All you need to know to choose your ideal video expert
The internet has never been more saturated with brands trying to stand out from the crowd and get remembered by their target audience. Whether you’re selling your services or you’re an e-commerce brand, video marketing is a powerful way of getting noticed.
The advent of the smartphone changed everything in online advertising. Suddenly, consumers were able to view short videos on their social media feeds, interact with their favourite brands and share ads of interest with their friends. Video marketing began to evolve from traditional TV advertising to using platforms such as YouTube. Increasingly, brands are now adopting a range of other visually led platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to tell their story and carry their advertising campaigns.
In a recent survey, a whopping 92% of marketers reported that they achieve good ROI on their video content (up from 87% in 2022). The same survey reported that a video on a landing page can increase conversions by up to 80%! This is an all-time high, so it’s a great time to start thinking about investing in a video marketing strategy if you haven’t already.
If you’re considering video production and/or marketing for your brand, then it’s likely that your goals are one of the following:
- You want to increase engagement
- You’d like to build a bigger community
- You want to tell your brand narrative
- You want your story to stand out from competitors
- You’ve got a beautiful brand/product/service and you want to showcase it
- You want to quickly and visually demonstrate the benefits of your offer
- You want to inform and/or communicate a complex idea simply
- You want more sales, leads and business growth
Browse our directory of video specialists
What is video production and marketing, and what’s the difference?
Video production and marketing are two separate services, albeit with considerable overlap. It’s important that you’re clear on whether you’re looking for video production, marketing or a combination of the two. Let’s outline the differences here:
What is video production?
Video production is the process of designing and creating a video, or a series of videos, that can be used as assets in your marketing strategy. It requires expertise in pre-production, production and post-production (and we’ll go into a bit more detail about this later on in this article).
What is video marketing?
Video marketing services promote your brand using emotionally engaging, short video clips which grab attention and stick in your target audience’s minds. A strategic approach to video marketing considers your brand’s overall goals and metrics, along with where your customer is in the sales funnel. It will also determine the best place and context in which the video ad will appear to your customers. When a video has an impact and generates a conversion, it will be because it has been viewed by a customer who is at the very point they are looking to buy.
What should a video creator and video marketing expert do for you?
A good video producer will take time to understand your goals and design a video campaign that is tailored to your needs. There are different types of video, such as corporate promotional videos, explainer videos, animated videos, live videos, social media videos, and even the more traditional TV video ads, so a video expert should be able to advise you on which type of video marketing might best suit your needs.
If you’re working with a video marketer, then once the campaign is live, they should monitor metrics and identify where the campaign is reaching your audience and making an impact, and where it might need to be tweaked.
What makes a good video production/marketing supplier?
A good-quality video production and marketing supplier will have an excellent pre-production process in place, where they take time to understand your goals, your industry, your competition and any other factors which might determine the success or failure of your video marketing campaign.
They must be able to take a good brief from you, and apply their skills and knowledge to develop visually appealing videos that are on brand and on message. Of course, they’ll need to have access to talented filmmakers with good-quality video production cameras and other equipment to do this well.
They should also have a robust post-production process and be fluent in editing, special effects and incorporating any amends you request.
How do video marketers price, and what factors affect this?
The cost of video marketing can vary wildly, based on factors such as whether you are commissioning a one-off video or a series of videos for a campaign. It also depends on whether you want your video marketing supplier to manage the campaign for you, too.
You’ll find that most video marketers charge using one of the following pricing models:
- Hourly – they’ll tell you what they charge by the hour and give you an idea of how long the project will take.
- By project – they’ll understand the scope of the work and give you a price for the full project.
- On a retainer – if you need ongoing support with your video marketing then you may wish to explore a retainer agreement.
If there are large figures involved, then you should expect to pay up to 50% of the full cost upfront, with the balance being settled on completion of the work.
What’s the difference between using a freelance video marketer and an agency?
A freelance video marketer will usually be able to offer you more favourable rates, and depending on their workload they may also be able to deliver the work in a shorter timeframe than an agency. Most video marketers are either more skilled in video production, or in managing the video marketing process, so choose one that is most qualified in the areas that matter most to you.
A video production agency will be able to offer more capacity, and they’ll have access to a wider pool of talent – from pre-production experts through to digital marketing experts and video editors. They will likely have access to higher-quality camera equipment, and they may also have copywriters and content writers who can help to develop supporting video scripts.
Marketing Supermarket’s top tips for finding the perfect video marketing expert for you
Choosing a great videographer needn’t be difficult as long as you’re clear in your mind about what you want to achieve and what budget you have available to invest in it. Here are our top tips for making your choice:
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Know your audience
It helps if you are clear on who you want to target with your video marketing, as it’ll be one of the first questions they ask you.
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Ask them about their processes
You should be able to know what to expect from every part of their process, from pre-production through to post-production, their amends process and campaign management.
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Ask to view previous work
Watch video showreels that they have created in the past and decide if they match the quality of what you’re looking for.
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Ask for previous metrics
If you’re investing in a video marketing expert to not only create your videos but also to help you run and manage your video marketing campaign, ask to see the metrics of previous campaigns that they have run. If the numbers are steadily going up each month and conversion rates are growing, this is a good sign that their video marketing strategy is having an impact.
Why use Marketing Supermarket to help you choose your video production and marketing company?
Marketing Supermarket is a free, online tool that takes all the guesswork out of finding a great digital marketing supplier who suits your needs and budget. It has been developed by marketing industry experts who understand the sector and know where the pain points can occur.
Check out our quick and easy-to-use tool to find and compare video marketing experts, and check out our guide on how to compare video producers and video marketers to help you with your decision.