It’s time to make that important video that your small business desperately needs. The hard part is finding the right video production company to not only film and ideate the type of video you need, but to bring it to life and create the message you want. Let’s be honest, there’s a lot of video production companies out there. You need some way to distinguish and narrow them down, so we’ve come up with a few areas that are most important when it comes to choosing the right video production company.
Your Video
What type of video are you doing? Do you need live actors? How long does it need to be? What platforms is it going to be on? These are all questions you need to have answered before you even look for a video production company. But let’s get started by talking about the different types of videos for businesses.
How-To/Explainer Videos
Explainer videos are extremely common and are important for showcasing your expertise in a certain area. Not only that, these videos can be used for any medium, whether as a stand-alone on your website, a social media advertisement or as part of your customer’s resource center.
They are extremely versatile all-around and don’t always require you to have live actors. In fact, a lot of times people prefer motion graphics or animations over watching someone monotonously show us how to do something.
Product Demonstration Videos
Everybody needs some proof that a product’s going to work before we buy it, especially if it’s going to cost a pretty penny. These can overlap into commercials, but a lot of times you just want it for your YouTube channel or maybe even your product’s description.
About Us/Company Culture Videos
You usually see these from bigger brands with large audiences like Apple, Samsung, Amazon, etc. Don’t let that stop you from letting people know all about your company, your values, your mission, and whatever else you want them to know.
These types of videos should go everywhere. Got social media? Definitely there. The About section of your website? For sure. As an advertisement? Only if you’re doing it on social media, otherwise it doesn’t really work.
Testimonials
This goes along with product demonstrations, because the only thing people like more than seeing it in action is hearing from happy customers. Got a product that’s really made a difference in people’s lives? Make a testimonial video to get the word out about it!
Commercials
This is a broad category of video because of all the different areas you can place a commercial. You can do a 30-second commercial that will be shown internationally or a 15-second commercial that will only be shown locally. You can do a huge video campaign on all video networks or a low-budget Facebook video that will only be shown to a certain demographic of viewers. Each one of these is going to take a different type of video production agency and you need to have the right one with each different type.
Budget
How much can you invest in your video? That’s going to determine what resources you can use. If you want a high-quality commercial that can rival national or regional competitors, expect to spend a pretty penny. Shooting a high-quality commercial is expensive because of the amount of people and work required for it. Day rates can easily be between $1,000-5,000 and that’s before you even think about post-production costs, where most of the magic happens. An experienced post-production crew can cost the same but depending on how long it will take to create the message and video you want, which can make it expensive.
But don’t despair if that seems overly expensive, because truth is, that is. That’s why those big national and regional companies can pull it off. You probably don’t need that type of commercial, though. Most smaller businesses just need a few of these shorter videos, which is much cheaper and easier to accommodate. It’s even cheaper if you use motion graphics instead of a live video shoot because of all the extra costs associated with live video shoots including cameras, videographers and actors. Most videos using motion graphics can cost under $1,000, which is affordable for a video that can bring in multiple conversions and increased brand or product interest.
Videos with live shoots can and will cost a bit more, but there’s a few ways to make that cost worth it. If you have a little bit of a video budget, see if they can do multiple videos for a flat rate instead of just one. Customer loyalty is important in every industry, so doing multiple videos can get you a lower price tag a lot of times and help develop a relationship that can get you cheaper videos in the future. Just remember to do your research and make sure they have the work experience to back up their price tag before you commit!
Work Experience
Every video production company has a different specialty. Most of these companies can work with all different types of videos but most of the time, they have at least one or two areas where they excel in. You can tell their strengths in a couple ways. Look at their work examples, both on social media and their website. Most of the time, you can see one area where they heavily specialize in, although there’s a few cases where it may not be straightforward.
In those cases, look at the style and length of the video. Are the videos more documentary-style or are they short videos meant for social platforms? What about the style? Are they focusing more on motion graphics or are they working with a lot of actors? Another area to look at is their blog posts. You can see and hear their expertise through these blog posts and the amount that they have for each type of category.
Another tactic that’s a little unconventional is to look at their reviews. If they don’t have a lot or if they’re generic, ask if you can talk to their past clients about their videos. They’ll give you a more honest opinion of the company and give you all the pros and cons of working with the company. Also, don’t be scared if they’re a newer company. A lot of times they’ll be offering cheaper prices just because they need the chance to get work experience. Be cautious, though. Ask for work examples that they’ve done in the past, even at their prior companies and do your research on them.
Location
As they say, location, location, location! Assuming you’re not a big company with a big budget, you can’t afford to drive or fly across the country to meet with 20 different video production companies. You have to be smart about where you’re going to shoot this video and the resources you’re going to expend on it.
Find a video production company that’s within an hour’s drive of your business, including traffic. Why an hour? Well for one, it means you don’t have to drive so far when you need to be there. But more importantly, spending more time with the company can and will create a more personal relationship that will help bring your video to life, especially if you’re doing a video all about your culture or your mission.
Another thing, whether you’re shooting your video at your business or at another location, make sure it complements your business. What people see in the background of your video will give them an opinion about your business. Even if it’s a product demonstration, do it in a vibrant area that fits your product. A video can be perfect in all ways, but if the background causes people to be turned off of your brand or product, then it’s already unsuccessful.
But really, the most important thing to remember is that your level of involvement is a huge factor in your decision-making process. If you want to spend a lot of time around the video, find an agency close to you. If you don’t, then great. Let the other factors help influence what video production company you choose for your video. Depending on what you want, the amount of time you invest into the video yourself will determine how it looks. That doesn’t mean it will turn out bad if you don’t spend a lot of time around it, after all, you’re working with professionals. It means your message needs to be fine-tuned and well-communicated if you favor a hands-off approach.
Need A Video?
Think you got a handle on this decision now? Great! We’re not going to pander for your business but if you’re looking for a local Fort Worth video production company, then take a look at some of the work we’ve done or talk to us. We’d love to at least see where you’re at and what you need and find out if there’s anything else we can do for you.
Established in 2011, Amplus Agency is a full-service digital marketing agency based in Fort Worth. We have crafted custom marketing solutions for over 200 clients in a variety of industries since our inception.
