In my business, I get to see a lot of videos being produced.  In the short five years since focusing on video-centric digital marketing, I’ve seen every kind of video production, from outdoor shoots to studio setups and green screens, for those still wanting to look like they are in a cheap Star Trek rendition.

Speaking of Cheap..that was what I wanted to blog about today.  The original title was The Three Why’s to Cheap Video, but after writing it I like the title..You Get What You Paid For.

The Three Why’s have to do with:

• Why DIY videos work against a business.
• Why cheaply produced videos give businesses a cheap look.
• Why the price of quality videos appear expensive, but really are not

Let’s take the DIY Videos.

Granted, there are some very, very creative people out in the world who can handle a camera.  Unfortunately, for every one of these creative videographers, there are ten people who just can’t cut it when it comes to producing a Higher Quality video.  Businesses who take the DIY route to video production run an 80% chance of the video working against them.  Damage images are very expensive to repair.  Producing a less than satisfactory video places a bad image on the business’ product or service.  Smart businesses should never take that change and have their videos cost them, customers.  It is one thing to not be able to afford to have your videos professionally produced, but a totally different thing when the DIY video runs potential clients away,

Cheap Looks Cheap

No doubt you have sent them..the cellphone videos that appear to be taken by someone with the shakes.  Or the videos that are out of focus…or overexposed…or produced at a very low resolution.  It does not take an expert to know how the video was produced.  Consumers see it and their first thought…these guys are too cheap to hire a videographer.  They are not someone I want to do business with…and BAM..they are gone forever.  Sure, those videos save you a lot of money, but how many sales did it cost you?

Quality Has a Price Tag

There is no way around saying it..video production is very expensive.  Good production companies invest a lot in high tech cameras and production equipment.  Awesome production agencies spend even more and hire very talented technicians to make sure the video is quality productions.  So they have a lot to pay for in the production of a quality video.  

With that all said, there are cost-saving measures that bring the costs down considerably.

Cost Savings like:

• A lot of the Pre-Production process can be cut out by having a Digital Marketing Strategy RoadMap developed.  The Roadmap helps outline what type of video and what the message should be.
• Shooting a number of shorter videos all in the same location on the same day holds costs down costs considerably.
• Providing on-camera talent and developing the script for the message to be delivered is another help to chisel away at the production cost.

However, even with all of these savings, the price may seem expensive.  Videos are a true investment in the business.