5 Common Mistakes Businesses Make With Their Video Marketing

Everyone knows video is valuable. What many businesses don’t know is how to get it right.

Poorly planned or executed videos don’t just fail to deliver results, they can frustrate your audience and waste internal time and resources.

Here are 5 common video marketing mistakes we see businesses make, with ways to avoid them:

1. Making videos without a clear purpose

A lot of companies create videos just “because they should.” Without a clear goal, videos become a waste of time and resource. Consider:

• Is this video meant to educate, sell, or reassure?

• Who is the audience, and what action should they take after watching?

• How will success be measured, even if it’s not pure ROI?

  
  

A short explainer that clarifies your product for new customers is very different from a social clip designed to build awareness. Clear purpose shapes everything else.

2. Overproducing content

Big budgets and cinematic production don’t guarantee results. Sometimes a simple, well-shot video is more effective than an expensive multi-day shoot with a massive crew.

Focus on:

• Clear messaging.

• Good sound and lighting.

• Staying concise.

For example, a 60-second product walkthrough can often outperform a three-minute high-budget ad if it communicates the right points clearly.

We’ve shared another blog on why an agile approach to video production is so important, give it a read.

3. Ignoring distribution

A video sitting on your website is doing very little. Without a plan for how it will be used, it’s almost invisible.

Think about:

• Embedding in emails or blogs.

• Sharing shorter edits across the channels your audience engages with your business on.

• Using snippets in presentations or pitch decks.

  
  

4. Failing to make content accessible

Accessibility is often overlooked but essential. Videos should be understandable by as many people as possible:

• Include captions.

• Make sure audio is clear.

• Use simple language.

  
  

Accessibility isn’t just a legal or ethical concern, it expands your audience and ensures your message lands.

5. Measuring the wrong things

Many businesses focus on vanity metrics like views or likes, which don’t always show whether a video is effective. Instead:

• Look at how it supports your goal: did it clarify a product feature, answer a question, or reduce support queries?

• Ask your team if it saved time or effort.

• Monitor engagement in context: clicks, shares, and actions taken.

  
  

Even without hard ROI numbers, these signals show video is working.

Video isn’t inherently difficult, but it can be misused. Avoiding these mistakes ensures that your content is actually useful, reaches the right people, and makes life easier for both your audience and your team.

If your stakeholders ask why you need video, don’t just quote stats, show them the pitfalls of getting it wrong. Video done well is practical, usable, and visible. Video done poorly just sits there, unnoticed.

If you'd like any advice on this topic, or need support with creating videos that deliver winning results for your business, get in touch.