5 No-Nos When Creating a Video For Your Blog

Adding video to your blog can be a really fruitful investment. It can radically increase viewer engagement, boost your site rankings on Google, give your viewers a sense of relationship with you, and it’s a great way to get information across in an easy to understand way. There’s no doubt about it. When you use video on your blog, it can have a strong, positive impact.

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According to Technology Innovations Management Review, a study was undertaken using MRIs to observe brain activity and its connection with consumer behavior. The result of this Neuromarketing study suggested that test subjects associate themselves with objects (including people) seen on video. They tend to think “the person on the screen is me”, and they behave, react, and feel accordingly.

What does that mean to you? The use of video on your blog can be strategic, but there’s a possible downside to using video if you’re not careful. Viewers can experience a lot of sub-conscious activity when they watch your video, so you may run the risk of turning them off in a big way by things you may not think are important. You can create the wrong impression, and this can negatively impact the viewers’ opinion of your blog, or your business, products and services.

There are some things that I see people do when they produce their videos that can sub-consciously or even consciously turn off viewers. I’ll discuss five things you’re going to want to avoid like the plague.

Do it Yourself Video.

Okay, some people SHOULD create do it yourself videos. In a previous article I wrote called 5 Tips to Make a Video That Will Help Your Blog Stand Out, I included a number of tips that can help you create a well done, do-it-yourself video for your blog. However not everyone with a blog should make a DIY video.

Here are a couple examples of those who should not create a DYI video:

– Those who are selling something.

If you’re blog is meant to support your sales site, for most products and services you’ll need to project a professional image. In my experience, consumers subconsciously perceive the level of professionalism in a video, and they assign that same level of professionalism (or lack thereof) to the company, products or services being sold.

There’s a lot that goes into making a video appear professional, and most people will notice when the video appears unprofessional. Creating a video with a professional feel to it takes skill, experience and talent. If you’re trying to sell something, I advise you to spring for a professional video production company that has experience with producing videos for business.

For more on whether or not you should shoot your own videos, check out my article called How to Make Web Videos That Get You Results.

– Those who are not comfortable on camera.

If you plan to speak on camera, and you can’t come off as natural and comfortable, you’ll make your audience uncomfortable and you’ll lose them. If you can’t come off as enthusiastic, you’ll bore them and they’ll lose interest quickly. If being on-camera isn’t your strength, I would strongly suggest that you avoid it.

Rambling.

Stay on point; make your video tight and to the point. People are busy and most don’t have patience when it comes to reading or viewing a long video on the web. Be careful not to go off course if you’re speaking on camera. Either write a script, or post some bullet points you can stick to and look at while you shoot. Of course, keep in mind that if you’re looking at bullet points, you’re no longer making that important eye contact with the viewer. You’ll want to rehearse so you can minimize that.

Giving too much information.

There’s a James Brown quote I like:

“I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know.”

Always leave your audience wanting more! You’re going to want your viewers to return to your site over and over again. If you include everything in one long video, they won’t have a reason to return. Sometimes a topic can work well as a video series. Of course you’ll need to give out enough information in each video so that it’s worth the viewer’s time. Let your viewers know that you’ll be covering your subject in depth, over time.

Using small images small images and lots of words on the screen.

Remember that most people will be watching your video on a small screen, or maybe even on a very small mobile device. Make sure to use large, high quality images. If you’re adding words to the screen, keep them to a minimum. Crowding the screen with words makes it difficult to read, especially if the letters are small, and you’ll lose your viewers.

Distracting background sounds.

Unless the noise being heard as you record is relevant to your topic, there’s nothing more distracting than noise in a video. It can really turn off your viewers. Do your best to find a quiet place to shoot, and if possible, be careful to avoid noise while you’re shooting such as air conditioning, lawn maintenance, air traffic, street noise, kids in the house, etc.

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Bio: Greg Ball is the president of Ball Media Innovations, Inc., a full service video production and post-production company specializing in video production for business, marketing, public relations, training, and live conferences, trade shows, meetings and conventions. They also specialize in film and video translation.

The company headquarters is in the Miami – Fort Lauderdale area, with crews in South Florida and the Orlando area, as well as throughout the USA. Visit the website at https://www.ballmediainnovations.com, and join Greg on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can reach him at 954-432-1274 or 866-570-8612.