7 Reasons to working with a Video Production Agency

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking I'm biased because I'm writing about video production agencies while working for one.

Well, let me reassure you.

I've seen lots of businesses who could, and should, work with an agency to create some amazing video content and achieve great things, but have been too frightened or uncertain or busy to take the leap. 

I'd like to help.

So in this post, I'll explain why you need to work with a video agency.

That video agency doesn't have to be us.

(Although we probably wouldn't say no if you did happen to ask.)

Not all of these points may apply to you. But if you start nodding to yourself as you read on... well. Just think about what I said. Let's begin the intervention.

1. You Know Video Content is Worth the Effort

But you just haven't been able to get round to doing it yet.

I'm sure you've read the stats. I'm sure you know that (well-made) video content is effective, great at generating a good ROI, and massively engaging for pretty much every human on the planet.

Sorry, but I have a duty to give you the raw data:

• 52% of marketing professionals say video has the best ROI of all content types.
• 82% of brands report that they consider their previous investment in video either successful or very successful.
• 80% of internet users recall watching a video ad on a site they visited in the past 30 days.
  

And:

• 91% of marketing executives now use online video content in their marketing.

Not that it's always good to follow the herd, but that means if you're not using video somewhere in your business you're probably missing out. On leads, on engagement, on results.

(If you'd like to see lots more convincing video statistics, check out this other post I wrote.)

2. You Don't Have the Time or Resources Internally

You've thought about it at least once, haven't you? Creating your own video content?

You've considered it late in the night, staring into your monitor. Chewing on your pencil. Trying to add up how many hours, how many staff members...

Then you reach that big wall.

Who will write the script? Who will film it, and with what? How will you fit it around all the other projects you have going on at the moment?

^{This might be what you look like when considering making video internally. Or it might not.}

Look, I'm not trying to be negative. I'm not saying you can't produce your own videos internally. In fact, I think it's something almost every business should try at least once.

Does that sound contradictory? Maybe it's a bit contradictory.

In today's world, almost anyone can film and edit a gorgeous video on their iPhone. The thing is, brilliant and effective video content isn't just about:

• How gorgeous the video looks.
• How good-looking your presenter is.
• How witty the script is.

No, it's also (and mainly) about:

• Strategy.
• Research.
• Planning.
• Good distribution.

And those may well be things you feel less confident about.

Not that creating great video is impossible, it's just hard. It takes grit. It takes lots of practice. And most of all it takes a creative, experienced, synchronous team following a time-tested process. (At least, that's how we do it.)

Try making an internal video. Film something simple and quick. Put it in front of your audience. Learn from it.

If you discover you can fit the odd short video into your schedule to support your social marketing or internal communications, great!

But if you find that you don't have the time, resources or expertise to produce an effective video and build an effective strategy around it to meet your needs and goals, don't stress. That's the position most businesses find themselves in.

Here's a secret: we're a video agency ourselves, and even we find it difficult to carve out time to produce our own video content.

It's something we're working on. But we have the benefit of knowing the video planning, production and marketing process inside-out and what it involves. We know it's only worth doing if it's done well (note: this doesn't mean your video has to be perfect. But it shouldn't be half-arsed either).

What I'm trying to say is, the odds are that you're unable to fulfil all your video needs in-house. And you shouldn't feel bad about it.

3. You're Wary of the Video Making Process

Speaking of the video creation process, you may also feel a strange fear towards it.

I've seen experienced marketers and internal comms experts break down at the thought of producing video content (only a slight exaggeration).

It's a new and foreign process, and still quite a mysterious medium for many.

(This blog post will help to clear up what goes on during the production of video content.)

So people often end up being wary of video. But they shouldn't be.

^{This is how you should look when it comes to video. Because a video agency is handling it all.}

If you're a marketer, you've no doubt created (or overseen the creation of) many different types of content, blog posts, magazines, infographics and case studies. Maybe you've even dabbled in podcasts. Video shares lots of features with all these kinds of content. Audience comes first for all content, and every piece of content must be interesting or useful.

If you work in internal communications, video isn't totally dissimilar to newsletters or presentations (it's just much more effective). Your aim is still to engage and connect with your team. You still need to make potentially dull information relevant and exciting.

But the fact does remain that video has its own peculiarities and unique problems (do you know how much footage to film for the length of your video? Do you know where to look to hire presenters or voiceover artists?).

You might feel nervous or out of your depth when it comes to making your own video content, even more so if it's something you've never tried before. Plenty of professionals do.

If video seems like to big of a hurdle to take on yourself, try working with a video agency. They jump video-related hurdles all day long.

4. Video Content Just Isn't Your Strong Point

I've been dancing around the point. Let's be honest. We all need to play to our strengths, and video isn't one of yours.

(At least not yet anyway.)

I'm not trying to be rude. You just don't have much experience with video. Maybe you're an incredible writer, or maybe you can plan a social campaign unlike anyone else.

And your business has its own strengths, whether that's delivering bespoke management systems to clients or baking the best cakes in the local area.

But when it comes to video content, you don't really know where to start. (See point 3.)

There's not enough time in the day or the week or your life to be an expert at everything. Who would want to anyway? That's why we specialise. Jack of all trades and all that.

Stick to what you're great at. The agency that produces your video will do the same.

5. You Need Professional Guidance From the Experts

At the end of the day you need expert help when it comes to video content.

There's no shame in it, in fact, it's the sensible, responsible choice to make. Creating video is a tricky process that takes the right people and the right processes to be successful. If you don't have those things in-house, you need to source them from elsewhere.

Plus, to produce the best video content it's necessary to bring a range of experiences and viewpoints together. Basically, you have to escape your little box. That can be hard to do if you're constrained to working just with your team.

By working with a video agency you gain access to outside experts. You get to collaborate with experienced professionals who bring expertise and ingenuity to the project.

Really, you're paying for the experience of the agency, maybe even more so than their services.

Just think of all the other specialist jobs you outsource or get external guidance on. IT services, graphic design, coding. You can't make professional video, so surely that should get outsourced too.

6. You Want to Achieve Great Things With Video

Here's probably the most important reason: you really want to reach some incredible results with video content.

Maybe you want to:

• Create an explainer animation to place on your homepage and convert visitors.
• Film an inspiring message from your MD to engage employees.
• Produce a piece of interactive video for use in a social campaign.

All of this and much more is possible with video.

Let me give you a real-life example from Econsultancy.

In 2012, financial services company City Index launched a series of 6 videos. The videos followed a group of wannabe financial traders as they battled their way through an Apprentice-esque 'Training Academy' towards a prize of £100,000.

^{See what I mean about looking like The Apprentice?}

A campaign was created around the videos to build awareness on social media. The idea was to engage those in City Index's target audience who hadn't considered trading on the financial markets, and encourage them to open a live account.

The video campaign was a massive success. It generated:

• 20m impressions from the #TrainingAcademy Twitter feed.
• 67,000 clicks from the feed.
• 1m views across all content channels.
• 1,443% increase in social referral visits.
• 81% increase in unique site visitors.
• 60% increase in PPC acquisition for brand terms.
• The best ever month for account openings.

Video content is more effective at engaging, converting, and closing than pretty much any other type of content. So if you want to reach those big goals, the most effective way might well be with video. But if you can't do it yourself, you'll need help.

Just make sure to work with a video agency with a focus on results. Your video content and its distribution campaign should always be created with your end point in mind.

7. You Want to Actually Make a Video this Century

Instead of waiting for the right circumstances to come about to allow a fully-formed piece of video content to fall into your lap, wouldn't it be better to grab destiny by the horns and source a video agency to create your video for you?

Yes. Yes it would.