7 Shocking Truths About Video Marketing (copy)

Lou Bortone
Sep 6, 2018 · 4 min read
http://www.myvideovillage.com
“No one cares about your video until you make them care!”

As the world flocks to video and more businesses embrace video marketing strategies, it’s more important than ever to understand how to do video right.

Far too many small business owners are getting bad advice from so-called video “gurus” who show up at conferences and call themselves experts. It’s time to challenge some assumptions and shatter some myths about video marketing.

Here’s the real deal and some straight talk from someone who has been helping clients actually make money from video marketing since YouTube launched in 2005.

Truth #1: No one gives a monkey’s butt about your boring video!

The sad truth is that no one cares about your video until you make them care! Your videos need to connect, engage and solve a problem for your target viewer, or the video won’t have an impact.

Video is not a “field of dreams” scenario. If you post it, people will NOT come, unless your video hooks your viewer and never lets go! How will you capture and keep the attention of your viewer? Have a “watch strategy” before you post your video.

Truth #2: Video views don’t matter.

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not about how many views your video gets… it’s about getting seen by the right viewers. Unless you’re Lady Gaga or Katy Perry and you need to have a billion YouTube views to sell 3 million records, forget about mass appeal and focus instead on your specific target viewer.

Video views are a vanity metric that simply don’t matter if the right people aren’t seeing your video message.

Truth #3: Most people suck on camera.

Here’s a harsh reality: Some business owners should NOT be doing on-camera (i.e. talking head) videos. But here’s why this doesn’t matter: Even if you totally suck on camera, there are dozens of off-camera video options you can leverage.

It’s just a matter of finding what I call your “Video Sweet Spot,”and discovering the best video style for your personality and skill level. Animated videos, explainer videos, screen share videos, and even webinar videos are all viable options for creating effective videos — even if you’re a hot mess on camera. Play to your strengths!

Truth #4: Facebook is the new YouTube.

Facebook has overtaken YouTube as the ideal place to post and watch videos. The sheer volume of people on Facebook (over 2 billion users vs. YouTube’s 1.5 billion), gives Facebook the video advantage. And Facebook is becoming more video-friendly, even as YouTube becomes less user-friendly.

YouTube is crowded, noisy, and frankly, built for big creators and full-time “YouTubers.” The deck is stacked so heavily in favor of the big guys, that it makes much more sense for small business owners to focus on Facebook.

The statistics bear this out: According to Mashable, Facebook’s new focus on video “has already resulted in native Facebook video uploads getting 10 times more shares than YouTube uploads.” Yes, you should still upload to YouTube, but focus your marketing efforts and engagement on Facebook.

http://www.myvideovillage.com
//www.myvideo

Truth #5: YouTube is for grown-ups. (Not just millennials!)

Another surprising fact about YouTube is their changing audience. The fastest growing demographic on YouTube is not those pesky millennials, but people 55 and older! According to Omnicore, 35+ and 55+ are the fastest growing YouTube age groups. So don’t completely give up on YouTube, but instead target your videos carefully and keep in mind that older audiences watch YouTube videos, too!

Truth #6: Video blogging is the new blogging

People would much rather watch videos than read your blog or peruse your articles. In fact, Wordstream reports that: “59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.” They also point out that: “viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.”

Blogs may not be completely dead, but you’re missing a huge opportunity if you stick to traditional “print” blogging. No one reads anymore, they watch… so give your fans what they want!

Truth #7: Video marketing is the long game.

While many video pundits might claim that video is the silver bullet of marketing, the real truth is that video is a long term strategy and has to be played as a long game. Consistency counts when it comes to video marketing, and persistence and perseverance will lead you to success. It may take time, patience and sustained effort, but video as a long-term strategy is the real magic sauce.

Consistency counts when it comes to video marketing…

One final, and powerful, video truth is that businesses who use video grow revenue 49% faster than those who don’t use video. That simple fact alone should convince you to do more video!

And when you do, keep in mind these 7 video truths, so you can be sure to separate the facts from the hype.

For more straight talk on video marketing, visit me at: www.loubortone.com or get my book, “Video Marketing Rules,” on Amazon at: www.loubortone.com/rules.

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