5 Common Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes When Using Video On Your Blog
Not too long ago, every serious blog owner and business saw the need to embed a video on their blog post. If not to increase readership and conversions, it’s about making one look approachable and professional.
Simplified video-making software has turned things around, making this process a lot easier than before. But here’s a disturbing fact: Research has shown that the majority of readers respond more to videos than they do to still text and images. And this means that the video you embed on your blog for the world out there to see matters a lot more than the content and images on your blog.
A simple video mistake could impair the success of your blog post. Well, if it already did, that’s unfortunate, and even if it hasn’t, you will not want to miss knowing the common mistakes most blog owners make when using video on their blog.
Here are the 5 most common mistakes you should watch out for.
1. Failure To Indicate That Your Post Has A Video
Let your prospective readers know straight off that your blog post has a video. This is why. Everything else could keep a potential reader from clicking to read your post, but an indication that there’s a video in the post might just change their mind.
How do you do it? It’s simple. You can have the word “video” appear either before or after the title of your post. For instance, “How to Sing Like Taylor Swift (Video)”.
If your post is lengthy, try to make the video appear as close to the top of your post as possible. This way, you will arrest the attention of the reader and they will be more motivated even to read the content leading up to the video.
Better still, those who choose to ignore your post’s title might as well change their mind when their eyes chance upon the video.
2. Poor Customization/Not Customizing The Video
If the video embedded on your blog stretches beyond the post’s boundaries, prospective readers will be put off by it and might never want to visit again or check out the rest of your blog.
So, apart from copying the video URL and pasting it straight into the post, you can use the embed code, especially if the video doesn’t appear well within the blog’s width. Whether you are embedding a video from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, or other platforms, the process is pretty much similar.
Copy the link with the ‘embed code’ into the “text tab” of your WordPress editor. Within that link, you will see attributes named < width = “250” height = “150” >. So, select the proper width. Let it be slightly less than the post’s width.
You can also customize the embed code for advanced functionality or other aesthetic value.
3. Mismatch Between Content And The Video Style
The style of your video should match the subject it’s attempting to explain. It’s the only way you will not get your readers/viewers confused about what you are trying to put across.
For instance, if your blog content is about an app you are trying to sell to prospective users and you want to include a video summing everything up, then the video should include an engaging narrative weaved around how the user can actually use the app.
Your blog content should lead up to the video and, by watching it, the reader should feel like you’ve captured their problem better than they would have and identified a solution that solves it better.
Avoid a long blatant display of features with a quick call-to-action at the end. Instead, make the video interesting and memorable and let it be a culmination or a more compelling explanation of what the post is all about.
4. Ignoring Technical Glitches
A sure way to have potential readers or customers fleeing away from your blog is to have them watch a video that doesn’t play correctly or isn’t friendly to their tablets and smartphones.
To be more specific, poor audio and video quality, distorted shapes, improper pacing, out of sync audio, incomplete transitions, and wrong white balance are just a few of the many technical errors you should avoid. Such errors frustrate viewers, making them want to exit your site without caring to know what else you have to offer.
So, before publishing the blog, be on a look out for such errors, including ensuring the video plays well on all platforms.
5. No Purpose
Before you add a video to your blog post, ensure you have enough reasons why it should be there. Have a purpose for it. If your message isn’t clear, viewers will be left confused and, worse, regret why they had to watch it in the first place.
Is it an explainer video, a PR video, a sales video, or a corporate video? Note that each of these videos require a different approach. In fact, your readers and viewers don’t expect to be served the same thing from each of these videos.
Not knowing the purpose is part of the reason why some people fail to include a call-to-action in their video. Just like the “Like us” button on Facebook or sign-up forms on blogs, a call-to-action in your video makes the viewer see why they had to watch it in the first place.
Final Thoughts
Remember, video offers great opportunities that can help your post achieve incredible success. Therefore, avoiding these five common mistakes while using video(s) on your blog is a sure way to ensure it has a positive effect. That’s all for today.
Good luck.
Author Bio:
Robyn Howard, Content Manager of VideoRemix - a video software company that allows users to create, edit, personalize, and publish production-quality video campaigns to engage their audience. Clients can feature these personalized videos on websites, landing pages, video-sharing sites, and Facebook.
