Planning a video project can be a daunting experience, especially if it is new to you. This is why I have completed a list of about common avoidable mistakes that people make when creating video plans.
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
While I think Napoleon’s advice is not very “modern” I can see his point. I have always found it best to learn from others mistakes as it cuts down on your personal learning curve.
Having No Vision When Planning Your Project
Every video project starts with a vision. I always think of a vision as knowing what the destination is for any journey. Only by knowing the destination can we plan the journey. Similarly when planning your video project you need to know what the idealised video outcome looks like.
Not Setting A Goal For Your Project
When you know your vision you can set the goals you need to achieve this vision. Where people make a mistake is skipping the vision and goal setting steps and going straight to the planning stage. It is a bit like working with “one hand behind your back” because you are constantly guessing where your destination is and how you will know when you got there.
When you have a vision and know your goals then it is easy to start planning so you can try achieving them. Goals provide you with an overall structure for your project and with them you can review the individual steps you need to take to achieve them.
Forgetting About Your Audience When Planning Your Project
We often make the mistake of thinking our video is all about the brand this is not case. It is all about your audience and you need to remember this when creating your video project plan. Understand who your audience is and what they expect from the video. Use this information to create your project plan.
Thinking Time Is Unimportant
Video production is a fun creative endeavor and it is easy to forget about time in the process. This can be true from two angles, time spent on completing the project and the length of the final project.
The time spent on creating a plan and executing that plan needs to be carefully controlled and every team member needs to be made aware that the entire project must be completed in a fixed time frame.
Viewer’s time matters and the final video must be no longer than absolutely necessary. Remember there will always be a competitor who can deliver similar content in a shorter timeframe.
Over Complicating The Video
Simplicity is key when creating a video. The brand that overcomplicates their video content will lose their audience. When we are always “one click away” from more video content there is no excuse for losing your audience because they have difficulty understanding your video content. When creating your video plan think about how you can make every aspect of the video as easy to understand as possible.
Not Including SEO Planning In The Process
With so much content available online social media platforms are serving up more and more video content and Google the balance. When planning your video content you need to think about what your audience is looking for. The day when your audience diligently reads your blog is probably dying. The chances are your audience is searching for a particular problem and your video content needs to meet this demand.
This is where SEO comes into play, you need to become proficient in Video SEO or get someone who is. SEO needs to be at the heart of your video plan.
Not Knowing Where Your Audience Is
Where online your audience reside contributes to how you plan your video project. When your audience is on Twitter you need to tailor your video content accordingly. One size rarely fits all when it comes to the different social media platforms.
Use this research to help create video content that suits the individual social media platforms and this will help create maximum audience impact.
Planning Your Next Video
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The next video project you plan should be all about solving a problem that a customer is actively looking for a solution for. The video should be easy to follow and should be suitable for the social media platform where your audience intends watch it. The video will achieve your goals if it lives up to your vision.