Video Storyteller or Production Company: Which One Is Right For You?
Video Storyteller or Production Company: Which One Is Right For You?
Using videos in your organization’s marketing program is the “big thing” right now. In just the past few years, it’s gone from the exception to the rule. Videos for your website, social media posts, advertising, and events are no longer in the category of “nice to have”. They are an essential element of messaging that gets attention, sparks interests, ignites desire and results in action.
For small businesses, start-ups, and nonprofit organizations, getting a video that gets the job done is usually a matter of figuring out how to manage and allocate limited resources. That means making smart choices about every step in the process. Before you can make the right decisions, you need to know what your options are.
Video storytelling is on everybody’s to-do list because it gets the kind of results that organizations want and need from their marketing budgets. When you break the process of getting the videos you want down into the essential elements, you find opportunities to save where you can so that you can spend where you need to.
The Big Picture: Quality Video Production on Any Budget
The term “video storytelling” puts video first and so it’s a natural reaction to focus on the video part of the process. In reality, a good video should start with the story so that the video does the right things the right way. Even when the video is finished, there’s more to consider. The “telling” is an opportunity to maximize your returns by focusing on how to make the video work wherever you put it.
For any video project, you have options for how you’ll get it done. Ed Heil at Storytellers Media & Communications does a good job of breaking down the choices and highlighting the pros and cons of each. His checklist focuses on the “video” portion of the project. But it serves to highlight similar questions you should ask yourself about the “story” and the “telling”.
There’s a reason why we think “story” should come first. When you invest the time and effort to discover what your organization’s story is, it becomes a foundation for everything. It can also help you identify and answer important questions about the “telling”.
When you know what your story is, you can focus on the right way to tell it across different platforms and occasions. Small differences in the way you post a video to a social media platform can have an unbelievable influence on its ability to catch an audience’s attention and gain their interest. Will you be using a video as part of an in-person or virtual event? How do you handle the difference?
What Do You Already Have In Your Video Storytelling Toolkit?
One way to make sure that you’re maximizing your budget for a video project—begin with a review of what you already have that can be used to cut down on the work that has to be done from scratch.
Does your organization have a brand story?
· A new video project could be seen as an opportunity to tell a different version of that story instead of starting from square one.
· When you know the stories you want to tell it helps consultants and production companies focus the creative process.
Does your organization have some technology that they can use to capture or create the building blocks that make up a quality video?
· Cell phones and digital cameras make it easy and affordable to assemble the pieces.
· Sometimes the DIY aesthetic and boots-on-the-ground perspective is exactly what you need to make an impactful video narrative.
Does your organization have an existing library of video reel, images, and soundbites that will fit into the narrative of a new video project?
· If you don’t, the time to start building one is right now.
· Even if your library images and videos only help steer the storyboarding process, they’re still helping you get to the ultimate goal more efficiently.
Does your organization have a process for posting and optimizing content on social media, blogs, and websites?
· It takes some skill to make a video look its best on a webpage, blog article, or social media post.
· Getting the placement right is just the start of “telling” your story in the right places, at the right times, to the right audience.
Whether you build your video in-house, ask for help, or turn the project over to an outside partner—using what you have will help you narrow the focus of your narrative, storyboard a compelling video, and plan for exceptional performance when you launch.
What Parts of the Video Production Process Can Your Organization Do Well?
Whether your organization has a marketing department or everyone works together on messaging, chances are good that your team has the skills to create things you’ll need to get a video that gets results.
Does your organization have storytellers?
· Maybe you haven’t made an official brand story a priority in the past but that doesn’t mean you can’t work as a team to start putting one together before you roll tape and holler ACTION!
· Nobody knows your organization’s story better than you and your team. Consultants and creatives can help you bring out the best of your story but can cut down on the time and expense by getting a head-start in-house.
Are you tapping into the technology that you have?
· In the era of the smartphone: every person on your staff, all of your volunteers, donors, clients, or customers can help you gather great photos and videos.
· From picture collages to doodle and animation videos to affordable video editing software, the tech tools that you need to create videos that get results are out there.
Does your organization have data on the results of past efforts?
· Maybe the reason that your organization is considering outside help with video marketing is that you’ve tried it on your own without getting the results you were after.
· Whether your past efforts were successful or not, the information that you have about what worked and what could’ve gone better has value as you plan your next video project.
When You Need Some Help Getting Great Video Storytelling Results
There is a difference between “good enough” and “good”. There’s an even bigger difference between “good” and “great”. You might think that getting a great video always means turning the project over to the pros. When you break the process down the way we’ve suggested, you might find that you just need a little help to go from good to great.
Is your organization telling your story effectively?
· Maybe you have storytellers on your staff and you’ve developed a brand story that works for your organization—a creative consultant or video storyteller can give your story a copy critique to help you take it to the next level.
· It can be hard to see or hear the story you’re telling with the eyes and ears of your audience. An outside perspective from an expert can help you find and fix small weaknesses in your story.
Are you getting all of what your tech can do?
· Technology is just the toolkit that it takes to get video production work done. There is an old saying that “it is a poor craftsman that blames the tools”. It’s just as important to remember that you should expect different results from a Master than you’ll get from an apprentice.
· If the quality of your images or video could be better or the editing could be more polished and professional—you should consider the possibility that you’ll get to your goal faster and invest less by handing off the parts you struggle with to an expert.
Does your organization “invest” in successful “telling”?
· Whether you’re trying to sell a product, sign-up subscribers, inspire donors, or expand awareness of your brand or mission—it takes work to make messaging work in a digital world.
· If you’ve invested in a quality story and quality video, you should be prepared to invest in the success of your project by supporting it after you launch. That might mean paid advertising on social media to make sure it gets seen. Or, it might mean SEO optimization checks to make sure it is climbing the ranks on results pages.
When Should You Take Your Video Project To A Professional Partner?
Any time your organization has the budget to work with a professional video storyteller or video production agency, you should consider the pros and cons of that option. Working with an outside partner can be a great way to get things done on time and on a budget without pulling your staff away from other priorities.
What can professional partners do for your story?
· The version of your story that you should tell is the one that fits with the goals you have for the project.
· Professional video storytellers can help you find the right version and turn it into the video that will get the job done.
· Partners In Post has written about the value of good storytelling in corporate marketing and advertising.
· Outbrain has written about how video storytelling works and why it’s so powerful.
What can professional partners do for your video?
· Getting quality images and quality footage can be a challenge but professional videographers, production companies, and ad agencies know what it takes to make it happen.
· Quality visual content is the basis of a high-quality video but professionals know how to maximize all three phases of the production process.
· Ed Heil has written about the elements of the video production process.
· True Film Production and Spin Creative have put together guides to help you through the process of selecting a production company.
What can professional partners do to boost the telling of your video story?
· Social media, search engines, and other elements of the digital marketing mediascape are competitive spaces.
· Having a great story and turning it into a great video doesn’t guarantee success—you still have to do the work to ensure that your telling reaches the right audiences at the right times and in the right places.
· Vyond has put together a review of some successful video storytelling projects.
· CauseVox keeps an eye on successful video storytellers in the nonprofit world.
Argonaut Productions Is A Partner You Can Count On For Video Storytelling That Will Amplify Your Mission
It can be difficult to decide how and where to invest your marketing budget. Getting a return on your investment is always going to be the measure of a project’s success. But what you’re trying to do with a video can influence what could and should be considered a return. And there’s no guarantee of success whether you have an unlimited budget or need to get maximum quality for minimal investment.
The Argonaut process moves from story discovery to project design and then into delivery. We’ve developed our approach to ensure that we can provide all of the help that our partners need while staying flexible enough to be responsive to each client and each project.
Whether you need an extra set of eyes and ears to offer an expert outside opinion or you need extra sets of hands to manage the production process, we’re here for you. We have solutions to every challenge you’ll encounter as you work to combine the right story with a great video and a plan for telling it in ways that resonate.
When You’re Ready To Launch A Video Project Give Us A Call
Every Argonaut Productions project begins with an initial consultation call. Initial consultations are a no-cost, no-obligation opportunity for you to tell us about your project and what you need from a partner. We’ll listen and learn—then we’ll ask questions. We’ll help you identify what you need to get to where you want to be.