Several factors are in play when it comes to outsourcing your video production vs. hiring in-house. Take a closer look at some of the key considerations before making your decision.
Video content is becoming a more and more important marketing tactic year after year. According to Forbes, 90% of customers report that videos help them make purchasing decisions. So, if you are looking to maintain or grow your business, one of the most important marketing tools you will use is a good video marketing strategy.
While videos can have a handmade “look” on Tik Tok or similar apps, if you are looking to have your brand be strategically shown across multiple marketing platforms with a clear voice and professional look, you will need to hire a video production company. In this article, we discuss finding the right one for you.
What Is Video Production?
Video production is the creation of a video for use on a large scale. In this case, video production is for marketing purposes (versus cinematic purposes). As the use of visual marketing ploys, like video creation, has grown there are production companies dedicated to leveraging content creation to inspire audiences to buy into products and services online. Simply writing a reason to buy a product is not enough anymore. According to digital marketing expert James McQuivey, a single minute of video content is the equivalent of 1.8 million words. Audiences are looking to see a compelling and emotional story of why they should buy your product or service.
Video marketing has also taken over as the go-to for marketing content. Videos are accessible on all platforms, shareable, boost SEO, and can help your brand go viral.
What Are The Different Types Of Video Production, And What Kind Do I Need For My Business?
As you can see from this previous UpCity post, there are a lot of different formats of video production. Typically, the most common use of video production is for customer testimonials or brand films. However, as your business grows and more resources are needed, you will likely use the other formats as well.
Product And Service Demonstrations
These types of videos are perfect for a new service or product that is not already on the market. It is hard to sell something new to a customer if they are not already familiar with the concept. Providing a demonstration makes it easier to understand and thus easier to sell.
Customer Testimonials
When working with any business, a customer usually first checks the social media sites and then a company’s reviews. However, as we know, people prefer to see and hear from a former customer because the emotion and interest are easier to believe. When you look for a video production company, you will likely look up customer testimonials before you decide to work with a company!
Behind-The-Scenes
It is becoming more and more important for customers to understand the service provider or product they choose to buy. Simply using the product is not enough. They want to know the mission, vision, leadership, and culture of a company. They also LOVE transparency, so creating behind-the-scenes is an intimate and easy way to invite clients into your company.
Livestreaming
With social media dominating marketing, many companies have used live streaming for demonstrations, behind-the-scenes, social takeovers, and press releases. This is certainly something that a company can do on its own, but hiring a production company to storyboard the video or at least strategize the need for such videos is smart.
Interviews With Industry Experts
Building respect within your company and brand is vital to the health of any business. An easy way to build respect is to bring in industry and outside experts to share their knowledge. By interviewing with these experts on topics that relate to your services, your customers will know that you are constantly learning with them and providing much-needed information.
Brand Films
Videos that focus on the branding of an organization do not necessarily focus on the service or the product that the company provides. It is essentially a “get to know us” video that allows the customer to learn about your company without feeling pushed to buy into something. According to Hubspot, Sixty-five percent of business decision-makers visit a marketer’s website after viewing a branded video. So, while this video may not directly sell something, it leads to greater SEO and brand recognition.
Presentations
Presentations are not often the first thing that one thinks of when it comes to professional video production, but if you are creating a presentation that will be shared globally, you will want to hire a video production company. This video could be used to train thousands of new staff members or could be a presentation to stakeholders; either way, these are examples of giving information that instills respect, confidence and informs the audience. By hiring a production company, they will work with you to ensure that the content is presented authentically, accurately, and is easy to understand.
Hear From Industry Experts
Read the latest tips, research, best practices, and insights from our community of expert B2B service providers.
Should I Hire An Agency Or Handle Video Production In-House?
Now that you have a good grasp of what video production is, you need to decide who to hire to take care of all of that for you. For some, that may mean an in-house team, for others that may mean hiring an agency. Below, we have broken down the positives and negatives of hiring in-house video production staff.
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Long-Term Video Needs If you are planning to create videos every year or every quarter, then it may be in your best interest to hire a videographer or a video production team. Since they can be fully committed to you and know the brand inside out, there could be less back and forth vs hiring outside. |
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Aligned Interests And Standard When hiring any staff, you typically look for people who have similar interests and standards to the company. As a result, an in-house videographer will usually have a more aligned interest with their employer and understand their standards, which will make working through video projects easier. |
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Company’s Culture Fit Having an in-house videographer or video production team that has a baseline capability to do the job, but who “gets” the company culture and standards is usually more productive than trying to work with the best specialists who are a poor fit. |
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Able To Correct Issues Quickly Developing a product in-house enables you to monitor all the steps in the process. If something goes wrong, you can spot it immediately. Therefore, the turnaround time in fixing the problem is shorter than it would be in the case of outsourcing. |
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Negatives |
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Time-Consuming Recruiting, onboarding, and training takes time, especially when you are looking for the right fit. Even then, there is a possibility that these new hires will not be able to join right away. |
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Technical Expertise Unless your company has a large marketing or video department, or an unlimited budget to hire a wide range of video production professionals, you probably will not be able to cover all your specific needs with dedicated experts. |
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High Costs Hiring a staff member costs money. The time to hire them costs money, but so do annual salaries, benefits packages, overhead costs. However, hiring an agency only costs what is agreed upon for your project. All the other miscellaneous expenses are covered by that agency for their employees. |
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High Costs Hiring a staff member costs money. The time to hire them costs money but so do annual salaries, benefits packages, overhead costs. However, hiring an agency only costs what is agreed upon for your project. All the other miscellaneous expenses are covered by that agency for their employees. |
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Overloading In-House Resources Unless you hire a full video production team, the new staff will likely need to lean into other departments for support (e.g., marketing, product design, sales, etc.). So, while it may seem to be an advantage to hire a videographer or a few additional staff members in-house unless you are a large company, it is cheaper and potentially less stressful to outsource your video production needs. |
Why You Should Hire A Video Production Partner/Outsource Video Production
Unless you own a large business that has resources and funds to hire a video production department, the choice is obvious—outsource your video production needs to an agency or freelancer. As this UpCity article explains, there are four reasons to outsource to a professional video production company:
Getting People To Care
Professional video production companies are just that – professionals. They have the experience to make your company shine via a visual video source. So, when you hire them, they will be able to help you craft the message you are trying to convey but in a meaningful and compelling way that will sell your service and product to the client.
Getting People To Open Up On-Camera
Working with “talent” is an art form. If you plan on having non-professional actors (e.g., your staff or clients) in your videos, the video production team will have a producer and director that will be able to prep the speaker for their time on camera. Talking on camera can be scary if one is not used to it, but professionals know how to ensure that the speaker feels at ease and prepared.
Professional Actors Like Clear Direction
If you decide to hire professional actors, they will expect a professional video director and production company to handle the job. Having a clear direction will help the actor to act on the mark without mistakes. If you do not use experienced directors or producers, then the actor may need multiple takes, costing you more money.
The Magic Of Editing, Animation, And Sound Design
Much of the creation of a video is seen as a traditional art form, something that many people think they can handle. However, a video is only as good as the editing and other post-production needs. A talented video production company will be able to edit all the clips together perfectly while layering appropriate music or sound, animation, and other effects. These technical skills are not easily learned and are the simplest reason why outsourcing your video production needs is necessary.
Hiring A Video Production Company
If you made it this far, you have probably decided outsourcing a video production company is for you. Check out these key questions to consider during the hiring process.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Video Production Company?
The costs of hiring a video production company are based on several factors including, runtime and number of videos, the scale of production, location, and post-production needs.
Typically, when you research a video production company, you will not be quoted immediately by the company until they have done a consult. A short 30-second to 1-minute video could cost less than a 5-minute video, but that depends on all the production costs associated. For example, if you want a 5-minute testimonial video, that will cost less than a 30-second commercial spot that involves professional actors and more involved post-production work. However, the average cost of one video in the United States ranges between $800-$1,200.
Creating videos can quickly blow budgets, so be sure to thoroughly vet your chosen company and ensure that you are on the same page for our video. You can save money by limiting the use of professional actors, different sets or locations, and overall shooting and completing the finished product quickly.
How Do I Find a Video Production Company?
UpCity has this taken care of for you. We have curated a list of agencies that will fit your needs. If you are looking for an award-winning agency, you can also find them here.
Of course, you can also begin with a simple Google search for software development agencies in your local area. And again, this method is similar to using UpCity in that you can compare locations, various specializations, see previous work, and more.
Likewise, take some time to read reviews across many different locations on the web to get a feel for what working with these partners is like and if they might be a good fit with your organization.
And then there’s good old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Reach out to your network and ask who they have used for their development needs in the past. This is where you will likely get the most candid responses, which is important when considering an investment of this magnitude.
What Skills Should I Look For In A Video Production Company?
Creating a video blends several talents and skills, using the right (creative) and left (logical) sides of the brain. Here are some specific skills you should look for when finding the right company:
Conceptualizing And Writing
A good videographer or production company will have the skill to take your brand and message and turn it into a visual story. To do this, they will use a combination of storyboarding and scriptwriting where they blend visual and writing drafts that will eventually turn into a video.
Understanding Of Equipment And Software
Anyone you hire for your video production needs will have a camera and some software, however, you will want to hire someone that has a full understanding of the video production market – including the best or most common camera and how to use them, as well as computer software that allows them to view video content.
Post-Production Capabilities
After creating a storyboard and script, the post-production element of creating a video is the most creative and technical. It takes real skill to edit a 30-second video from 3 hours of footage, and then layer appropriate music and graphic elements.
Experience In Project Management
Whichever company you choose, they are likely going to have to consult with various departments and stakeholders to ensure that the message is clear. You want to work with a company that can manage this effectively so that your internal business operations are not disrupted and that you are within budget.
How Do I Find A Software Development Partner?
UpCity has this taken care of for you. We have curated a list of agencies that will fit your needs. If you are looking for an award-winning agency, you can also find them here.
Of course, you can also begin with a simple Google search for software development agencies in your local area. And again, this method is similar to using UpCity in that you can compare locations, various specializations, see previous work, etc., and more.
Likewise, take some time to read reviews across many different locations on the web to get a feel for what working with these partners is like and if they might be a good fit with your organization.
And then there’s good old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Reach out to your network and ask who they’ve used for their development needs in the past. This is where you’ll likely get the most candid responses, which is important when considering an investment of this magnitude.
Questions To Ask When Choosing A Video Production Company
In general, here are some questions you should ask when talking to different production companies:
- What is your specialty?
- Are you a full-service company or do you specialize?
- What is your pricing structure?
- Who owns the content and final product?
Not all video production companies are the same. Some specialize in a certain type of video production (e.g., testimonials), some may specialize in a certain industry (e.g., health care), and many have different price points and packages (full marketing package, just videos, ongoing needs). It is also key to understand their practices on ownership of the content. Some companies will give you ownership of the video but not all the content that was used to create the final product. Be sure you clearly understand the full proposal and project before choosing a company.
Post-Hiring Expectations
If you have already made the decision to hire a video production company, you can expect them to gather information, identify key opportunities, and use the information collected to build out the deliverables.
After signing with an agency, you can expect:
Conversations around business goals and objectives
Initial work gathering information and data on your existing marketing strategies, so that the video is aligned.
Understanding of any communication or project management platforms you use
Using this information to create storyboards, scripts, and then shooting.
Regular reports on editing and post-production before final video approval.
Do you have any questions about hiring the best video production team for your business? Let us know in the comments below or check out our picks for top video production companies in the United States.