Best wedding videography? Best corporate videography? Real estate videography? Or just best overall videography? Well that’s a great first question to ask. Most independent as well as videography agency’s have a niche. My belief is that a companies niche comes from the direction in which their luck is pointed.
A videographer/CEO could spend months hounding record labels and artists to make the “next big music videos” yet the manager at the local tiling company saw a wedding video you made for their cousin and now wants to know if you do any corporate stuff. With 0 responses from the music industry it’s time to turn to tiling and make waterproof porcelain the next big craze.
Turns out that tiling company is a chain with almost 40 branches across the UK, good job they loved what you made. The point I’m making is… a creator might have spent years practicing and perfecting for one area in video production (music videos), however this skill is transferable and now they’ve made a name for themselves as the best tiling content creator in the country. So if you want tiling videos now you have your answer… sort of I mean the story is a fake example, but you can book with us, we’re just the best at everything, which segways nicely to my next point.
No company is definitively the best company at something, they are only the best company FOR YOU at that something. Now if you know our brand you’ll know that we pride ourselves on being “better different”, this key value allows us to strive for fresh new ideas that will change the future of a market. Strive being the key word here. For us this is a company value, for others they might believe themselves when they tell you dogmatically, that they are the best. Maybe they have awards, maybe they have huge clients who am I to argue with that? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Que new blood, with new ideas and all of a sudden success is truncated and ‘the best’ now look like the proverbial ostrich with its head in the proverbial sand. Just because it ain’t broke doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.
Let’s say, because it’s somewhat true, that a general “high standard” has been achieved and across the board videographers seem to all be impressing. What now? Well I know the quality of my peers, I can say technology allows for incredible results when a company/individual knows what they’re doing (most do, don’t be alluded some don’t, check a companies example work). So, what separates us all now? Well, there can always be quality improvements but aside from that, what we’re really looking at here is style. A company without a style is like a politician without a policy. What do they stand for, what are you getting for your money? An insipid approach is messy and lacks identity, you’ll become forgettable and worse your growth will thwart. You’ve got to chose a style that works for your brand. A great video agency can support you with this. Most videographers should have a style. As a CEO and a videographer I understand my own style and although I am proud of my adaptability (Filmmaker one week, Tyson Fury Videography the next) I find my simple and impactful approach lands me work in an age of short attention spans. So, this is normally how I pitch myself.
As a CEO it’s my job to offer my target market all that I can. Hiring videographers and freelancers who can expand our niche and our style options. People who have found their own paths in their own niches all come together to create a larger offer and even offer cross client collaborations (a flooring company with an interior design company for example) without damaging the style of either brand. Of course style can be fluid, most of us have been doing this long enough and have had enough bizzare requests, but style is a great place to start. Know what you want, see if your desired videographer/agency can achieve that for you, check out their example offerings and be honest with yourself.
Two points left to consider and it’s a biggie, short and simply, do you like them? Are they a nice person, do you get along? When you’ve got the choice? Why not work with someone you like?
- Do they talk about themselves too much?
- Do they cut you off when you’re speaking?
- Is their communication succinct or jejune?
- Is their small talk interesting or infuriating?
- Do you have similar interests (not essential for business but helpful).
Finally, price. I can understand if you don’t have a huge marketing budget, however often there is a correlation just like in any industry in that the higher the price, the higher the quality. Please also consider that marketing of any sort should be considered as an investment. You should see return on what you spend. If you don’t see ROI either your marketing team need to re-evaluate or your videographer doesn’t work for your audience. Some agencies similar to us will include SEO (search engine optimisation) and social media analytic analysis as part of their packages (this is something we need to discuss prior to finalising a contract). Essentially pricing is 90% calculated on value. If it’s going to give you return and exposure, build your brand image and develop a better understanding of your customer base then do it!
There are many things when considering a purchase such as a videographer. Firstly what type of videographer you need, wedding films, corporate content, sports coverage, estate videography etc. then what attributes you’d need them to have. If they’re going to shoot a wedding you’d hope they are friendly and approachable. What’s their expertise and experience do they have a niche? Are they reliable? Do you like their style does it work FOR YOU and your brand? Finally, can you forecast return on investment, do you want them to do that for you and then prove it when they’re successful using analytics? With much to consider and the importance of a decision such as this I don’t envy you. Hopefully I’ve helped and I’d be a bad sales person to not advocate for my own company. If you’re in the market for video marketing, start by checking out the INFLUENCE studios website. You never know, you might not need to look much further.
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