CHICAGO318 W. Adams, Suite 1600Chicago, IL 60606312.585.7649
KANSAS CITY4600 W. 51st Street, Suite 300Roeland Park, KS 66205816.868.8320
October 21, 2019
This blog has been updated from the original on 2/10/22
Many businesses struggle with the debate on how to handle their brand video content – do they hire outside help or create their own internal video team?
The common mindsets seem to be that hiring outside video companies is “just too expensive!” while keeping that in-house will put money back into the budget. And, full transparency, there’s some truth to that. Video content can be expensive, and keeping things in-house can be a decent short-term option in some specific instances.
However, to really see the return on that investment, gain high quality content, and improve your marketing campaigns, the choice to take your video content needs to a professional video company is far and away the best option.
Here are several things that may not be immediately thought of as to why.
There’s a common occurrence during any video production that things don’t really start until something goes wrong. Which is to say, something always goes wrong, and when it doesn’t it’s so unusual it makes everyone uneasy until it does.
The point is that video production is not simple and it takes a lot of understanding, adaptability, and troubleshooting to get right.
It takes practice.
So, while it may sound like a money saver to do a lot of this yourself, consider that we…to put it bluntly…have been doing this a hell of a long time. We’re used to it. Bad sound, lighting troubles, software and camera malfunctions; it is technical difficulties galore some days, and video companies are well-equipped to handle any of it.
Now, that’s not all to say that you couldn’t find someone to be your in-house video department. There are many highly-qualified and driven individuals to fill that spot.
But the highest-quality content requires teams of individuals. Videos are hard work, and while one very determined and skilled person could do the job, the quality will ultimately suffer.
To really achieve this high-quality standard, it doesn’t just take the right people, it takes investment. We’re not talking summer job savings, either, we’re talking mortgage-the-house stuff here.
First there’s personnel, because a long-term run of video content will require many hands on deck.
Next comes equipment, whether that’s renting the right camera gear each and every time or a single purchase, the price is steep.
“Well,” you say, “the one-time purchase is just that, one and done, right?”
Nope.
There’s an element of Keeping Up With the Jonses here, because technology changes, and camera technology changes quickly. It doesn’t take long to become relatively obsolete – trust us.
We are continuously upgrading and investing in the newest gadgets and equipment that helps us keep on top of the game. It isn’t easy, and if that isn’t your sole focus it can get overlooked.
It can be an added headache and added investment if you’re not prepared to make that kind of commitment.
Here’s the other thing about videos – they take time. It sounds like patting ourselves on the back, but nowadays it’s easy for people to think they can just whip out their phones and hit record. It just isn’t that simple, and believe me, we wish it were!
The top-quality video productions take time on all sides. There’s front-end planning, there’s on-location filming, there’s post-production editing. Each of these components is critical to create successful visual storytelling. The filming itself is actually, believe it or not, the easy part.
You need to stand out, and if you’re juggling all the daily tasks that keep the business up and running, the numerous aspects that go into producing video content is the last thing you need rushed.
A lower quality video will speak more about your company than may be immediately clear. A rushed message, loose brand awareness, or even just a poor-quality video itself can all lead to unsatisfactory representation or even loss of potential business.
Your brand should be seen in its best possible light, and a high-quality brand film is one of the best ways to achieve that. A low-quality video defeats the entire purpose, and wastes valuable time and money.
Just to reiterate, there’s more to it than pointing a camera and hitting record. A lot more. And with all that work comes a lot more stress, especially if you aren’t used to the heavy-lifting, and sometimes we mean that literally. There can be so much gear that comes with the process, and the set-up, tweaking, dialing in, tear down, re-setup, more tweaking, move again…you get the idea. The process is demanding, and it requires efficiency. That’s not even getting into the filming itself, the interview process, all the planning and ideation that comes from the creative process as well.
It’s possible – that’s obvious – but it’s a large workload, because videos can’t just be a one-and-done approach either. They need to be a consistent and steady source of information for customers or clients and a reminder of your value and importance. If this amount of workload over-stresses a smaller in-house team, it could lead to turnover and burnout and struggles to maintain any kind of regular routine.
Video content marketing is an extremely effective way to grow business and customer bases. But in order to achieve those numbers you need consistency and dedication, as mentioned above. All told, it takes time, effort, money, focus, a strong and detailed brand message, a clear and concise way to convey that message, and vision and skill to bring it all to fruition.
As the business grows, these demands will grow as well. It may be difficult to commit to a production and posting schedule as business requests and burdens pile up. A sporadic and unpredictable schedule leaves an audience unsure and disengaged. So, it all comes down to whether or not that level of commitment is attainable, and to the beginning question of…
We all have our skills and our strengths. As a business, yours may not be video content ideation, execution, and delivery…and that’s okay. Your strengths may not be any number of things done around or for the office and company, but these things are delegated and handled by those whose strengths are. Why would the same not be done for your brand messaging and video content?
Hiring a production company brings a level of security and expectation, for the best equipment placed in the hands of those who have an eye for delivering high-quality brand content that best represents and showcases your company to your audience. By hiring a production company to focus on what they’re good at, it frees you up to focus on what you’re good at. Together, that’s a winning combination.
If you have any questions about video content or want to know more about how we can help, contact us.