What Not To Do With Your Video Production

A professional and high-quality video can work wonders for your business. On the other hand, a badly produced or poor-quality video can be more detrimental to your business or company than not utilizing video in the first place, which is why there are some important things you need to avoid when it comes to video production. It’s unlikely that your potential consumers are going to trust a brand that has a poor-quality, unprofessional video on their website or landing page. Good video production takes a significant amount of time and effort, and there are some rules to abide by if you’re going to attempt video production yourself.

The “Don’ts” of Video Production

Don’t overlook your audience

Know your target audience and what they want to watch before you create your video. People aren’t going to watch what you produce just for the sake of it, they’re going to watch it because it gives them information that they’re looking for. Never overlook your audience, after all, they’re the ones who you’re creating a video for in the first place.

Don’t forget about a call-to-action

Cliffhanger’s might work in movies, but they certainly don’t work when it comes to video marketing. Unless you have a brand that’s already created monumental brand awareness, overlooking a call-to-action can be detrimental and leave your audience confused. There’s no point in spending the money and time creating amazing visual effects and top-notch editing if your viewers are left with no clue as to what the point of the video was. 

Don’t try to go at it alone

Trying to stitch together a video on your smartphone with your employees as the stars is suicide for your business. Too often, people underestimate everything that goes into creating a professional video. This doesn’t mean that producing a video in-house can’t be done, but it will be significantly harder (and more expensive) to do than you might initially expect. Your best bet is to hire a video production company that can create a winning video that will boost your business rather than harm it.

Don’t just create a sales pitch

If you spend the time, money, and effort on a video that’s just a direct sales pitch to your audience then it’s likely going to be a complete waste. No one is going to stay engaged and buy into an overt sales pitch. Would you want to watch someone directly trying to sell you something for five minutes straight? Make any sales pitches included in a video subtle and subliminal and instead try to focus on the other aspects of your video, like providing information or creating an emotional connection with your audience.

Don’t just speak rather than show

The best part of a video is that it’s visually engaging, that’s what makes it stand out and increases retention amongst viewers. You can easily lose your audience if all your video consists of is someone sitting in front of a camera talking about a product. So, keep that in mind and make sure that you’re demonstrating what your product or service can do rather than just speaking about it.

Don’t rely on good equipment

Of course, good equipment is very important in the world of video production, but it’s not an automatic substitute for knowledge and technique. Don’t think that you can go out and spend thousands on a top-quality camera and expect to magically create a show-stopping video. But good equipment is very important, and it definitely doesn't run cheap, which is why that money is better invested in hiring a production company who can bring both the equipment and the experience to the table.

Creating a professional video is a lot more time-consuming and intricate than many people realize. It’s a lot more than just having access to a camera and editing on your smartphone. Too often, businesses try to create videos themselves without the proper knowledge and equipment to do so, and it ends up hurting their sales rather than helping them. That’s not to say that a great video can’t be produced in house, but if you’re going to try to tackle video production yourself, make sure to research what you’re doing and understand everything that goes into the process.