Mistakes When Hiring For Video
So, you’re tasked with finding a video team to create an effective video for your marketing, event, campaign, or some other project. Whew, we don’t envy you. Just kidding, there are a decent amount of video teams out there to choose from. But there also certain things to be on the lookout for when hiring.
Non-Strategic Video
I’ve mentioned this in a past post. When you hire a video team, you should definitely be weary of a video team that isn’t asking about your goals or why they are creating this video. If they’re not asking about the bigger picture beyond producing a video for you, then this might be a red flag. It’s not that they’re bad people; it’s that they might not be as experienced or have the most important things in mind when creating for you.
Overpricing for a Low Quality Product
We see this all the time in our industry and are blown away of how some video companies are making so much money with the product that they are delivering. It’s quite shocking at times. Take a look around at other video content out there and compare it with what you’re being offered or given. Really- just ask other business owners and marketing teams. Ask your own kids, they know more than anyone what kind of quality is possible. Especially if you’re in the $4-10K range, you might be getting less than what you’re paying for. You want to take a look at their actually portfolio of work and not just a highlight reel. It’s really easy to make a nice highlight reel, but harder to make a good stand-alone video.
Over Promiser, Under Deliverer
This is related to the previous item on the list. Some people are really good at sales. And sometimes that’s all they’re really good at. There are a lot of middle-men out there in this industry that are just going after the job and then trying to make a bunch of commission off the sale. Those people don’t care about you. They care about their bottom line. So ask to see their work. Ask who is on their team and who is going to be working on your project. It’s just good to ask questions in these cases. Trust your gut.
Bad Agencies
Okay, I’m not saying all agencies are bad here. I’ve seen agencies do a good job with the product. The good ones do a lot of work and care about their clients. So if you go through a good one, you’ll get all the things you need - that’s awesome, when that happens. But I’ll give you the inside scoop. As someone who’s been hired by multiple agencies, there are some that know nothing about video production. They are literally a middle-man that you hire to hire us, and you pay extra money for that. They are essentially just a recruiter. The good agencies will make sure that the video team makes something up to standard and that your message is getting communicated well. So keep that in mind when working through an agency.
So those are a few things to watch out for when hiring for video. This will help you save money, get a good product, and meet your video marketing goals. If you have any other questions about these things, please reach out!