Six video marketing errors to avoid (according to content creators)

When he started making videos Pat Walls, the Founder of Starter Story began to make the error of jumping on any thought that came to his mind. He spent hours making videos based on plans that were later scrapped.
Thankfully, Pat learned quickly that good-thought-out strategies ultimately save him his time and result in more effective information.

For this piece, we asked pro video creators to walk you through the most common mistakes they make. Among them, chasing virality, talking too much or too quickly, attempting to achieve perfection or perfect, and spending too much on equipment before being comfortable in front of the camera.

Listen to the likes of Jay Clouse, Jay Acunzo Jay Acunzo, and Jayde I. Powell as they give advice about how you can avoid mistakes like the ones they made.

First mistake: not vetting your thoughts

Making videos and not investing enough time or thought into making them will slow your progress and costs money.

The creator of Starter Story Pat Walls began creating videos, he made this very error. "So often, I'd come up with an idea, and then devote 10 to 20, 30 hours bringing the idea to life and creating it -editing, shooting after-production, editing, and all that."

"I'd have saved a lot of time and be more efficient when I'd devoted some more time to thinking about what would be the most efficient use of my time," admits Pat.

Because, in reality, well-thought-out ideas frame how the video will be presented via the title and thumbnail while also keeping your budget effective and in control.

What should you do instead: Brainstorm and evaluate concepts prior to production

Spend time coming up with concepts. Next, you must work on defining your ideas in a way that each film you shoot brings your idea to life.

Start with "putting together an idea list of 20 on a spreadsheet, then grading the ideas from 1-10. After that, you can sort them from most to least in terms of their scores to pick only those that rank highest and discard all the rest away." recommends Pat.

A thing to be aware of here: instead of grading suggestions based on what that youthink are best, you should validate the ideas based on:

• How relevant they are to your ideal viewers
• They should be aligned with your experience or products you're marketing

Some of the best ideas are ones which combine these two.

Ultimately, putting time into thinking up ideas will enable you to create videos that will entice viewers. Also, you won't have to rethink your ideas once the video has been recorded.

Bonus suggestion: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 So, consider: what do my viewers want to interact with?

Instead of making assumptions, investigate what kinds of questions you would like to hear from your potential viewers in regards 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 are the people you want to sell your product to. Enter words describing them in an audience research tool like SparkToro for you to discover their

• Demographics (age and gender)
• Who do they follow on social media
• What are they talking about

Next, review the people these folks follow on video-led channels such as TikTok and Instagram to find out what kind of is the content they're sharing. This isn't a way to duplicate their strategy but to find out the style and substance of the video content that you want your viewers to be engaged with and watching.

The second mistake: thinking that an online video can drive positive business results

However good your concept is, there's no guarantee the video you create will be viewed by millions. You can't predict the results a viral video could bring to you, aside from an uptick in your follower numbers. However, Dan Bennett of Video for Entrepreneurs states that a majority of new video creators are looking to make their videos viral.

"Oftentimes when I meet with clients, especially at the beginning stages they'll be looking at videos as something that's expensive, that they've got to shell out a significant amount for, and this video is going to go out and do all the work for them," says Dan. "It's most likely to go viral. It's going to change the direction of their company. And although that happens in one in every probably 10,000 videos, it's certainly not an indicator to count on."

What can you do instead: Be consistent

Instead of assuming that one viral video is all you need to win at video marketing, consistently publish videos that educate, entertain and ultimately drive sales. Dan recommends "putting together a body of work -- making several videos about the same topic, covering different aspects, and leading someone on a journey [with youto take them on a journey."

The video engine helps you stay on the top of your viewers' minds, letting them trust you that is crucial to achieving business goals. It's not like viral video offers this though, because folks only see it one time and then, soon enough, forget all about it.

Mistake #3: Investing in gear before nailing camera presence

"We would like to appear good in our clothes, so we buy the fancy light, we buy the costly microphone, and we purchase an expensive camera, or invest time or money working on editing it so that it looks flashy. [add] gripping animation and vibrant subtitles, emojis, and B-rolls and everything," says Jay Acunzo co-founder of the Creator Kitchen and host of the Unthinkable podcast.

What's the issue? A fancy camera won't allow you to present your idea clearly until you've mastered camera-related presence. Consider how you show yourself in video your energy, how you present yourself as well as the manner in which you present your message.

"Because [ultimately, effective video marketing is about getting good at using a microphone as well as on camera and if you're unable to achieve that, nothing else content is worth your time until you master the ability to sit in the chair or sit in front of the camera and present," Jay points out.

What can you do instead: Master camera presence

"Put yourself in a hurry and do enough video content to get better (in front of a camera] prior to spending all of your time, or resources including budgets (team or personal) and trying to become more proficient at incremental work," advises Jay. Review the videos you record to learn:

• How to view the camera
• Which non-verbal cues can be engaging?
• And, how to keep your speech moving to ensure maximum impact

You can then go back and apply the changes in the new video content that you have recorded.

Mistake #4: Talking excessively

When you speak too often in a row, you accidentally divulge a wealth of information -confusing your viewers, and the viewers completely.

Founder of The Em Dash Co and host of Creator Tea Talk, Jayde I. Powell has had to deal with the same. Jayde I. Powell explains "Oftentimes it's because as a marketing professional I try to get the message, or story out so much that I forget whom I'm talking with and what type of content they consume or what they're looking for in it."

With time though, Jayde has realized, "A part of my job as a creator of content and content marketer requires me to gather a great deal of information and turn it into new content, however, I also have to make it more digestible."

How to handle it: Plan your content however, don't plan it too much.

• Refine your opening lines
• Remove sentences that do not make sense in the overall idea
• Remove or add information based on your viewers' knowledge of the topic

This makes sure the content you provide is simple to digest and relevant for your readers.

5th error: talking too quickly

In addition to being aware of the amount you talk be aware of the way you pace your delivery. If you speak too quickly, you make it difficult for the audience to follow your speech. However, if you speak too slowly, you risk losing viewers who are bored. In either case, a lack of thought dilutes your video idea's impact since it doesn't give viewers enough time to process what you're saying.

A coach for public speaking, Nausheen I. Chen shares she often spoke too fast. "Maybe it was the anxiety, or the adrenaline, the pressure of creating super short videos for socials, but it just seemed like I was always on 1.5x speed the entire duration."

"In fact, I planned for everything, except for my speaking skills. I planned for the content as well as the lighting, background, the place," Nausheen recalls. "But reality is that you could be the most skilled photographer and the most powerful lighting and even the best content, but if you aren't able to present yourself your camera with the appropriate energy if you don't know how to vary your pace and take those pauses the message is likely to disappear."

What to do: Recheck your speed and write down your pausing

Mistake #6: Striving for the perfect result

"When I first started with video, the mistake that I'd make all the time was attempting to make the perfect video, and believing that I could," acknowledges Jay Clouse, Founder of Creator Science..

To strive for perfection is unattainable and exhausting because it is a constant process of rethinking everything you do. Most of all, it prevents you from being yourself in front of the camera.

"Because once you begin striving for perfection, you are forced to ask the question, 'what's perfection?' "And what you probably will end up doing is to compare your work to someone else's work who has been doing this for much longer than you do. So, you attempt to come up with a similar, memetic version of what the other individual did. "[Butit's unlikely that you're capable of being able to make it the same way." What's the reason? "Because they're likely to have more experience and also due to the fact that they're creating their own videos."

What can you do instead: Find your style

This is easier said than executed. It is, however, a good idea. Jay recommends being a little loose with your camera in order to show your personality. "[This means that you don't appear too unnatural. Also, you won't attempt to emulate someone else's style."

It all starts with internalizing the idea that you don't have to duplicate anyone. You should instead, "Make the video that you are planning to create the way you would make your own," Jay points out. Also, remember that figuring out your own style requires time. The advice of Jay Acunzo about creating the most videos you can to nail the camera's presence is helpful in this regard as well.

Make high-converting videos today

Simply put, you should spend time planning your video concepts. Improve your story telling, speaking and camera presentation skills. Don't forget to plan your script for your video content pointing out:

• What you'll talk about
• How you'll cover the issue
• You'll stop for a moment or two
• How you'll vary your rate of speed

And if scripting gets time-consuming, use 's AI script generator. Here's to making videos that get your viewers to watch till the the end