By Tom More

The use of video in marketing and advertising is no longer a privilege reserved for large, well-funded brands.

Considering video ads’ effectiveness as opposed to more static methods of advertising, these ads are becoming the medium of choice of more small and midsize businesses.

With social media, email campaigns, Web pages and video games featuring embedded videos in a variety of styles and formats, the success of a video ad campaign is very much dependent on its originality, quality and relevance.

In other words, producing substandard video ad content is not just unproductive, it can actually be detrimental to one’s brand. That is why businesses need make sure that they are meeting and even exceeding viewer expectations when creating their video ads.

Here are a few of the most crucial mistakes marketers make in video ad campaigns, and ways to avoid them.

Do not kill the message
Throughout the lengthy internal process of coming up with and executing a viable campaign concept, there is a natural tendency to pack as much information into marketing videos as possible.

Remember: too much information equals zero information.

Overthinking it and overstuffing it will make an ad confusing and overwhelming, losing the viewers’ attention and, ultimately, killing your message. Resist.

You are dealing with an increasingly distracted generation with a rapidly deteriorating attention span, so truly, less is more.

Your message should be creative, yet simple and to the point. And do not forget your call to action!

Promote, shamelessly – but tell a story
Today’s online audiences are way more sophisticated and sensitive to in-your-face marketing than those of the past.

For content to penetrate a media-saturated generation, it must be told in the oldest, most convincing art form known to humankind – the story.

An ad without a narrative arc crafted to grab your audience by the throat, and all the humor, relatability, inspiration and emotion that goes with it will never be a compelling watch.

No one will ever buy something just because someone tells them emphatically to do so.

For optimal results, make sure you have a beginning, middle and a resolution with some tension sprinkled here and there for good measure, even if the whole thing takes only 10 seconds.

Poor video quality = Keep scrolling
Perhaps your chief marketing officer is a genius blogger and networker, but she cannot hold a camera steady to save her life.

Maybe your IT person is a whiz with hardware and networks, but his or her video editing leaves much to be desired.

In short, a professional video production team is well worth the investment.

However, if your operation runs a bit leaner, do not fret.

There are affordable professional-quality video solutions out there that do not require the time and hassle of a full-scale production process.

Do not leave users hanging, start a conversation
Branding in 2016 is not just about posting content. It is about starting a conversation.

Do not just post a video ad and leave it there – engage with likers, commentators and even haters.

If users are taking the time to engage with you on social media, the polite – and strategic – thing to do is engage right back. This will help create positive sentiment around your product and strengthen brand awareness and loyalty.

BY AVOIDING these all-too-common pitfalls in your video marketing strategy, will you guarantee that your ad goes viral?

Not necessarily, but following these steps will undoubtedly give you far more of the traction that your brand deserves.

Tom More is founder/CEO of social video creation platform Slidely, Tel Aviv, Israel. Reach him at [email protected].