25 Often-Repeated Misconceptions About Video Marketing

Before we get into the nitty-gritty detail, let’s talk about whether or not video marketing is worth investing in.

Well, TikTok marketing, YouTube marketing, and now even Instagram marketing is focusing on video content to engage more users on their platforms.

"Is video content essential or just another marketing fad?" you might ask.

It's quite unfair if we just use my opinion as the only source to answer this question.

So, I dug up some data and research from the internet to back my claim that video marketing is not a passing trend but rather here to stay for the long haul.

According to HubSpot, 54% of consumers want to see videos from brands they support at least once a week.

Meanwhile, a study shows that 52% of marketers worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. That is a significant number that cannot and should not be ignored.

Not only that, but online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022. That is up from 75% in 2017.

It’s high time businesses invest in the video — regardless of their business size and the industry they belong to and stop shying away from it.

After all, all those plain, bulky paragraphs are not going to do much in this age where people have a shorter attention span than a goldfish.

It would be a chore for your audience just to read your text-heavy product descriptions or even email marketing.

Back to the question, in the beginning, the answer is an emphatic YES.

Done right, video marketing strategies can be powerful tools for marketers to engage more audiences in this saturated digital field.

Just like any other marketing tool, though. Not all video marketing strategies work the same.

There are indeed some that don’t work as well as they should, and the reason is often because of preventable misconceptions or mistakes.

Here are some of the most common video marketing misconceptions many marketers still believe

When we talk about video marketing campaigns, most of us think of Hollywood-level videos but about a brand, which we think would cost at least a thousand bucks.

What a nightmare for small businesses with a shoestring budget.

Well, this couldn’t be further from the truth. You don’t need a big budget or professional equipment to create a great video.

Of course, high-end video production will give the best result. But that doesn’t mean you can’t produce quality videos on your own or with a limited budget.

With today’s technology, even a smartphone can shoot high-quality 1080p HD video. You don’t need an expensive camera to get started with video marketing.

You see all of those videos for brands on social media are taken using a smartphone. And they turned out just fine. As long as the video is clear and audible, that’s all that matters.

After all, your audience doesn’t care about how much money you spend on your videos as long as they are helpful and informative.

Another reason businesses are afraid to get started with video marketing is that they think it’s too time-consuming and complicated.

Yes, creating a video does take some time and effort — so does any other marketing strategy.

But if you think about it, once you get the hang of it, creating a video is not that complicated at all — especially with all of the technology and tools available today.

Tons of video editing software offer pre-built templates and easy-to-use features that even a beginner can edit like a pro. With just a few clicks, you can create a great video without breaking a sweat.

Not to mention, you can always outsource the video editing part if you don’t have the time or skills to do it yourself.

This is closely related to the previous misconception. Many businesses believe that creating a video is too time-consuming and will take away their valuable time from other important tasks, especially those brand new startups and small businesses with really small teams.

Video marketing indeed needs to be consistent. It's not a one-time strategy. Many brands post new videos online on their social media. But, it doesn't mean that you have to create it like a TV show with a new episode every week.

The important thing is to be consistent with your video marketing strategy and post videos regularly.

This is probably one of the most common misconceptions about video marketing.

Many businesses think that video marketing is only suitable for big brands with a massive customer base, advanced overall marketing strategies, and of course, a large budget to spend on production and distribution.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a small business or a big corporation-- as long as you produce quality and informative videos, your target audience will appreciate it.

Another common misconception about video marketing is that it can only be used to produce boring, “how-to” videos.

While this type of video is certainly informative and helpful, it doesn’t mean that you can only use video marketing for this purpose.

The beauty of video marketing is that you can use tone, dialog, and even choose characters that will resonate with your target audience and convey the message you want to get across.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to video marketing.

Brands like Nike are well known for their empowering, story-driven videos often without a single product in sight.

It must be nice to feature celebrities in your videos, right? That's a powerful way to get more eyeballs and attract potential customers.

Unfortunately, not all businesses can afford to feature celebrities in their videos-- and that's okay.

For example, many businesses use customer testimonials as a powerful video marketing strategy. This type of video is not only affordable but also highly effective in boosting sales and conversion rates.

You can even use animated videos when you have no one to be featured on. Explainer videos and tutorial videos are perfect examples of this.

At the end of the day, it’s not about how much money you spend on your videos or who’s starring in them. It’s about creating quality and informative videos that will resonate with your target audience.

Many businesses think that they need to hire an expert or a professional agency to help with their video marketing strategy.

While it's true that experts can certainly help you create and execute a powerful video marketing strategy, it doesn't mean that you necessarily need one.

For example, YouTube offers a variety of helpful tutorials on how to create and edit videos.

You can also find plenty of tips and advice from other businesses that are already using video marketing successfully.

The bottom line is that you don't need to hire an expert or a professional agency to start using video marketing for your business.

With a little bit of effort and creativity, you can create videos that will help you achieve your business goals.

When your videos go viral, it means that you've struck gold and that your video marketing strategy is working like a charm.

But, is going viral anyone’s ultimate goal?

For most of us, it is. After all, it won't even hurt to have a little virility in our videos.

But, don't put all your eggs in one basket as not every video will go viral.

The thing is, there's no such thing as an overnight success when it comes to any marketing strategies — video marketing is no exception.

You need to keep producing quality and informative videos on a regular basis.

That's how you gain eyeballs and build a solid customer base. This, in turn, will result in an increased view rate and engagement.

Many businesses think that it's hard to track and measure the performance of their videos.

But, with the right tools and strategies, you can easily track and measure your video marketing efforts. Thanks to the internet.

There are a number of free and paid tools available that can help you track your video views, engagement, and conversion rates. You can also use Google Analytics to track how your videos are performing.

No marketing videos are created the same. They have their own purposes.

Some might do a good job of explaining and breaking down complex topics. Others are unbeatable when it comes to generating audiences' trust and convincing them to take action.

The average surveyed businesses post at least 5 videos on social media every month.

Every customer at a different stage of the sales funnel needs a different kind of video. For example, if you want to generate awareness about your product, you'll need a short explainer video.

Meanwhile, for those who are already at the bottom of the funnel and ready to purchase, you might appeal to them with customer testimonial videos or how-to videos.

At least 500 hours of videos are uploaded on YouTube every minute. This staggering number shows that the competition is, in fact, getting fierce.

There are a few key things that you need to do to make sure that your videos stand out from the rest.

When it comes to making videos stand out, video SEO is essential. This means that you need to optimize your videos for the search engines so that they can be easily found by your target audience.

Is there a way to make the video optimization process easy, yet efficient? Yes.

With the Serpstat Keyword Research tool, you can collect the most relevant and high-performing keywords to get your videos in front of your target audience:

With more than 2 billion active monthly users, YouTube is undoubtedly the most popular video platform.

But that doesn't mean that it's the only one.

Besides YouTube, some of the other popular video-sharing platforms include Vimeo, Wistia, and Dailymotion.

There are also several social media platforms that allow you to share videos, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Here are some platforms that many marketers use as a channel for their video marketing campaigns:

Many studies show that 2 minutes is the ideal length for marketing videos. That's where people started to believe that no matter what kind of video it is, it should be two minutes or shorter.

For example, if you're creating a how-to video, it might need to be longer so that you can cover all the steps involved. On the other hand, if you're creating an explainer video, two minutes might be all you need.

Video marketing is all about consistency and patience — just like any other marketing strategy.

At this point, many businesses are still afraid that they can't come up with new, fresh ideas for video content.

If you've been scratching your head trying to come up with video ideas, don't worry, you're not alone.

Many businesses struggle with this.

All you need to do is to enter a keyword or topic, and you'll be able to see what's trending. You can also use this tool to find out what kind of videos are being shared the most.

Many businesses jump into the video marketing bandwagon because they don't want to be left behind.

They think that as long as they're putting videos out there-- just for the sake of doing it, it'll be fine.

Without any solid plans and objectives, as long as there's a video for the audience to watch, many businesses think that they have done their job.

While video marketing can be a great way to promote your product or service, it's not the only thing you can use it for. Video marketing is actually a very versatile marketing tool.

You can use videos for a number of different purposes, such as creating brand awareness, generating leads, or even boosting sales.

You can break long videos into smaller pieces and use them across different channels.

For example, you can use a short video as an ad on social media, or as a pre-roll ad on YouTube.

You can also embed them on your website or blog to drive traffic back to your videos. Not to mention that you can create GIFs from your videos and use them for various purposes.

Many businesses think that they don't really need videos because they already spend a large chunk of their digital marketing budget on things such as PPC.

But the truth is that video marketing can be a great complement to your other marketing efforts.

Regardless of your business size or the industry, it would be much easier for your customer to understand your message and stick around your brand.

Another common misconception is that it's already too late for businesses to start using video marketing.

Many feel like they've missed the boat and that everyone else is already ahead of them. After all, today's digital space seems like it's too saturated in context to videos, doesn't it?

But the good news is that it's never too late to start using video marketing.

Every business has its own unique story, and there's always a way to tell them and make them stand out from the rest.

Video marketing isn’t only for businesses that market to consumers (B2C). It can also be extremely beneficial for businesses that market to other businesses.

Today, at least 71% of B2B marketers use video in their strategies, and 73% of them report a positive impact on return on investment.

45% of them choose to invest in more videos for their 2021 campaigns.

Why?

For B2B with complex explanations like SaaS, healthcare providers, or financial services, video is a great way to educate your target market and help them understand what you do — even for the layman.

Click-baiting thumbnails and titles might get people to watch your video, but it won’t keep them engaged.

In fact, it might even make them leave before the video is over and never come back. There goes your online reputation.

By creating quality content that educates, entertains, or both, you’ll be able to keep your viewers engaged from start to finish.

Many businesses think that videos aren't evergreen types of content. Once they've created a video, it will only have a short shelf life, and then it will be outdated.

That's not necessarily true. Yes, some videos will only be relevant for a short period of time (like a video about a breaking news story). But other videos can remain relevant long after they've been created.

It all depends on the topic of your video and how you market it.

Social media is a great platform for sharing your videos, but it's not the only one.

You can also embed your videos on your website, in email newsletters, and even in blog posts.

This gives you more opportunities to reach your target audience and get them to watch your videos.

It also helps you increase the average watch time of your videos, which is a key metric that determines how your videos rank on YouTube and other search engines.

You might see a competitor doing so well with their video marketing campaign. So, why not just copy what they're doing and get the same results, right?

Wrong. Just because a competitor is successful with their video marketing doesn't mean you will be too if you just copy them. What works for one company might not work for another.

However, you can learn from your competitors by using competitor analysis to gain competitive advantages.

Find out what they're doing right and what they're lacking. Thus, how can you do better with the video?

Video and written content are two different types of content that serve different purposes.

They can both be used to educate your target audience and help them understand your product or service. But, they should be used together, not as an either/or proposition.

Think of it this way: If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million. A video can convey so much more information than written content alone. It's also more engaging and easier to consume.

They complement each other perfectly and can help you reach your target audience in a more effective way.

Many businesses think that as long as they create quality content, people will watch it and share it. But how can they even find the video in the first place without proper optimization?

This means using keywords in your title, description, and tags. You also need to promote your videos on social media and other websites.

Only then will people be able to find your videos and watch them. So, don't neglect the importance of optimization just because you think your videos are high-quality.

With the Serpstat Keyword Research tool, you can start collecting keywords for your videos right now, and see for yourself how easy that is :)

One or some of those misconceptions are still believed by many marketers out there.

Now that you know the truth behind each of them, you can set yourself up for success and create videos that will help you achieve your business goals.

Don't let misconceptions hold you back from using video to reach your target audience and grow your business.

Video marketing is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your business goals. But like any tool, it needs to be used properly in order for it to be effective.