6 Reasons Why I Think SMEs Fail to Leverage Video Marketing

With the rise of digital marketing, video content has emerged as a powerful medium to captivate and engage audiences. Video marketing allows brands to showcase their products or services in a visually appealing and interactive way. However, despite its potential benefits, many SMEs fail to achieve desired results from their video marketing campaigns. Or worse, many SMEs don’t add video marketing to their strategies, and the few who consider it, do that with one foot out the door.

But why is it difficult for SMEs to leverage one of the most performing forms of content? In this article, I will explore 5 reasons why SMEs find it hard to incorporate video marketing into their content strategy and suggest ways to handle these difficulties.

This article is based on my experience as a Digital Marketer, who loves filmmaking because of its potential and who includes video marketing in clients’ strategies but always comes against a wall.

1. Lack of Strategy and Planning
One of the primary reasons why SMEs struggle with video marketing is the lack of a well-defined strategy and proper planning. Most of the SMEs I come across don’t have any digital marketing strategy or they don’t consider it at all. Most of them are just posting on social media. The ones that share short videos once in a while do it without proper goals and objectives, leading to ineffective results. They end up not seeing the need since there are no returns.

So without a clear roadmap, it becomes challenging for SMEs to create compelling video content that aligns with their business objectives. It is crucial for SMEs to identify their target audience, define the desired outcomes, and create a content strategy that resonates with their target market.

All these may seem like a lot to SME owners, this is why there are Digital Marketers like myself willing to help brands tell their unique stories using videos. The solution I’ll propose to this is to hire a Digital Marketer who can build an entire digital marketing strategy for your brand.

2. Limited resources and technical skills
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often have limited budgets and fewer resources compared to larger businesses. Video marketing requires investment in equipment and expertise. SMEs may find it challenging to allocate funds and time for producing high-quality videos that can effectively engage their target audience.

The first question almost every SME owner asks when I talk about video marketing is, “So how much will it cost?” with a bit of panic in their voice. The lack of resources keeps SMEs from thinking about creating visually appealing and engaging videos. But video marketing can be cost-effective with the emergence of many technological tools like the phone and the CapCut software. With their phone and Capcut, SMEs don’t need professional videography. All they need is a Digital Marketer who can build the strategies and content ideas and guide them to use their phones and simple editing software.

3. Time constraints
SMEs often have limited manpower, with employees wearing multiple hats and juggling various responsibilities. Producing videos can be time-consuming, from planning and scripting to filming and editing. As such, it is quite a struggle for them to allocate time and resources to create and distribute video content consistently.

Clearly, time is the challenge here. The only solution is to employ the services of a Digital Marketer with skills in planning, scripting, filming, and editing. This will mean SMEs have to spend more but with the value video marketing is delivering to businesses, they are sure to get their return on investment if they do it right.

4. Poor Video Quality and Production
The quality of video content plays a significant role in shaping the audience's perception of a brand. SMEs that produce low-quality videos risk damaging their brand image and losing the trust of their audience. A lack of professional production and editing skills can result in videos that appear unpolished and unprofessional. Additionally, SMEs often neglect video optimization for different platforms and devices, leading to poor user experience and reduced engagement.

The solution to this is for SMEs to invest either in hiring an in-house Digital Marketer with skills in videography or a freelancer or have staff on their team train in videography and start from there. It is more cost-effective for SMEs to invest in a professional than to create poor-quality videos that will hurt their brands.

5. Lack of Consistency and Frequency
Consistency and frequency are key to building brand recognition and maintaining audience engagement. SMEs that fail to publish videos on a regular basis often lose the attention of their audience. Inconsistent branding, messaging, and publishing schedules can create confusion and dilute the impact of video marketing efforts. SMEs should aim for a consistent video publishing schedule to keep their audience engaged and connected with their brand.

6. Lack of interest in building humanization brands

Sometimes, I have to take the time to explain to some clients, the importance of humanizing their brand. I have realized that SMEs know the importance of doing this, but getting these videos done is a challenge.

An SME would love the idea of video marketing but is not willing to appear in front of a camera to help cultivate the brand’s personality and value. This delays the creation of video content which affects consistency and frequency.

Letting the target market know who is behind a brand, the work process, and showing the human element is important and video marketing is the most effective way to do that. So SMEs should be more open and committed to this strategy.

Conclusion
Video marketing offers tremendous opportunities for SMEs to connect with their audience and achieve business growth. However, to succeed in video marketing, SMEs need to overcome these challenges.

If you are an SME and you are interested in helping your business realize the power of video marketing, contact me and let us set up a meeting and discuss the prospects of maximizing the benefits of video marketing.