Posted on

6 Qualities To Look For In A Great Video Production Company

Qualities to Look for in a Video Production Company

Whether you’re looking for a short informational video or a longer About Us/Corporate Story video, there are several factors that can impact success. One factor is the agency or production company you hire. There are several ways to determine whether a video production company is worth engaging with. If you’re genuinely interested in learning more, we’re sharing the top 6 qualities a great video production company should have before you decide to hire them.

Qualities to Look For When Deciding on a Video Production Agency

Professional Portfolio

Before you do anything, look at their work. Does it match your style? Do they have a variety of styles or just one look? Just because there’s one look, it doesn’t mean they can’t do more…and if they have several styles, it doesn’t mean they can’t create the visuals you want. Dig deep into their portfolio (and don’t forget about looking at their social media pages). For example, you’ll need to look at our Vimeo Page to see more work (updating a website can be a little time consuming). Don’t let that sizzle reel excite you too much. What you need to see is how did it help the client? Did they get what they needed or did they just get a wow video that didn’t perform. Sometimes, its the straight-forward video that produces the most results. Other times, its the short, flashy video, and other times its the longer drawn-out video that performs. Ask the agency why it worked for the client.

Deadlines

Deadlines drive everything. There are a few ways you can tell if they can hit a deadline or not. First, do they return your calls in a reasonable amount of time? We’ve been told countless times that we’re the first to call back after they’ve called several agencies. When you call, does someone pick up? If not, how quickly do they call you back? How long does it take to get a response from an online form? These are all simple ways you can tell if an agency is time conscious or not. Obviously accidents happen and schedules get crammed, but communication becomes the key when scheduling conflicts arise…how well do they communicate when there’s an issue related to time?

The Creative

You can find several videos out there that follow the same format. That’s fine if you want to use a tried and true format to get the job done, but if you want something different, can you find a video that does the same thing, only in a different way? For example, a construction company wanted a simple, “Here’s a sample of our work” video, only we worked to make it more than that. We wanted it to have an HGTV vibe so that people will want to watch the video to the end. Here’s what resulted:

Testimonials

When you do your research on a Video Production Company, do they have Google Reviews? More importantly, do you know any of the people who did a review? If so, call them! Ask about the production company’s communication skills. If you don’t know any of them, do you feel comfortable reaching out to them cold? Just giving them a call and saying, “Hey, I was interested in working with XYZ Company…how was your experience?” Then listen! If you’re not comfortable doing that, do you feel comfortable with what the written word says? Next step, use that information to ask the production company about that project: What did the client want? What did they do to help them? How did you arrive at the finished video? Can I see the finished video?

Expectations

Knowing next steps is critical to a successful process. When you first speak to the production company, do they clearly identify your next steps before beginning to work together? Do you know how the process will work? They should describe the overall process with you so you understand everything involved in the process. This should include timelines as to when things can be finished and what the client can do to speed it up or slow it down. Remember, it may be tempting to ask about their editing software or what cameras they use, but in the end, did they get the work done and did they meet or beat expectations?

BONUS: Passion about the Work!

One of the things you’ll notice right away at Plum is that we have a passion for creating something fun for your business. Fun and different should be a part of every video production process. We look for ways to make it fun and different. If you want to pull it back a little, no worries! We don’t mind…  but we think you’re looking for a creative edge, so we’ll look to provide that to you first.

If you think we should talk because you’ve done your research and have decided to let Plum be a part of your search to complete your video production project, Give Us A Call! or Drop us a line!

 

 

 

Source: https://www.digitalbrew.com/7-qualities-to-look-for-in-a-video-production-agency/
Posted on

Types of Video for Business

searcy law interview image from video

Different Types of Video for Business

There are tons of ways one can use video for business to promote or explain a service. We’ve taken a little time to share with you the different types of video for any business. Yes, any business. Each type has a purpose, so before you just randomly decided to create a video, you should have a bit of a plan: How are you going to use it? Where will you place it? Why are you creating it? When will you need it? Who should be viewing it? …and why as a follow up to each of the previous questions. This will help you determine which video will be best for your brand. Let’s get started…

Expert Interview Video

If you have a thought leader or a brand expert in your midst, this type of video is the best type to pursue as quickly as possible. Having a thought leader is one thing. Promoting and showing how much he or she (or the team) knows about a particular topic does nothing but improve and build the brand. If your potential customers want experts, who will they call if they have listened to an interview with a thought leader in the field? Here’s an example of one of those types of videos:

Product Videos

Product videos are just that, videos about a product… but when creating a product video you want to do more than advertise or promote. Your goal should be to educate. Teach the viewer how the product works, why they might find it useful and finish it off with a call to action. The call to action can be more or less aggressive, depending on the product and your style, but there should always be some sort of call to action. Product videos are highly effective when they are educational and informative. They’ll also perform well when placed in the right location (think an end cap in a retail store or on a website landing page). Placement is a large part of how successful a video will be, so have a plan on where you’ll place your video before you shoot it. Remember, perfection is the enemy of success, so a plan is good to have but don’t let planning get in the way of knowing a adjustment will need to be made once it’s placed. Here’s a fun example of a product video that was placed on their website to trigger a sale.

Service Video

If you don’t sell a tangible product, the video you should consider is a service video. This type of video provides the viewer with a strong sense of what they’ll get for their dollar. More importantly, this type of video should instill a sense of trust and open the conversation to building a relationship. When prospects land on a website, they want to know who they’re dealing with and/or if they can trust them. We’ve all learned that its difficult to trust an organization/business, but we do trust people. One thing we’ve noticed is that with Jenn’s My Video 101 educational videos on her YouTube Channel, people feel like they know her and can trust her with their video knowledge. Here’s an example of one of her videos:

Social Media Videos

Most times when we get called to shoot and edit videos for a client, we are often asked if we can edit shorter social media videos. Absolutely…and we recommend it! If we’re creating a video for any client, we try to incorporate a social media version of any video we create because you’ll need it at some point. The purpose of a social media video is to increase the viewer’s curiosity and bring them to a website or landing page to do more. For example, we’ve seen product and service companies run social media video ads to bring the viewer to a landing page. The landing page may request the visitor to provide information (name, email, etc.) or make a purchase or a call. Whichever way they decide, the social media video will help fill the funnel. Here’s an example. (Notice this one is square and will be used on Instagram).

Corporate Branding Video

The branding video uses several features from other types of video. The branding video should capture the essence of what the company stands for, what the company does, who is in the company, and the story behind it. Overall, it should stand alone. A viewer will know exactly why the company exists and why they might want to contact them. This of this type of video as an About Us with some extras. A good example of a corporate branding video is this one from Amicon Construction. We think this is a solid branding video because it shows what they do and their attention to detail while incorporating their client testimonial. You might think that 4 minutes is a long video, but the feedback we hear is that people want to watch this to find out how the project ended.

Location Tour

What if your space look different than your competitors or you’re proud of the way your space looks? What if your space is tranquil or energetic? There is no better way to show that off than a video. A video will capture the essence of the space and invite the viewer in. We’ve seen several occasions that an office space (both indoor and outdoor) looked so nice that it made for a beautiful backdrop for an interview. Here is one example of such a space. In this one, we feature a dentist office that was constructed to make the parents and children comfortable when visiting the one doctor most people fear: The Dentist!

Testimonials

Imagine you’re looking for a great attorney. One who cares about how you feel after an incident. One that goes above and beyond to get you the care you need to get better. How do you tell a potential client/customer that you’re the best? You don’t. You don’t because the viewer will not believe you when YOU say it, but if an actual client says it for your (because that was their experience), the viewer will understand how a previous client was taken care of and feel that they will be taken care of too. Powerful. We believe this is the most underused video for the power it has. Awesome testimonials are more powerful than any other form of advertising. This is one every business should have.

There are so many other types of videos a company can have, but these tend to be the most popular. Stay tuned! We’ll share some other creative types of video that you might not have thought of in an upcoming post!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to answer any questions…no pressure, no expectations. We’d love to see your comment below on which video you think is the most important one!

 

Related Posts: 

How To Be A Disrupter in Your Industry – Killer Video

7 Benefits of Video In Business Marketing