5 Things To Consider When Looking for a Video Production Company 

Looking For A Video Production Company and don’t know what to look for? We’ve got you covered!

You have your brand and you’re ready to broadcast it to the world and we are here to cheer you on! Now where do you start? 

Not all video production companies are created equal! Finding out what is important to know and ask is a great starting point to figuring out who is the best fit to work with.

This article will talk about five different points to consider when looking into video production companies.

1. Niche

It’s important to find out what focus and experience the video production company has. It’s not uncommon to find a company with a niche – maybe their focus is working with musicians and creating music videos, maybe it’s more of a corporate video focus. Then of course there are always the narrative and short film creatives that aim to get into the Cannes Film Festival and make it in Hollywood. We’ll put it like this… Say you’re craving a pizza, but not just any pizza, a grandma style vodka sauce pizza with chunks of mozzarella on top. Pause We’re drooling already. Now that you know what you want you just have to go get it so you head to a sushi bar, which says they’ll accommodate your request. Would you trust the chef to make that pizza or get what you actually wanted? Probably not.

When looking for a video production company you want one that best fits you and specializes in what you need produced. Know what type of content you need created, or at least have an idea. Finding a production company who has the proper experience can be a huge advantage when it comes to working with them to create relevant content for your target audience. Be sure to ask questions about past work and what they think is the best kind of content to create for your area of expertise – this way you know they can deliver the pizza… err video you wanted!

2. Portfolio

Ok now that you ordered your pizza and are back, we promise not to use any more food analogies. Looking through a company’s portfolio helps you to see what they offer. Often a production company will have a “reel” which highlights different productions they have worked on. Obviously looking into content they share on their website and social media is a great start, it’s also recommended to reach out and ask about any sample work they can share. It’s not uncommon for video production companies to not publicly share all their content. 

When looking at someone’s portfolio there are several things to consider. The visual appearance of their work is indicative of camera quality, lighting, and the skills of the people behind the scenes. Granted making things look good is usually not the hard part when it comes to video production.

A bonus of perusing a portfolio, you can use concepts from past works as inspiration for your production needs as well!  

3. Professionalism  

Looking into professionalism is extremely important and takes a certain level of observation and question asking on your end. Professionalism isn’t necessarily only how they may carry themselves and appear as a company. If you’re looking for video production that means you plan on investing your time, money, and energy. Make sure you save yourself potential headaches and consider the following when choosing a video production company. It’s very easy to get a video camera, start creating content, and call yourself a production company – but what does experience and professionalism entail?

Ask what the production company does to prevent losing data. What if a microphone suddenly stops working and the audio is missed from an interview that cannot be easily filmed again? What if a memory card is corrupt and video files are lost. Will the entire production have to be recreated? Preventative measures are extremely important in every step of the way. Here at Shore Point Productions we make sure to record multiple sources of audio, record to multiple memory cards, and have backup equipment. After we have a production day, we store data in an onsite media server that has its own backup and file recovery system. In addition to that we also store all the media in separate archived hard drives and one more copy of all the media that is stored off location. If anything were to go wrong on set or with file management, we’d be prepared.

Anytime there are cameras, lighting and a crew that means there will be a lot of heavy equipment, cables, and things that can fall. While making sure to do our due diligence in taping cables down, using sandbags and spike tape (bright colored tape) to prevent accident or injury – what if something serious were to go wrong and someone is injured on set. Does this company have production insurance? Are you working with sensitive content and material thats being filmed? Will the production company have encrypted data storage and cybersecurity insurance. Liability is a long list – will errors and omissions or professional liability be a potential issue. Ask questions about their experience and coverage.

Coordinating large scale production and projects can be a daunting task. Is this production company a one man band or do they have a team to assist in planning and coordinating. Is there a project management platform they will invite you to join, so you can see every step of the process and be a part of?

From the initial proposal that is delivered to you through pre-production, production, and post-production. Having the experience and level of professionalism is extremely important.

4. Cost 

Hold on to your britches, this one is a long one. As much as we wanted to keep this section shorter, we want to share exactly what your hard earned money is paying for. We’ll preface this with many production companies try to accommodate a wide range of budgets. That being said, getting quality video production is costly for a number of reasons. First off there is a lot of time, energy, and attention to detail that goes into the planning phase of video production. That pre-production planning is what will guarantee a consistently good quality product, which aligns with your goals, time and time again.

Of course the necessary equipment for video production carries a big cost – cameras, lenses, computers, lighting, and media management costs tens of thousands of dollars. Depending on the level of production that’s needed, this will have a big impact on overall production budget as well.

A very important deciding factor is finding a fully insured production company. A production company looking to protect their clients and themselves from any potential mishaps is a production company that most likely values quality, safety, and professionalism. Of course this is another factor in the overhead cost of video production. 

The cost increases if the video is going to be broadcasted on local or national television. Cost of licensing music, hiring talent goes up. The production and post-production phases will be impacted as well due to additional steps needed to prepare a video properly for broadcast standards (which may be different based on different networks).  

Now on top of all that, production budgets can vary greatly – which can make it difficult to say off the bat how much a “simple” 30 second video may cost. Is there on camera talent that needs to be hired? Do we need a makeup artist? Will there be a need to bring in massive lights that run on generators? Or will this be a one man band with a camera in hand kind of shoot?

Many production companies work with all different budgets. So when requesting a proposal with an estimated production cost, be sure to ask questions of where those costs are going. It doesn’t hurt to ask if there are areas where the costs can be cut – this could lead to the conversation of understanding what the cost will have on the result of the product.

5. Value

Time and time again we see it – a cool looking video gets made and posted to social media and gets a lot of likes, but then what. A lot of likes on instagram doesn’t add up to conversion or even a measurable way to calculate your return on investment. We want you to generate value in what is created and see your hard earned dollars put to use in a way that benefits your brand/organization. Majority of video production companies do not specialize in marketing, when it comes to running campaigns and delivering analytics, but some will help strategize when creating video. Do they have experience working with marketing teams? A good marketing campaign revolves around analytics and making sure there’s purpose if what is created and how it is created. Having a production company that is experienced in producing content for a specific purpose, platform distribution, and targeted audience is crucial.

Creating content for platforms is not equal. For example, YouTube pre-roll is what you see when you watch a YouTube video and get that ad that you’re allowed to skip after several seconds. If you’re creating an ad for YouTube pre-roll it has to captivate your viewer in the first few seconds to prevent them skipping the ad. Scripting a VoiceOver or having talent say something that really catches the viewers attention is a great strategy for YouTube pre-roll. Meanwhile if you’re having a video created for Facebook it’s a different approach. According to studies 85% of Facebook videos are viewed without sound. Your strategy to capture this audiences attention is completely different from YouTube pre-roll. One size does not fit all in this situation.

Does the video production company simply just create what you ask for or will help strategize creating your video to help produce results. Do they have experience working with marketing teams? Be sure to find a production company that has the right fit to develop the proper video strategy needed.

Conclusion

When looking for a video production company you make sure their niche is suitable to you. Checking their portfolio will help you to see if they are experienced and if they will be able to execute your vision. Be observant and ask questions to make sure you are getting the level of professionalism your brand deserves. When it comes to cost, understand how the production budget works. Last but definitely not least is generating value finding a company that helps steer your vision to the right audience so you see a return on investment. Asking the right questions will lead you to find the right match and help drive your brand to the next level!

If you’re looking for video production, contact us and let’s start the conversation today!

How Videos Increase Consumer Trust

Having happy customers is only the beginning of building trust. It’s a promise to provide excellent service and meet the customer’s demands throughout time. Here are five examples of how you may utilize video to win over customers and keep them coming back.

You Should Use Video To Tell Your Brand’s Narrative

Specific videos in your marketing campaign are called cornerstone videos. They lay the groundwork for your brand’s personality, tone, and objectives by explaining your brand’s backstory.

What follows are some suggestions for making narrative videos:

• Inform your consumer of what they may anticipate. Most narrative videos don’t promote any particular goods or services. Instead, they inform consumers on the benefits they might anticipate from doing business with you.
• Construct a backstory for your company. Customers aren’t interested in a dry rundown of the company’s history. They need to know the company’s backstory, including how it started, how it expanded, and any challenges it encountered. Together, they make for an engaging, interesting, and memorable brand narrative.
• Just like a new employee, your clients and partners need to be introduced. Storytelling films might incorporate information about your staff and customers — your business’s environment and its influence on the neighborhood.

Storytelling videos will influence your other advertising messaging, building a foundation of vital, timeless material you can utilize across your brand’s marketing efforts.

Customer Testimonial Videos Build Trust

By interacting with one another, consumers inevitably learn to trust one another. Because of this, advertising strategies such as word-of-mouth and third-party review sites are highly efficient.

A customer’s next thought after learning about your company is likely to be one of curiosity about how others see it. 

In order to demonstrate that your consumers trust your organization, video testimonials are a powerful tool. The following components make to a solid video review by a satisfied customer:

Describe what the issue was to start with. To get started, the client should describe the issue they’re having.

• Do not be shy about letting others know how much the company meant to you. The consumer should elaborate on the company’s efforts to resolve the issue.
• The answer must be shown. In closing, they should express how they feel about the company and emphasize the final results of the product or solution. People might talk about the benefits of working with the company, the relationship between them, or the unique qualities of the product or service.
• An effective customer endorsement must come out as genuine and unscripted at all times. Customer feedback is required, and those consumers must be experiencing genuine issues.
• Get in touch with your most loyal customers and ask them to record a video testimonial for you. They will be your most effective supporters, and they might even form the backbone of a brand advocacy initiative in the future.

Directly Interact With Your Consumers Through Video

This video thing shouldn’t be all one way traffic. The more your clients interact with and enjoy your movies, the more familiar and trustworthy you’ll become in their eyes. If you deliver movies without providing any context or interaction, your clients may feel disengaged.

If you want more people to see your videos, try these strategies:

• Take a video camera and answer some questions. Follow up with a video answering consumer concerns and comments. Respond to comments with answers and edits as necessary. An answer like this makes viewers feel like they’re part of your video community.
• Make the switch to using real-time video. Video chats in real time are a great way to connect with your viewers. In many cases, including Facebook Live Q&As, viewers can remark and reply in real time as you record.
• Consider holding Q&A sessions or showcasing your typical activities via live video to engage with clients. Create movies that either explain what you do or give them a glimpse at how your business operates.
• Never ignore feedback. There are usually discussion sections beneath uploaded videos on most sites. The way you handle feedback reflects on you as a person and on your expertise in the field.
• Easily communicate visual content by means of direct sharing. Post relevant videos on social media and post them when clients have queries about your items. In order to reach a wider audience, video sharing is a great tool.
• Please comment on other videos. If competitors create videos promoting your products, you should weigh in with your own pitch. Never become defensive or take criticism to heart.
• How you handle criticism, though, will greatly influence how others view you.
• Consistently engage in conversation. Avoid uploading movies just to forget about them afterwards. Maintain constant communication and content delivery with your followers. Your audience will get fonder of your business the more they engage with it.
• Customers will talk favorably about your company because of the pleasant associations they have with it in their minds.

Video Promotes Your Business

Highlights from the industry are a great method to prove your competence. Here are a few suggestions for creating effective highlight reels.

• Collaborate with competing businesses. Collaborate with companies that are not direct competitors in order to showcase their goods and learn more about their operations.
• By doing so, you’re providing your audience with more material and shedding light on items and services they’re likely to be interested in.
• Making movies that include notable figures in your sector is also a great way to network with potential business partners. Exchange films with a group of companies who believe in what you’re doing and help expand your reach.
• Make videos discussing recent developments. Bring to light the evolving state of the industry, including the most recent trends, the newest product styles, and the most cutting-edge technological developments.
• One great place to find material for this style of film is during a convention. Live recordings from a conference are one way to document the event and share interesting insights afterwards.
• Share a video of yourself giving a talk at a conference if you do so. As you build trust and reputation in the business, you’ll be able to share important news and insights with your audience.
• Consult with brand advocates via conducting interviews. Brand ambassadors are impartial third parties who are experts in your field and your products.
• Make contact and inquire about their experience with your products and the factors that make your company stand out. Customers’ trust may be earned and new perspectives can be gained by conducting interviews with brand ambassadors.

Be Genuine In Video Marketing

Your video marketing effort, above all else, ought to be genuine. Clients can see through slick marketing pitches and won’t respond as favorably as they would to something that seems more genuine.

Following are some suggestions for adding credibility to your video content.

• Put your business out there, flaws and all. You may portray what truly happens behind the scenes if you use genuine people (customers and workers) instead of actors.
• As long as they believe the organization is being trustworthy, customers are typically prepared to overlook a few minor mistakes.
• Think about what they want and need. In the world of video marketing, there is such a thing as being too clever. Instead than trying to trick people into buying, focus on providing for their needs and wants instead.
• Taking this tack will lend authenticity to your films and allow you to more effectively connect with your target demographic.
• Focus groups are a great tool for checking your authenticity. When you put forth extra effort to appear genuine, you risk coming off as fake.
• Put your films through the paces by showing them to a select few people to check if anything seems forced or fake. Customers’ reactions to your films may be gauged with the use of focus groups.

Video Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Since video is such a potent medium, it’s important to master it. Don’t make these common errors in your video marketing strategy.

Make videos with a purpose

Your video marketing strategy as a whole should have an objective, and each individual film should have one as well. Plan out how many videos you want to make and what they will be about for each goal.

Consider making movies covering the following subjects to aid in the trust-building phase of the customer journey:

• How and why the business was established
• Core beliefs of the company
• Details on how the business operates secretly
• Praise from satisfied clients
• Promotional Films for the Business World
• Tutorial videos addressing frequently asked topics

Use on-screen footage of the company’s owners, managers, and other important personnel to establish credibility.

Don’t make videos until you’ve determined who you want to see them.

If you’ve been in business for a time, you should have a solid grasp of who you’re serving as customers. But if you’re just starting out, you should learn more about your target demographic.

For instance, you shouldn’t bother making films on the basics if your target audience is comprised of experts in the field of your product category. Make explanation videos if your target audience consists mostly of first-time viewers. The demands of various segments of your target audience may be met by producing video series tailored to each character.

Check at the video content of your main rivals to get a sense of the kinds of things that could interest your audience. In addition, have consumers send in any issues they’re having or questions they have so you may answer them in videos.

Conclusion 

Video marketing isn’t simply about spreading the word about your company or its products. Trust and closeness are the cornerstones of every lasting relationship. If you run a video marketing campaign properly, you can connect with your target audience and earn their trust over time.