of content they're consuming, or what they're looking for in it."

As time passes, Jayde has realized, "A lot of my work as a writer and content marketer requires me to gather a great deal of information, and then turn into fresh content however, I also have to make it more accessible."

What can you do instead: Plan your content However, you shouldn't be over-planning it.

• Refine your opening lines
• Remove sentences that do not add to the overall video idea
• Add or remove details based on the viewers' understanding of the topic

The details you give out are easy to digest and relevant to your viewers.

5th error: talking too quickly

In addition to being aware of how long you're speaking be aware of how fast you're pacing your delivery. If you talk too fast and you're making it hard for viewers to follow along. But if you go slow it could lead viewers who are bored. Either way, thoughtless pacing dilutes your video idea's impact as it fails to allow viewers time to process the message you're presenting.

Public speaking coach, Nausheen I. Chen shares she was a speedy speaker in the past. "Maybe it was the anxiety, or the adrenaline, the stress of making super video clips for social events however it seemed as if I was on 1.5x speed all the duration."

"In the end, I had planned for everything except my speaking skills. I planned for the content as well as the lighting, background, and the setting," Nausheen recalls. "But it's true that you can possess the top cameras and the most powerful lighting and the most engaging images, but if you aren't able to present yourself in front of cameras with the right energy, in case you're unsure of how to vary your pace and make those pauses, your message will be lost."

What to do instead: Recheck your speed and write down your breaks

Sixth Mistake: Struggling for the perfect result

"When I first started using video, the error that I'd made the whole time was trying to achieve the perfect video and thinking that I was able to," admits Jay Clouse, Founder of Creator Science.

To strive for perfection is impossible and stressful as you second guess everything you do. Most of all, it prevents you from being your unique self in front of the camera.

"Because whenever you are trying to strive for perfection, you are forced to ask to ask: what is perfect what is perfect?' "And what you probably do is compare your work with someone else's work who has been doing this for much longer than you have. You then try to come up with a similar replica, a memetic representation of what the other person has done. "[Butit's unlikely that you're going to be able to do it as well." What's the reason? "Because they're probably more experience and also due to the fact that they're creating their own videos."

How to fix it: Find your style

This is easier said than accomplished. But Jay advises to be a bit loose in camera to bring out your style. "[This way,] you don't appear as unnatural. And you're not going to try to imitate your style."

All it takes is getting the idea that there is no need to duplicate anyone. Instead, "Make the video that you would like to create, the way you would make your own," Jay points out. Be aware that finding your personal style takes the time. So Jay Acunzo's advice about making numerous videos as often as you can to nail the camera's presence is helpful in this regard as well.

Make high-converting videos today

In a nutshell, make time to think about your video concepts. Work on your storytelling, speaking, and presentation techniques for cameras. Make sure to organize your presentation with a script and highlight:

• The topics you'll discuss
• How you'll cover the issue
• When you'll take brief pauses
• The way you'll change your speed

And if scripting gets time-consuming, use 's AI script generator. This is how you can create videos that get your viewers to watch till the very close