WRITTEN BY: ZACH CHAMP
CONNECT WITH ME ON LINKEDIN!

(Originally Published on Washington Digital Media & Medium) (2019)

 

IS VIDEO PRODUCTION & CONTENT MARKETING EXPENSIVE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESS OWNERS?

Many types of content can be produced in a variety of mediums. Some of the most common and popular types of content are:

• Blog Articles like the one you are reading right now

• Social Media Graphics such as memes, info-graphics, charts, product ads, etc.

• Podcasts and internet radio talk shows

• Video for YouTube, Websites, Blogs, etc.

• And much more!

It is not expensive by any means to create a nice blog with well-written articles.

Nor is it cost-prohibitive to pay a local artist to help you design wonderful and visually appealing graphics for use in social media.

Many entrepreneurs and business owners these days also rely on websites like Fiverr.com to outsource creative projects specifically for a suitable bargain.

What you need to realize is that ultimately any creative media content that you create will be constrained by three factors: cost, quality, and time.

For any given project that you work on, you are only going to be able to benefit from two of the factors at the expense of the third.

This idea is referred to as the Golden Triangle of Production.

WHAT MAKES VIDEO-PRODUCTION MORE AFFORDABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS & SMALL BUSINESSES?

In the past, the cost of video production and filming could be expensive, but these days video production is commonly more affordable and accessible, especially if you are willing to sacrifice a little bit of time to learn new skills.

The main reason that video-production is increasingly affordable for individuals and small businesses these days is the widespread proliferation of new technology like smartphones, and mobile web apps.

These days we have access as consumers to equipment like lens attachments and stabilizers that allow individuals to utilize their smartphone as a high-quality filming camera.

The development of smartphones over the past decade is itself amazing, especially since most smartphones can now film in spectacular resolutions and qualities like 1080p and 4k.

Many of the most popular smartphones on the market contain enough onboard computing power to include built-in video editing applications that allow individuals the ability to create, edit, and publish their videos immediately after filming. 

Most of these applications contain A.I based machine learning algorithms and tools that make the video-editing process much faster, simpler, and more intuitive.

WHY HIRE A VIDEO PRODUCTION & DIGITAL MEDIA COMPANY?

Hiring a video production company means you will be forming a collaborative partnership with another company, just like if your company was working with a consulting firm or was hiring event organizers and caterers for an upcoming event.

When you hire a video production company, essentially you will be opening your company up to outside strangers that may be very different from your company and it’s culture.

To achieve success you will have to learn to trust them and their decisions and creative-input.

Remember, that’s why you hired them in the first place!

Outsourcing can be useful because there is no upfront cost to purchase video equipment, and no need to learn video production skills or train someone in-house in those skills.

Hiring a video production company is an investment, and depending on the size and scope of your project, you will likely pay anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for a professionally filmed and produced video.

Why so much? Typically, a portion of the total cost of video production will involve pre-production and equipment fees.

This can include the costs of hiring 1 or 2 cameramen, as well as an audio engineer.

The cost of video production for a project will also include editing time and any royalties for stock footage clips and background music needed.

Listed below is a sample chart of a typical video production company’s breakdown of costs:

WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO BE MY RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR DIGITAL CONTENT & VIDEO PRODUCTION FOR MY BUSINESS?

Not all video projects and digital creative media projects provide the same return on investment.

Depending on the focus of your project, the ROI can vary.

Generally speaking, most professionally produced video content is designed with specific call-to-actions and in conjunction with a targeted marketing campaign.

The goal of these campaigns is often to achieve increased audience engagement, higher email subscription rates, capture key demographic data, generate new leads, boost product sales, or commission more services.

Marketing & advertising also needs to be considered, because a video or creative media project can easily be a great piece of content that converts target audience members to potential or actual customers, but if it isn’t marketed or distributed properly this can affect the total gains made in your ROI.

WHAT KIND OF VIDEO OR DIGITAL MEDIA PROJECTS DO I NEED TO FOCUS ON FOR MY BUSINESS?

Today, the Internet is the most dominant marketing and advertising platform in the world, having surpassed television and radio which traditionally were the main forms of reaching target audiences.

The internet has unleashed Pandora’s Box on the marketing & advertising world by facilitating the rise of websites like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, and online communities and forums such as Reddit. The internet has also disrupted every aspect of the shared media and advertising industry.

It is clear that businesses today need to incorporate the internet into their business models and strategies or risk complete failure. One way for businesses to successfully capitalize on the internet and with digital media is through content marketing.

When creating content the goal, whether it’s an artistic venture or entrepreneurial enterprise, should always be quality over quantity.

Some of our competitors and many online marketing gurus promote otherwise and say that you need to create content regularly as a means of engaging and interacting with fans and building brand awareness and audience engagement.

We think this advice is a gross over-generalization of what you actually need to do to create successful engagement with target audiences and fans.

What you need to understand is that underlying every business transaction or the popularity of any piece of art is a relationship that occurs between the creator and viewer. 

Creating content creates relationships. These relationships are the basis of engagement.

When creating content the goal, whether it’s an artistic venture or entrepreneurial enterprise, should always be quality over quantity.

Some of our competitors and many online marketing gurus promote otherwise and say that you need to create content regularly as a means of engaging and interacting with fans and building brand awareness and audience engagement.

We think this advice is a gross over-generalization of what you actually need to do to create successful engagement with target audiences and fans.

What you need to understand is that underlying every business transaction or the popularity of any piece of art is a relationship that occurs between the creator and viewer. Creating content creates relationships. These relationships are the basis of engagement.

If you are truly trying to create a powerful and lasting brand that has a loyal and ever-growing fan base, then you need to create the contexts of a meaningful and thoughtful relationship!

When it comes to creating content, you need to take your time and produce content that is strategic, purposeful, and created with craftsmanship and creativity.

If you are a corporation or large organization, this means dedicating a budget and dedicated individual or team that focuses on marketing and advertising.

As a company, you will need to clearly express cultural and style guidelines, so that your brand’s advertising is consistent and reflects core company values.

Your goal should be to have relatively uniform stylistic and design aspects that help create a “visual identity” for your brand. 

AN EXAMPLE OF NETFLIX LOGO DESIGN GUIDELINES 

If you don’t have the resources to provide this organizational role in-house, then your company needs to out-source and hire a company with the expertise and resources!

If you are a small business, this may mean learning skills and slowly implementing them by practicing and developing content on your own until core competencies have been mastered.

You don’t need to be an expert to create beautiful social media graphics, or to write meaningful social media posts. You just have to be genuine, creative, and willing to experiment with new practices.

If you are consistently posting tacky, quickly rushed, and not carefully considered content, then you may inadvertently ruin your brand’s image, and potentially disrupt your brand’s growth.

Even worse, you could potentially annoy target audiences and fans that you desperately need to be connected with!

Using so-called “tacky” content and then paying for a social media advertising campaign is not only a waste of money but is damaging on a larger scale because now potentially thousands of people have seen your sub-par content and have now associated your brand with it.

It can take a lot of work to repair such damage!
Why not do it right from the get-go?