The Marketer's Big Debate: In-House Video vs. Hire-Out

What if there were no obstacles when it came to creating marketing videos for your company? What if you had a large team with an unlimited supply of time, overflowing creativity, and a budget so big, you didn’t know what to do with it. Wouldn't that be nice…  

83% of marketers say they would increase their reliance on video as a strategy if there were no obstacles like time, resources, and budget.

Likely, that’s not the case for you, so you’ve landed here—on this blog. And we’re going to share our take on what’s been a big debate in the marketing world after our company has walked through this video obstacle course the past few years. 

Create In-House Video vs. Hire a Professional Video Company 

THIS. THIS. THIS. We get asked THIS question all the time. Whether it’s a conversation amongst our team or a conversation with another attendee at a conference, we can’t tell you how many times we’ve discussed, debated, and (casually or not) inserted our (very strong opinion) about this topic. 

Here’s the deal. There’s a time for in-house video, and a time for professionally produced video. You need both! And we recommend both for the ultimate video marketing strategy.

Creating Video In-House 

With in-house video, you need some basic tools and equipment to create a decent video. You also need to learn some basic video editing skills, and then, of course, you become the staff videographer. The more you do, the better (and quicker) you become at filming and editing. It doesn’t have to be complicated.  

Forms of Marketing Video Easily Produced In-House: 

• Video Blogs (vlogs) 
• Webinars 
• Live Video 
• Interviews and Customer Testimonials 
• Social Media Video Ads 

Tips for Producing Video In-House 

• Location – Find a good location with lighting (facing the subject of the video, not behind), little to no noise, and little distractions from the background or in the frame.
  
• Equipment – Invest in a tripod for your phone with a Bluetooth clicker. Really, this is all you need. But if you want to get fancy (help improve the overall quality), you can purchase a decent-priced external microphone to hook into your phone to help with sound quality, and a ring light or some simple lighting to help if your location lacks decent lighting. 
• Plan Out Your Content – Just like a presentation, you should prepare for your video. Who’s speaking, what are the bullet points, etc. Create a story board to help minimize the amount of takes you’re doing for your in-house video. 
• Practice – Again, just like a presentation, practice makes perfect. Some people can ‘wing it,’ but most people need practice. Especially if you’re trying to do it in one take to minimize editing.
• Editing – Take some time to learn a simple video editing software to help with small details like adding name cards, intros, splicing videos together or cutting, etc. For example, iMovie on a Macbook is great for simplicity, but there’s also other simple video editing software available with hundreds, if not thousands, of tutorials available on the web.   

Hiring a Professional Video Company 

While LeadG2 has found a lot of success producing videos in-house for things like video blogs and webinars, we also fully believe in, and highly recommend, hiring a professional videographer or video content company to produce professional videos for your company.  

Professional videographers and companies not only bring the professional equipment to the table, they also bring planning and strategy to pair your videos with your overall marketing strategy, as well as a depth of creativity because of the team of creatives they have helping with each of your videos. This not only helps create pretty videos, it helps to create strategic videos made for your target audience to help you get results and ROI from your investment! 

Forms of Marketing Videos Best Produced Professionally 

• Culture Videos 
• Case Study Videos
• Brand Videos 
• Recruitment Videos 
• Product Videos 

Depending on your type of company, industry, and target audience, you will find different forms of video are best produced professionally. Case studies are very important to our sales process, so we’ve focused efforts and budget on quality, professional video case studies. We’re continuing this focus as we plan our future marketing budget. Our company culture is also important to potential clients as well as recruitment, so we focused efforts on having a professional culture video created.  

Tips for Finding a Professional Video Company 

When searching for a professional video company, do your research to determine if they are the best fit based on these things: 

• Do they know your target audience (or are they willing to learn)? 
• Have they asked about your overall strategy? 
• Did they want to know your overall goals? 
• Do they have resources based on the shooting location? 
• Have they shared samples related to the projects you’re interested in creating? 
• Do they fit your budget? 

Determine Your Route to Video Creation 

When it comes to determining whether to create video in-house or hire an agency, answer the following questions: 

1. What is the goal of the video? 
2. How will the video fit into my overall strategy? 
3. Where will the video be shared? 
4. Where does your target audience consume the most content, and what content performs best?  
5. Do we have the equipment, time, and talent to produce the quality video necessary to achieve our goals? 
6. Do we have the budget to hire someone to produce this video based on the expectations of ROI we will receive? 

Video as part of your overall marketing strategy is a no-brainer. It’s here to stay and it’s here to help you influence and impact your target audience. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get a new qualified lead, nurture a prospect, or gain a new customer because you didn’t provide the content they needed, at the time they wanted it, on the channel they desired it.  

A robust marketing content strategy includes video. But it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Explore ways to create some video in-house and supplement some by hiring a professional company to help you achieve your goals through video marketing!