Crafting video content for your brand is an effective way to engage your target audience and drive traffic back to your website. However, many brands still use the same stereotypical approaches in their video content that can often do more harm than good.
Branded videos should be a meaningful reflection of your brand and not only entertain viewers, but also inform them. Take a look at these satirical videos about popular video advertising cliches, and make sure your next video doesn’t fall into these same traps.
1: Using Too Much Jargon
“Introducing The World’s First Crowd Sourced 3D-Printed QR Code Live Streamed Via Go Pro To A Smart Phone Or Tablet Device Drone Delivery Ticket System Project.”
If your video uses too much jargon, it will probably leave your viewers confused about what it is your company actually does. If your viewers are unsure of what you are saying, they certainly won’t understand what you are selling. Keep things simple by focusing on the benefits, rather than features, of the product or service you are describing in your video.
2: Using a Popular Song
When choosing the right music for your video, try to choose music that is unique and will speak to your target audience. Take into consideration the demographics you are targeting with your video, rather than reaching to please too broad an audience.
Regardless of how popular a song may be, music that can be heard in multiple other brand videos or advertisements should be avoided. You want your video’s music to be unique enough to trigger a connection with your brand, rather than a connection with the many other brands which may be using the same tune.
3: Vague Messaging
We are surrounded by meaningless messaging all the time, and this over-the-top spoof video proves it. How many times have you seen a similar company video?
In your brand’s videos, avoid using images or footage with little to no actual connection to the product or service you are offering. Using vague messaging may end up boring your audience and leave them uninterested in learning more about what you do.
4: Featuring an Unrelatable Founder
When featuring your company’s founder or CEO in a video the end goal is to be relatable, humanize your brand, and show your target audience who you really are. However, if you stick an unrelatable or uncomfortable spokesman or spokeswoman in your video, it can be a turn-off for your viewers.
According to this study by Fidelum Partners on the power of brand warmth and competence, the human traits brands exhibit can influence 50% of all purchase intent, loyalty, and likelihood to recommend a brand. This shows just how important it is to effectively relate to your audience in your video.
5: Bonus
This bonus parody of tech videos demonstrates all of the above offenses as well as other popular cliches that brands need to avoid in their videos, such as:
- Editing too fast
- Repeating the same sentence over and over again
- Using words out of context
- Using typical upbeat music, such as a ukulele or an acoustic guitar
- Displaying your logo without text
Remember, you want your video content to not only convey your brand’s personality and beliefs but also build positive, trusting relationships with your audience. We hope watching these satirical videos about popular video advertising cliches can help your brand avoid falling into the same traps.
