When you need a video program professionally produced for marketing, training, advertising or corporate communications, turn to a video production company. Dealing with a video production company directly is best if you don’t need the broad services of an advertising agency. Ad agencies develop marketing campaigns that can include various online and interactive platforms, broadcast, print, radio, outdoor, direct mail. They can tailor public relations campaigns. And yes, they can create video programs, but they do so by hiring a video production company. You can do that directly.
Choosing the best video production company for your particular needs boils down to three points:
- Look at samples of their work. Every production company worth their salt will have a portfolio of their work posted online. Check out a few samples and see if you like their style. Make sure to look at several samples to see their repertoire. Are their projects really tailored to each client, or do they use cookie-cutter templates? Are they really creative and meticulous in their execution? Does it seem like their video programs have done the job they’re intended for? Remember that in most cases you’re not the intended audience, so stretch your imagination.Later on, when you speak to the video production company, ask about what went into the making of the samples you liked. What was the budget and the timeline? If all the samples you like are nowhere close to your budget they don’t mean much.
- Look for favorable testimonials and reviews with some caution. Many companies have glowing client reviews or testimonials on their website; read them with a grain of salt. Of course only the best reviews will make it to a company’s site. Check out if there are reviews, good or bad, on sites like Yelp and Google. But also keep in mind that companies that work for large corporations often don’t get reviewed by their clients because the client, an officer of a corporation, isn’t authorized to give out reviews. Or the client is confidential. The video production companies that have the most reviews on Yelp will tend to be the wedding video companies, not the business-to-business producers.Don’t forget about good-old word-of-mouth. If you know someone who had a video produced for them or their business, what was their experience like?
- Get in touch with the production company. No matter how much snooping you do online, there’s nothing like talking to the production company directly. Ask them about the production process, give them a rough idea of what your needs, budget and timeline are. See if they are helpful, if they make you feel comfortable, if they’re interested in your business, and if they have time to handle your project. You will be collaborating with them on your production for a while, so feel them out to see if they’re the kind of people you’d like to work with.
But to make your conversation with a production company the most fruitful, first read our advice on what to be wary of and how to prepare for talking with a video production company.