It has never been easier or cheaper to make a basic teaser video for sites like Facebook. Easy access tools such as Promo put DIY drag-and-drop tools into the hands of startup teams everywhere. But for more sophisticated videos — like animated explainer videos — nothing beats working with a professional team. A professional company will not only help you craft the visuals for your marketing video, but will also help focus the content and messaging.
I caught up with Victor Blasco, an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and the founder/CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. I wanted to review the most common mistakes startups make, and that he and Yum Yum help clients avoid.
Here are the top five mistakes he identified:
- Too Much Content
Video marketing pieces tend to be notoriously short. Some would point to the audience’s shorter and shorter attention span, others to the information overload we’ve all been exposed to. The fact is that nearly 75% of marketing videos are under two-minutes in length, and there's only so much you can cover effectively within that timeframe. “Trying to cram as much information as you possibly can on a single video is a mistake that ends up backfiring nine times out of ten. Blasco advises, “When in doubt, specificity and a clear focus on a single idea are the way to go.”
- A Lack of Story
“You’d think we’d know better by now, but I’m continuously finding explainer videos on YouTube that lack any sense of storytelling,” Blasco notes. “However amazing your product is, or how impactful your message feels, if you want people to truly get it, you need a good story. But don’t take my word for it: here’s a neuroscientist explaining why! Stories are essential to the way we understand and relate to our world. While your product matters, you still need to build a compelling tale around it for people to care. Understand the audience you are trying to attract with your video— what moves them and interests them — and craft a story with those elements involving your product. That’s the winning recipe.”
- Bad Branding
“The first creative step when you work with a video production company on your project usually involves generating a color palette that matches your brand,” Blasco notes. A good explainer video ensures that your brand remains in the viewers’ minds long after they’ve seen it. Your video should match the look and feel of everything else you make and do as company.”
An explainer video is a unique opportunity to interact with your audience, while sharing the essentials about your company’s products, services and vision.
“We recently worked with the folks at DocuSign, and developed a color palette to use across all their videos that matched their well-established brand. The result was a unique and fully customized explainer video series that readily identified the brand and made it visually compelling,” Blasco recalls. “Having a consistent color palette throughout your videos is a powerful way to achieve brand permanence. It also helps seamlessly integrate the piece with the rest of your marketing program.”
- Missing Your Target
Don’t forget about your target audience! “If you want your video to connect with people, you better make sure they can relate to it. Your audience needs to identify themselves with your content,” Blasco counsels. “Your main characters, the way they talk and dress, the scenery, and above all, the problem you are solving for them must all mesh to produce the take-away you want. These are all elements that can enhance a video’s familiarity, and give your audience the sense that your content — and your product — is meant for them.”
For example, check out this whiteboard animation Yum Yum Videos did for Spigit. “We employ heavy characterization to make our videos more approachable for viewers,” Blasco stresses.
Maintain the focus on your target audience and their pain points, and you’ll create a powerful marketing piece!
- Cutting Corners
Some startups are quick to cut costs when it comes to quality elements such as animation, or storytelling, which would elevate the final video piece. “Thinking that as long as their product is good, everything will work out okay, is a mistake.” Blasco warns. “That’s just wishful thinking.”
Online, people have no other way to form an opinion about you and your products than through the quality of your content. There are no lovely storefronts or personal one-on-one conversations.
“From your website to your videos, every piece of content you put out there acts as a reflection of your brand. Put a shoddy video in front of your audience, and any distaste it causes will likely be transferred to your brand and products,” he concludes.
So, if you are going to invest the time and money in a whiteboard animation or explainer video, make sure you check all the boxes, and avoid the most common mistakes. Otherwise, it can be a quick way to throw your precious startup dollars down the drain.
