If you’re looking to create video content for your small business or non profit, you may be wondering if you should hire a videographer or contract a video production company on a full-time or part time basis. Videography can be a very important part of marketing for your company or organization – it can help communicate your brand’s message, show and tell potential customers what you’re all about, and generate interest in the products you sell and the services you offer. However, not every business or non-profit needs to hire a full-time videographer. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the benefits of hiring a videographer or video content marketing team and when it might make sense to do so. We’ll also provide some tips on how to find the right videographer for your specific needs.

There are many benefits to hiring a videographer or a video production company to produce videos for your small business or non profit. First, having a professional videographer will help ensure that your video quality and content is high quality and reflects well on your brand and matches any other brand videos you may have. Videographers have the experience and knowledge needed to create videos that are effective in communicating your message and reaching your target audience in hopes to turn them to customers. A videographer or a video production company will also provide high quality videos that you yourself probably wouldn’t be able to create yourself without investing in expensive equipment and some experience. Additionally, hiring a videographer can free up time for you and your staff so that you can focus on other aspects of running your business, non-profit or organization.

But what if you don’t need to hire a videographer full-time or don’t have the budget for it? Most small businesses and non-profits probably find themselves in this spot. In this case, it would make a lot of sense to find a videographer or a video production company that you can build a relationship with to help build video branded content for you and hire them out on a contract basis.

There are many benefits to hiring a video production company on a contract basis for your small business. First, contracting work to a videographer or a video production company will help ensure that you get high-quality, professional videos made for your business. By hiring a videographer or a video production company, your company won’t need to invest in the equipment needed to produce great videos and you can sit back and watch them do their magic. Videographers or video production companies will have both the necessary equipment, knowledge and experience to craft beautiful video content for you which will help promote your brand and reach your target audience.

With their expertise, they’ll be able to provide feedback and knowledge on how to plan, film, and execute a video all the way through. A videographer or video production company will also be as hands on as you’d like for them to be – from pre-production planning and scripting, to creating and implementing a video marketing strategy to make sure your video is seen by your target audience.

Additionally, contracting with a video production company usually can be more affordable than hiring a full-time videographer or video team for your company. Obviously, this is because you only need to pay for the services you need when you need them and not the rest of the year. When you choose to contract a videographer or video production company only when you need them, can be a great option for businesses or organizations that don’t have the budget for a full-time videographer or video content  and marketing team.

When looking for a videographer or a video production company to contract with, it’s important to find one that understands your brand and what you’re trying to achieve with your videos. If you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve, then maybe consult with some videographers or video production companies before you commit to contracting with one.

The best way to find the right videographer for your company or small business is by finding the best video production company that has experience creating videos for businesses or nonprofits similar to yours. You’ll also want to make sure that the company has a good reputation and has delivered quality work for various clients.

When your small business or non-profit hires a videographer or a video production company, you’ll really begin to form a relationship with them and if it’s a good relationship, you can trust that they will have your best interest at heart. When the videographer and video production company understands your brand and what you stand for, you’ll have faith that they can help communicate your brand, story, and company to the best of their ability. Make sure that the video production company you contract work with understands what it is that you do and the people that you serve. If you’re able to clearly communicate this to them and the goal of the video content that you’re creating, they’ll be able to clearly communicate it through video.

Personally, there are a few companies I’ve worked consistently with producing videos for. The videos where we have a long standing relationship with the company always tend to be better than the one-off shoot with a new client because of the relationship I have with the company. When I’ve consistently seen their product or service work time and time again, it’s easier to tell their story and communicate that to their audience.

With that said, you should be sure that when you’re hiring a videographer or video production agency for your company that you could see a partnership forming with them for years to come. You want to be sure that they can work alongside you with a creative vision but communicating what your business, organization, or non-profit is about.

So when should you consider hiring a videographer of a full-time basis? If you’re planning to produce regular video content – such as weekly vlogs, monthly webinars, or occasional promotional videos – then it makes sense to hire a videographer to handle the video production work for you and your company. If you have plans on making multiple branded videos a month (these could be tutorials, product overviews, testimonials, etc.), it would make sense to hire a full-time videographer. Otherwise, you’ll be putting work on the shoulders of your team who probably don’t have the experience or knowledge on how to do this with quality and speed. Much like everything, when it comes to video marketing, experience always helps.

By hiring a videographer of video production company with experience, this will allow you to focus on pitching the content to people who may find you from your videos, while your videographer takes care the actual content creation.

However, if you only need occasional videos – such as an annual branded video, the occasional video testimonial, or fundraising campaign video if you’re a non-profit – then you may not need to hire a full-time videographer or video team for your company. In this case, it probably would make more sense to work with a freelance videographer or video production company on a contractual basis.

Personally, most of my clients are small businesses and non-profit organizations that need two or three videos a year, but they want them to be great and realize they don’t have the knowledge, equipment, or bandwidth to execute these high quality videos, and so they outsource them to me.

This is always a difficult question because there are so many variables that go into the cost of hiring a videographer. These variables can include:

A good rule of thumb is to budget anywhere from $500 – $2000 for a one minute video. Obviously, this price fluctuates and increases with more difficult videos. If you’re looking for commercial videos with more complex with animation or graphics, or if you need to hire actors, you should expect to pay on the higher end of this range.

If you’re planning on putting this video commercial on television or paying for ads on Facebook or YouTube, these are also additional costs that will increase the price of your video. So when you’re hiring a videographer or video production company, ask about a video marketing strategy to see what it may cost and if they have plans on how to get these videos seen.

Lastly, if you’re working with a freelance videographer or video production company, you can also expect to pay for any travel expenses if they are coming from out of town.

If you are in need of a lot of video content, or you enjoy creating video content for your small business, but don’t have a large budget yet, then there are certainly a few work arounds. The first is to film the content yourself with your iPhone or smart phone. Everyone has a great camera in their pocket that’s good enough to create video that will get the job done.

You could also find a videographer that can come in only on occasion and film the video content for you with their professional equipment. Ask them to store it for you until the time comes to use it. This can get expensive but not as expensive as paying someone a salary with benefits. Hiring someone to film for you only occasionally can and will be of great use further down the line when the time comes to make commercial videos.

When it comes to editing, you can edit the video yourself within iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, or Davinci Resolve. You also can find a videographer or video production company that may be able to create the video for you with the footage you shot.

If you’re on a budget, look into video editors on websites like UpWork or Fiverr that will be able to get the job done. Of course, with some of these video editors with limited portfolios, this may come with a little bit of risk and can take a little bit of effort on your part to make sure the video is exactly how you want it to be.

If you’re considering hiring a video production company or videographer, what video production services should you expect?

A video production company can offer a variety of video services for your small business or organization. Typically they’ll work with you during the creative process to create and storyboard a concept of the video that you want to see created. They typically will offer their knowledge and expertise as well to make sure that your video is being created effectively in terms of resources and talent.

A video production company will also find the talent for you – these can include a director if it’s needed, audio engineers which are usually in house, actors and actresses, and even a professional lighting company if it’s needed. Also, a creative video production company will help find places to film such as sets and filming locations. In short, a video production company’s video services will be sure to cross the t’s and dot the lowercase j’s that your company could possibly overlook.

Then the time comes to shoot the video. If it’s a video production company or video production agency, they’ll bring along a video crew and a talented team to shoot.

If it’s solely a videographer you’re working with or a smaller video production company, their video services could be a little bit more minimal. However, you should expect their video services to include high quality cameras, proper audio equipment, lighting, and any other tools and equipment to make sure the shoot goes as smoothly as possible.

You also can’t forget sound design which is very important and often over looked in video production. A video you can’t hear is never a good video.

Once everything is shot, a video production company or videographer will take the footage that they’ve filmed and edit it into a high quality cohesive video for your small business and organization. There may be some back and forth with your company and them as you all tweak and edit things based on the footage they filmed. In this process, you should expect a final delivery of your video within a few weeks but can drag out months if there is any dragging of feet by either party.

Each of these video services can help to create a high-quality personalized video that will help promote your small business or organization. By working with a videographer or video production company, you can be sure that the videos you create will be professional and effective in marketing your brand or message.

One thing of note: If you’re hiring a videographer instead of a video production company, be sure that the videographer can also offer post production services and can walk you through the post production process. It would be a shame if you get to the editing portion of the video production process and learn that the videographer only shoots and doesn’t edit.

As mentioned earlier in this post, if you’re working with a one stop shop creative agency and not just a video production company or sole videographer, they’ll probably offer a digital marketing strategy to get you more customers. Meaning, they’ll also be able to walk you through how to distribute the final product – whether it’s a TV commercial, Facebook Ads, YouTube ads, etc., they’ll work with you on the distribution through a video marketing strategy so more people can see it. This typically comes with a bigger price tag, however, it’ll be well worth it because people will be seeing your work!

The popularity of animated videos is growing for everyone, from small businesses to large corporations. These videos are great for explaining complex ideas or processes in an easy-to-follow way. They’re also engaging, unique, and fun, which can help to keep your audience’s attention especially if you’re working with animators from a creative or top video production company.

There are a number of reasons why you should consider animated videos for your small business. They are versatile – they can be used for explainer videos, how-to videos, product demos, and more. They’re also great for marketing as they can help to explain your product or service in a fun and engaging way. Animated videos can be whimsical, fun, and creative – perfect for small businesses that want to show off their unique personality and, as a plus, you can use brand colors and messaging to meet your brand and show consistency in messaging and material throughout your company.

If you’re considering animated videos for your small business, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, make sure that the video is on-brand and fits with your overall marketing strategy and messaging. Second, make sure that the animation is high quality and looks professional. White board videos are fun and simple, however, there are a lot of them and they may not be fresh to your audience. Think outside the box and find the top video production company in your area to partner with and ask to see their animated portfolio. Finally, make sure that the script is well written and easy to follow.

Remember to keep these videos simple.

The best animated explainer videos are videos that are able to take complex ideas and explain them in a clear, cohesive, and simple way.

If you’re looking for a video production company to create a high-quality animated short commercial video for your small business or non-profit, it can be difficult to know where to start but honestly, Google is always a great place.

Start by researching top video production companies in your area that have created animated videos before and showcase them in their portfolio. Reach out to creative production companies and ask to see their work.

If the whole video is only animated and no filming is involved, this video production company or animator really can be anywhere in the world which is a plus! Your company could be located in Northern Virginia and you could work with an animator with a video production company in Los Angeles or even Tokyo.

A few years ago, I edited a video project for a company located in California. I didn’t need to shoot anything, just execute their vision and script. The project also brought in an artist from the mid-west who would dropbox me scenes and characters that they would want me to animate. We were scattered all around the country but worked together to create a fantastic final product! So think beyond your location if you can’t find a good animator or video production company close to you.

If you have seen an animated explainer video that you’ve enjoyed you could also always reach out to the company who the company is for and ask them who they hired to create it for them. If they have a good relationship with the video production team and you yourself are not a direct competitor to them, I’m sure that they’d be happy to share that information and pass along their name.

If for whatever reason, they don’t reach back out, see if you can find that same video on Vimeo or YouTube because chances are that the video production company or animator who made the video has also shared it in their portfolio.

If you’re a musician, then you know the importance of creating high-quality music videos that will stand out. We’ve all seen a great music video and we all have our favorites.

Not only does a music video help to promote your music, but they can also be a great way to connect with your fans and create an engaging experience beyond the music. If your band can create a great music video that gains traction online, you’ll be able to reach new fans and grow your listening audience.

When it comes to creating a music video, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you’ll need to find a videographer or video production company that has experience in creating music videos – especially in your genre of music. This is important because they will know how to capture the essence of your music and create a video that looks and feels great.

I’ve been asked to create music videos for bands before and some of them are just not my are of expertise. For example, an EDM artist asked me to create a music video him last year. Not only do I not listen to EDM music, but I don’t even know what an EDM music video would entail. It seems like there would be dancing and flashing lights, but that is about as far as I could brainstorm this project in my mind. I personally felt that I wasn’t a good fit, and I respectfully turned down this project simply because I figured there were better people out there.

I have however, worked on many music videos. Most recently, I created a lyric video for my friend Brandon Heath for his song See Me Through It as we were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa together.

This leads me to my next point that you’ll need to decide with a video production company or videographer on a concept for your video. This can be anything from telling a story about your song, to showcasing your band performing this song live. Once you have a concept, you can work with the video production agency to make sure this music video is executed properly.

Music videos can be expensive though – especially if you want to shoot it on a beach or an exotic place with actors and actresses. You should expect to budget anywhere from $5000 – $10000 for a quality music video but know that they can become expensive very quickly the more elements that you introduce.

By hiring a professional video production company though, you’ll be able to create a music video that will impress your fans and help promote your music! In the long run, a music video could be well worth the investment.

There are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not to hire a videographer for your small business or non-profit. But if you’re regularly producing video content, it’s important to find someone or a video agency that understands your brand and can help communicate your story in a way that resonates with your audience. The good news is that there are plenty of great videographers and video production companies out there – you just need to find the right one for you!