What to tell your boss if they ask: Why aren’t our videos working?

The question: What would you tell your boss if they asked you, “Why aren’t our videos working?”

The answer:

"That’s a great question, boss lady!

There are three main reasons why videos usually won’t work with audiences:

The video bored them. The first three seconds are crucial. We need to hit them with a beautiful visual or an awesome factoid.
We forgot to tell a story filled with emotion. People don’t buy on logic; they buy on emotions and feelings.
We didn’t call them to action. Either the audience didn’t know what next steps to take, or we wrapped up the storytelling so nicely that the audience walked away satisfied.

But since we know all of that, let’s take a deeper look into our analytics. Since we aren’t Hollywood where we make educated guesses on what will make the box office sing, we can take a look at live metrics like total watch times, links clicked, impressions, etc. I would recommend we break this down into the 5 W’s.

The video is not being pushed to the right audience. (the Who is misaligned)

Maybe the age range is off or the location isn’t there. We wouldn’t want to advertise agricultural tractor equipment to someone living in an apartment in Brooklyn!

The video needs to be re-edited. (the What isn’t there)

Beyond the first three seconds, how many are sticking around for ten seconds? Does the pacing need editing or is it just boring? We need to tweak as necessary and cut ruthlessly. Remember, less is more.

The video isn’t being pushed out at the right time. (the When is too early or too late)

The best time for us to deploy is when the audience is on the channel we are advertising to. For email, it’s Tuesday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday. For YouTube, it’s good to have a consistent time of when you will premiere.