If you’re considering dipping your toe in video marketing, you might think about hiring a digital marketing agency to get it done. As you vet your candidates, there are some things to consider. Many times, companies will turn to a video production house to create their content, but there is a difference between working with a video production company and a digital marketing agency that provides video marketing.
Are you elevating your brand with these 8 video marketing strategies?
To understand this difference, it helps to understand what video production is. Video production is the process you go through to produce video content. It’s the equivalent of filmmaking but with images that are recorded digitally instead of on film stock. The process is made up of three parts: pre-production, production and post-production.
Pre-production involves all of the planning before filming begins. Production is the actual filming (lights, camera, action). And during post-production, the video clips are combined through editing into a finished product that tells a story or communicates a message.
Whether you’re working with a production house or a digital marketing agency, you are going to experience all aspects of the video creation process. The company helps with the concept, casting and more. But it’s in post-production where working with a digital marketing agency for your video marketing stands out. Let’s take a look at what you can expect when hiring an agency.
An agency should also help you determine what type of video would work best for your goal. If you’re thinking of producing an animation video, when a live-action brand video might be better, your agency should be willing to talk it through with you as part of the pre-production strategy.
An agency may have a team of designers available to help create a detailed storyboard. The storyboard is a way of establishing what the viewer will see in each shot. It can be as simple as drawing stick figures, but the more detail a storyboard provides, the easier it is to see the end result.
Another big part of the pre-production involves scriptwriting, scheduling, logistics and other administrative duties. You should look for a digital marketing agency with experienced multimedia producers who can handle all aspects of your video marketing. Ask yourself these questions: What were the members of the video team doing before they started working for the agency? Did they work in television? Video production? Or even own their own video company?
Also, check to see if the agency has experience working with your industry or if they have won any awards.
An agency with experience in video marketing can help get the project moving efficiently and keep it focused on your end goal.
An agency should also help you develop a plan for the video and be able to offer marketing strategies a production house may not be able to help with.
A video marketing strategy will include, but is not limited to:
If your video marketing campaign includes social videos, you should expect the agency you’re working with to not only produce those short videos for you but also come up with a posting schedule.
During the production phase, you should expect your digital marketing agency to offer the same video marketing services you’d get with a production company, production house or production studio, such as quality equipment, lighting, interview coaching and techniques.
It can include anything from film and TV to corporate, promotional, educational or web-based material. A media production company is responsible for everything from the initial concept of the project to completion. The company helps with the concept, scripting, scheduling, casting and more.
During the post-production of your video marketing is where you should really expect your agency to shine. That’s because you should not only get a high-quality video about your product or service, but you should also have access to all of the tools needed for your video to be found on search engines, therefore getting your target audience to your website.
All of this will be worked out during pre-production, but once the video is finished, a digital marketing agency will have the tools necessary to optimize the description of the video and other posts for SEO. This is a critical difference between working with a video production house and an agency. An agency can align your video marketing with your goals. Whether it be increasing conversions, a high open-rate, or using it to drive sales. An agency will work with you to ensure the finished product achieves what it was created to do.
While a company that just produces videos will most likely create a nice video for you, the added value you get by using a digital marketing agency comes in at the end. You should expect an agency to be able to seamlessly fit your video into any content and make your video marketing plan work for you.
Video marketing is imperative in a search engine-driven world. Videos that engage viewers, keep them on the page and solicit social sharing will rank higher.
Video marketing makes a difference in every vertical. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, the bottom line is the same: Viewers are consumers, and videos are designed to be consumed without asking too much of your audience.
If you’d like to find out how Kuno can help you achieve your goals, check out our video marketing page and also view some of our award-winning examples.
