Videographers vs. Studios vs. Agencies

 

Before you start looking for a “videographer,” make sure that is actually what you’re looking for.

When it comes to producing video marketing content, there are three different kinds of businesses you can hire to get the job done: videographers, video production companies, or video marketing agencies. But before you get started, it’s important to know the differences between the three.

1. Videographers

Videographers are typically a one-man-band kind of operation and are really good for filming weddings and events. They are nimble, quick, and used to a fast-paced-environment. There are a lot videographers out there, which is great from a cost standpoint; but you’ll have to sift through several to find great talent. A particular challenge with videographers is that they have low bandwidth – by that I mean they can’t juggle too many projects at the same time. The really good videographers will be really busy because they do good work and people want them… so if you need something turned around quickly or response times from your videographer is important to you – that might pose a problem.

2. Video Production Companies

On the next level are video production companies. These are entire TEAMS of professionals who have a wide range of capabilities and know how to make your video look amazing. Unlike videographers, bandwidth is not as much of an issue since they have more resources and expertise.  The work that they produce will be significantly higher quality as they bring “more to the table” such as actors, highly skilled crew, locations, sophisticated filming gear, and about 300 other things.  They typically will work directly with agencies or the client, and will rely on them for the concept and script. Sometimes they get into concept development. One challenge with video production companies, though, is that A) they don’t think strategically from a marketing standpoint, and B) once the videos are done, they’ll hand them over to you, shake your hand, and move on. This can be problematic if you aren’t sure best practices for video hosting, calls to action in video players, video seo, A/B testing, email marketing with video, integrations into salesforce, analytics, overall ROI, and several dozen other things. This is where the last option comes in:

3. Video Marketing Agencies

The key differentiator is in the name… video MARKETING. They do everything that video production companies do, but even more. They do things like develop strategic video roadmaps, integrate the video content across client marketing channels, use sophisticated analytics to learn about viewer behavior, and provide some business intelligence to the sales team. They are involved way before a camera get turned on, and way after the videos are finished. They are not only experts in video production, but also in how to use video. Simply put, they strategically produce videos and help their clients implement them; as opposed to just handing off the videos and wishing you good luck.

 

So if you want to capture a quick event, maybe hire a videographer. If you want an expertly-made video, go to a production company. But if you want expertise in the entire video marketing process, then it’s time to look into a video marketing agency. I guarantee that they’ll take your marketing campaigns to the next level.