Regardless of whether you are a private school, a business, or a nonprofit, if you’re considering hiring a video production company that doesn’t have a lot of reviews or a substantial portfolio, hit the pause button. You might have been thinking that you can find a recent college graduate or a startup that might do videos for free or lost cost in exchange for “exposure.” Sure, they’ll carry out the task as requested and leave you to market the rest, but remind yourself why you’re hiring a videographer in the first place. Can this company or individual really deliver a quality product that saves you valuable time and, most importantly, generates results? Maybe they can (and trust me, we’ve been in that place) but that makes it even more important to vet them out.
To help you avoid the common mistakes that organizations make when choosing a video production company, we’ve put together a list of values, skills, and services that are essential to find in a partner. If you can’t check off most of these boxes, it’s fair to say they might not be a great fit and you’ll be wasting your marketing budget.
Your Video Partner Understands Overall Marketing Strategy
It goes without saying that you need a company that can prove high-quality production capability, but what about one with marketing experience? Marketing and communications professionals can put together a plan and try to direct the video production themselves, but they shouldn’t have to.
When hiring a partner for your video project, you shouldn’t have to micromanage. A good video production company will fully understand marketing principles and how video content fits into marketing strategy. Videos are not just fancy pieces of content, and they should not be filmed and produced without consideration for the rest of your content strategy and goals.
An experienced video production company will sit down with you to get to know your brand and your marketing goals. They’ll ask about your values, target audience, what’s currently working and what’s not working, your unique value proposition, and of course the goal that they want the video(s) to produce. By the end of the first meeting, you should be confident in their ability to frame your videos as a part of your marketing strategy.
They Offer More than Just One Video
“Tequila” by The Champs. “I’m Gonna Be” by The Proclaimers. “Hooked On a Feeling” by Blue Swede. These are all one-hit-wonders. While these songs are iconic in their own right, have you ever bothered to look further at the album? How often has the band stayed on your mind?
One-hit-wonders may propel a group to fame, but the record deal proves to be a costly bet when the rest of the music doesn’t live up to the hype. It’s similar for businesses, schools, and nonprofits that put up just one video, hoping to jump sales by 500%, yet don’t support their hit with a cohesive video marketing plan and other engaging content.
A good video production company should advise against putting all your eggs in one basket. One video is truly not enough when you’re carrying out a marketing plan. Surely, you want each video to knock it out of the park, but you’ll need a steady flow of content to connect with your target audience and build loyalty.
You want to work with a video production company that doesn’t lose sight of results. Your target audience should be compelled to seek more content and keep discovering information about your brand, value, and points of differentiation. By producing more than one video, you can build a better relationship with your audience and increase conversions. A great example might be a private school in the Philadelphia area who has a great general admissions video, but also has multiple videos about the programs they offer, how they handle tuition assistance, and any extracurriculars. These are just some examples of how a school can use multiple videos to propel their value to prospective families.
They Set You Up for Success
Hiring a video production company shouldn’t mean just exchanging money for a finished product; rather, your investment shouldn’t stop at posting the video. As stated previously, find a video production company that sets you up for success by helping you maximize on your new content for months, even years (and that will help you save money and time in the long run).
You should be confident your video partner can provide:
- Evergreen content that can be repurposed
- Educational resources and marketing guidance
- Advertising distribution services that boost the reach of your new videos (or they know of someone who can help with distribution)
- A long-term partnership, built on trust and communication, that keeps your future efforts in mind
- An actionable plan with strategies to get measurable results
It helps when your video production company asks, “What does success look like for you?” Based on your response, they should lay out a plan with actionable steps to achieve success. Clearly communicating goals and working together for results is the hallmark of a strong partnership that will be poised to meet your marketing goals and hopefully exceed them.
Find Your Ideal Video Production Partner
Knowing what to look for in a video production company is essential when choosing a partner. You need to be confident that the money you invest converts to results now and in the future. Monzo Media Productions holds steadfast to these values and services, underscoring the importance of a well-rounded marketing plan and the high-quality videos that play an important role in your content strategy.
So, we ask: What does success look like for you? Connect with us today, and let’s work together to put your marketing plan in motion.