There’s nothing worse than watching a boring video, especially on the Internet, where your attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish. If something doesn’t catch your attention in just a few seconds, you’re moving on to one of the billion other options available to you at the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen.

Effective video content is a key to a successful business’s online marketing strategy, yet many businesses don’t understand that just throwing a video out there that is boring, low quality, and lacking in creativity can actually hurt you.

Here are four things that you should make sure you’re not doing with your videos.

1. Treating your video like a blog

One of the biggest mistake a business can make when creating video content is to treat it like a blog post or PowerPoint. There’s not much worse than feeling as though you’re reading a novel while watching a video. It’s just a waste of the media and both the creator and viewer’s time.

humor in online videos2. Making humor off-limits

Many businesses seem to refrain from using humorous videos because they don’t want viewers to think their business is a joke. This is one of the worst mindsets one can have when creating video. Think about the times you actually focus on a commercial on TV. It’s because you’re laughing, isn’t it? Integrating comedy into video content is essential for a successful business video, because it’s what viewers tend to remember.

 3. Using an abundance of on-screen text

Another tip when creating successful video content for your business is to stay away from a lot of on screen text.  The last thing you want to do is bore your viewer with a video that plays out as a glorified blog or PowerPoint presentation. Take a look at your project, and if you find yourself reading and not watching, then it’s back to the drawing board.

4. Telling your audience instead of showing them

Show your audience; don’t just tell the story. This is probably the biggest key to successful video making. Show why your business is top notch by using moving shots (pans, tilts, handheld), a story arch, slick dialogue and make sure to demonstrate your product, rather than just talking about it. Adding timely titles and catchy music always helps as well, so be sure not to forget these important aspects.

Once your video is done, make sure that you post it to places where people will watch your video and share it and you have the beginnings of a well put together video marketing initiative!