Must Market

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Video, especially great video marketing, is hard. I've created a handful of videos and have come away from the experience changed (lol). Best to avoid these BIG mistakes:

* Overlook importance of the script (AGREE).
*  Information overload, remember the KISS idea. 

* Too long - Vine is 6 seconds and that is the direction we are headed. 

* Bad Music or Music That Sits Up too Much (too loud or distracting).

* Animation is too fast (they always are). 

* No clear goal for the video in the first place (AGREE). 

* Bad VO (voice over). 

I got a lot of grief for insisting on a second to second mapped script by my last boss. Too much planning felt like selling used cars to him. Problem is time is literally MONEY on a video shoot. Even if you are doing you own shoot, something I would NOT recommend, you have people and resources tied up so PLAN IT OUT I say and so disagree with my old boss (lol).

Good luck, video is HARD but necessary. Video is an important bridge between your written and graphical content. Video creates personality and warmth (done right) and anger and frustration (done wrong). Angry customers don't typically BUY anything so avoid these seven video marketing mistakes.  

BTW, you want to HOST your videos inside your techncial "stack", see my note on this GPlus post: https://plus.google.com/102639884404823294558/posts/MmbfSSdopz5  

My friend @MarkTraphagen introduced me to the founder of Wire Buzz (@TheToddHartley) today. Wire Buzz looks COOL. I'm convinced video is the great underutilized tool. 

I base that opinion on the impact video had when I was an Ecommerce Director (4x conversion). This is NOT to say video is EASY. Video is HARD and great video is even harder, why having a guide like Todd is a really good idea. 

We spent TONS of time tweaking our "helping hands" videos. Our first test showed video TANKED conversion. Several months and many tests later we got it. Quiet the video down and bring in our Buzz Team so the video doesn't feel like you are talking to yourself.  

Winning Hearts and Minds with Video Marketing
Glad friends at Atlantic Creative reminded me of my answer to a TOUGH question. I was on an Internet marketing panel and was asked how a man whose son has a disease only 700 people get a year could create a movement in support of his son.

My answer was STORY and VIDEO. Tell the "Universal Story", the "Hero With A Thousand Faces" story that connects us. True only 700 people are unlucky enough to get this illness, but our ability to care about and create a cure for is infinite.

Infinite but dependent on telling a great story that connect a disease that 700 children get a year to our human desire to HELP, FIX and SUPPORT. Video is the best tool to tell that story because video engages our hearts and minds.

Video marketing is also highly viral. When someone embeds your video the juice goes back to the source. If you read that sentence like you MUST play video inside your website IN ADDITION TO YouTube you read it correctly.

Where does GoogleJuice go when a video is on YouTube? Yep to THEM not YOU. YouTube is a valuable CHANNEL for your video marketing, but you MUST host and play videos within your website's "technical stack" too.

We are all app builders now whether we know it or not. Great post here about tools and tips for how to actually build apps instead of paying others to do that critical marketing work for you.