Tips On How to Choose the Right Video Marketing Provider
You have made up your mind about developing a marketing video and have realized that there are a lot of vendors out there trying to gain your trust.
We all know that video marketing is no longer optional. But along with the meteoric rise in video marketing’s popularity has come no shortage of pop-up production houses that are more willing than they are able. They charge rock-bottom prices and boast the best equipment in the industry, but these production firms lack the commitment to quality, the storytelling expertise, or the client experience you deserve…And it shows in the end product.
What should you expect when choosing from one of these vendors? Below, we answer these questions, and share some very useful tips. Read on!
Remember Video Marketing Is About Video and Marketing!
It’s important to remember that video marketing involves much more than producing pretty videos. At its heart, video marketing is mostly about marketing.
Beginning with the initial strategy stage, and ending with the campaigns that use video to help drive leads and sales, successful video marketing requires a solid foundation in the principles of marketing.
The ability to create content for particular audiences, and then distribute that content, using any number of traditional and not so traditional channels, is what makes video marketing work.
Of course, video marketing also requires the ability to create video content that works effectively to serve your broader marketing objectives. The skill and experience required to do this effectively and efficiently is of equal importance to the success of video marketing.
What to Look For When Considering a Video Marketing Service Provider?
Video marketing services providers come in all shapes and sizes, and choosing the right one can seem like a daunting task. Most people begin be searching online and watching sample videos.
As you watch, ask yourself:
- How’s the production quality? You don’t want to hire someone only to end up with videos that look cheap or sloppily thrown together.
- Can you tell what the goal of each video is? And do they seem to achieve them? Marketing videos can’t just look good; they have to help you meet some marketing objective. You should be able to tell when watching a video what the client wanted to achieve, and make an educated guess at whether you think the video pulled it off.
- Do they look creative and unique? As more companies pursue video marketing, ideally you don’t want to release something that looks just like what your competitors have already done. See if it looks like they brought something creative to the table in the videos they created.
Professional video marketing agencies focus on the nexus between marketing and video production. As such, the good ones may very well represent the best of both worlds in production quality and marketing strategy to ensure your campaign’s success.
What Questions Should You Be Asking?
A company can make great videos, but not be a good fit for what you need or how you work. A meeting will help you recognize which of the companies will work well with your needs, priorities and work style.
There are a few main things to be looking for in this portion of the process:
- Does their approach seem one-size-fits-all? Any good video marketing company will recognize that every client is different. Your needs and goals won’t be the same as those of the clients that came before. While using a developed process can be a good thing, make sure it doesn’t feel like they’re trying to shoehorn your business into a one-size-fits-all model without bothering to work out what makes your situation particular.
- Do they ask about you? Similarly, to truly help your business meet your goals, a video marketing company must take the time to understand what your company does and who you’re trying to reach. If they’re not asking questions about your business during the meeting, then they won’t be able to deliver what you need.
- Do they have experience in different types of videos? There are so many types of marketing videos—product videos, explainer videos, animated videos, interview videos, video tours, 360 videos, to name just a few. The video marketing company you hire doesn’t necessarily need to be experienced in every possible type (that would pretty much be impossible), but you do want to make sure that the types they are experienced with seem to be a good fit for your needs.
- Do they only offer video services? For video marketing, you’ll be better served by a company that not only makes great videos, but also knows how to work their videos into an overall marketing strategy. Get a feel for how much the company you talk to knows about inbound marketing and whether they can help you ensure the videos you invest in become a part of your overall digital marketing strategy.
- Do they sound like they have an organized, efficient process? Video has a lot of moving parts. A company that’s good at planning and preparing will both save money and produce better results than one that isn’t well organized. You’ll also want to figure out here what kind of process they have for edits, so you’ll know what your options are if you aren’t 100 percent happy with the first-round results.
Final Thoughts…
We’ve boiled it down to few simple questions you should consider asking about the companies you vet. Remember, these companies aren’t just going to be “makin’ movies” for you; if you do your homework, you can find a service partner that will grow with your brand and become part of your story.
If you’re ready to begin a successful video marketing campaign, then contact Original Video Company for a “FREE”, no-obligation video discovery session.
