It’s no secret that video marketing has increased in popularity over the last few years. As audiences begin to consume more and more video content, marketers are taking advantage of this exciting medium. If you’re looking to create a video department in your company, here are a few questions to ask yourself before hiring a video professional.
1. Are you comfortable with the startup costs?
Having an in-house video production team can be lucrative for modern businesses, but there are quite a few start up expenses to consider. Notable start up costs for a video production team include cameras, high processing computers, editing software, and various accessories. Even the most basic setup could cost you around $10,000. If you factor in the salaries of your video production personnel that number could easily jump to triple digits. This is quite expensive for a small to medium sized company; in this case it might be more efficient to hire a freelance video producer instead of hiring someone in-house.
2. How many videos will your company produce?
Video production is expensive, and while the cost depends on the type of video you want to create, you can expect to spend anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 to make a short commercial or a simple web video. These shorter videos are typically the first projects for new or smaller companies. At these rates, if your company averages only five to ten videos a year, a freelance video professional is your best option. If you have a more robust video content plan, you should consider hiring an in-house video professional.
3. Will video help tell your company’s story?
A lot of companies, like Dollar Shave Club, owe a huge portion of their success to video marketing. However, just because your company has the resources to create a video doesn’t mean it will actually help your bottom line. Before you invest heavily in video marketing, ask yourself: How does video help tell my company’s story? For instance, If you’re a B2B company that specializes in financial accounting, it might not make sense to invest heavily in video production.
Create long-term goals for your online marketing to predict your video needs. Perhaps instead of spending money on a video, you can invest in Google AdWords and get customers with more purchase intent.
4. How will video contribute to your marketing funnel?
If you’re not already familiar with the term, a marketing funnel is all of the steps customers could potentially take before buying your product or service. If your brand has a website, your marketing funnel might include interacting with your blog, signing up for your newsletter, receiving a coupon, and finally purchasing your product.
Video can be a great tool to push customers through the marketing funnel, but viewership can be difficult to track. One way to guarantee repeat interactions is through video remarketing, which shows targeted ads to consumers who have previously engaged with your brand online. In order to re-market to a potential customer you need to have them physically interact with your brand’s website or video channel.
5. Can you just create a professional video yourself?
Before you hire a video professional, consider the video resources you have at your disposal. While you may not be able to shoot footage, you can access tools to create your own high-quality promotional videos, including royalty-free footage and music, and highly-customizable video editing templates. Sites like Rocketstock feature easy-to-use After Effects templates that allow you to drag and drop pictures and video into pre-made video templates.
Top image by Alexander Kirch