Mar 1, 2020
Videos are excellent ways to effectively get your company’s message out to the largest number of people in today’s digital and social media age.
Video production is a no-brainer when it comes to the creation of a successful digital marketing campaign designed to generate more website traffic and increase sales and revenue.
If you haven’t created a video to showcase your company’s product or service, now is the time. Professionally produced, properly marketed videos will help your business grow and create a buzz for your company.
Watching online videos has skyrocketed in recent years. Consider:
- Users are spending more time watching videos in the palm of their hands then they do watching television.
- Mobile video consumption continues to rise by 100% every year.
- More than 1 billion hours of videos are viewed every day on YouTube, the third-largest search engine after Google and Google Images.
- Online users retain 95% of messages watched video, compared to 10% when it is read in text.
- Nearly everyone who watches a video on a mobile device will share it with others.
The message is clear.
You need to make video part of your digital strategy. Once a novel marketing element in the advertising world, video marketing is now required if you want today’s consumers to notice you at all.
Sure, lots of people can shoot a video on their phone. But even with unprecedented video quality from mobile device cameras, you still need a professional company specializing in video marketing that will present you, your brand, and your product or service in the best possible light.
Finding a Video Production Company for Your Brand
A quick Google search for video marketing companies will yield thousands of results — probably hundreds in your region alone. How do you know which is best for you and your brand?
If you don’t have much experience in video production or marketing, choosing an agency to spearhead your company’s video strategy can be a confusing, daunting experience.
What to Look for in a Video Marketing Production Company
Here are some things to look for after you’ve narrowed your search and started interviewing individual firms.
Production Team Structure
If the production company uses all in-house staff for video shoots and post-production projects, there tends to be more consistency throughout the process. Agencies often use freelancers to reduce overhead, but the results can be mixed and quality can change from project to project.
Experience
It’s important to ascertain what kind of experience prospective video companies have in your industry. A video marketing firm with lots of experience in the legal field may not be well equipped for clients in the travel industry. Most production houses will have a portfolio on their website that showcases the kinds of industries they’ve worked with to create video marketing campaigns.
Contracts
Always carefully review contracts before agreeing to any jobs or projects.
Find out the number of revisions and edits that are allowed at each phase of the process before overage fees kick in. It is also important to make sure you retain ownership of the final product, as well as the raw footage and project files.
Pricing Structure
Try to find out the pricing options as early as possible to ensure your budget matches what each production company offers.
Prices can vary widely depending on the size and scope of the company or team. Single-person crews and freelance teams can be hired for as little as a few thousand dollars.
Smaller companies typically charge from $15,000 to $20,000, while more substantial video production companies with larger staff and better equipment can start at about $150,000, and go up from there depending on the project.
Get References
Professional video production companies should be able to supply you with a list of references from satisfied customers in your industry or field. Take the time to reach out to these references so they can share their first-hand experiences.
Clutch is also a good place to look at client reviews.
Online Reviews
The Internet is full of online review sites with a never-ending supply of former customers and clients eager to tell the world what they think of every store they visit and every company they hire. A quick Google search should give you a wealth of information from other companies and customers.
What to Expect from Your Video Production Company
You have done your due diligence and found the video production company who will create a video marketing campaign that will delivers some real ROI. Now what?
The most important thing is to be honest and open with your new video production company. The following are some guidelines and advice for making the most of your relationship with your new service provider.
Tell Them What You Want
Keep the lines of communication open. Find out which form of communication works best for all parties involved so there are no misunderstandings. Let project managers and producers know exactly what you are looking for when it comes to tone, style, and production value. Provide as much information about your expectations and vision as possible for the best chance at success for both you and them. Let them know if you have any restrictions or specific rules regarding your brand or product they will need to follow.
When it comes to sharing information, i.e., scripts, image files, branding guidelines, or other information, setting up a client portal may be worthwhile. That way there's no weekly analysis of email threads; you'll have an easy way to gather and share content.
Understand Who You Will Be Working With
The video production process involves a lot of moving pieces and a wide range of personnel and production staff. Understanding who everyone is and what they all do will help you know who the contacts are for various needs during the process.
Who’s Who on a Production Team
- Account/Project Manager: Typically the main point of contact and the member of the production team you are likely to interact with the most.
- Creative Director: Leads the creative team and is in charge of team members, vendors, and all other creative aspects of the production.
- Strategist: Works to ensure that the different videos, distributions, and media are all working together as one cohesive team.
- Media Planner/ Buyer: Identifies the best media platforms and outlets to market to and negotiates deals.
- Art Director: Defines the visual style of the video marketing campaign and creates the overall design. The art director then directs others to develop the vision through artwork or layouts.
- Writer: The writer is in charge of all copywriting and editing for voice over or scripted characters.
- Producer: Co-ordinates all aspects of the physical production shoot from hiring actors, renting locations to planning out the shooting schedule.
- Director: On-site leader of video production execution directs crew and talent.
- Director of Photography (DP): In charge of everything camera and lighting-related.
- Editor: Physically performs post-production editing, graphics, animations, special effects, and more.
- Sound Designer: Responsible for everything concerning the video’s audio, including music, mixing, voice-over, sound effects, and more.
- Colorist: One of the last people to touch a project, the colorist ensures each shot matches and looks coordinated.
Get Started at Soundstripe Today
One of the most important pieces of the video production puzzle is the addition of music that can add mood and stress important communication points for views. Lucky for you, Soundstripe offers a vast catalog of stellar royalty-free music with new music added every week.
Click the link below to browse their music and listen to their best stuff.
This is a guest contribution by Torrey Tayenaka, co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based video production agency. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.