A video spokesperson is often seen as the “voice” of a brand. By hiring a video spokesperson company, you will be able to engage your customers on a more intimate, one-on-one level. You’ll be able to personalize your brand and make it more relatable to your major demographics, all while educating and informing your customers regarding your products and services. But before you dive in, you should be aware of what makes a video spokesperson company ideal — what to look out for if you want the best possible representation of your brand.
An Understanding of Your Voice and Style
Your video spokesperson company needs to be able to develop an intimate understanding of your brand’s identity. Your brand’s identity is extremely important; not only does it have to reach your core audience, but it also needs to remain consistent. Building trust with your customers requires that they know what to expect from you. If your branding and identity keeps changing, they won’t like it — even if they might like each of the changes individually.
Before you approach a video spokesperson company, you should have a clear advertising and marketing strategy. You should be aware of your core demographics, your target audience, and your buyer personas. Your video spokesperson company will then work with you to find the perfect spokesperson for your campaign. Without a clear set of guidelines, you won’t be able to create a coherent and consistent advertising strategy.
The Reputation and History of the Company
There are two reasons why the reputation and history of the company matters — one obvious and one a little less than obvious. Obviously, you want to work with a video production company that is trustworthy and reliable. You need to know that your investment in your new video will yield dividends: that the project will be completed on time and to your standards. Reviews and testimonials are one of the best ways to determine whether the company is well-established and capable. You can also look up whether or not the company has been involved in any adverse actions, through the Better Business Bureau.
You also want to find a company that has a long history within the industry. A video spokesperson is going to define the face of your brand; it isn’t always easy to switch spokespeople mid-campaign. It can even be harmful to your brand awareness if you’re trying to reach new customers or if you’re running a dedicated social media campaign. Though a new, up-and-coming startup may be able to produce an excellent video for you, there’s no guarantee that they will be around for the weeks to come. You might find yourself having to start from scratch with another business, and having to explain your brand identity and goals all over again. A company that has a lot of history, on the other hand, will be able to guide you throughout your campaign.
The Technology Involved in Film Making
Even the best concepts for video marketing will falter if the technology simply isn’t there. With high-definition video and audio now available throughout the Internet, video quality has become incredibly important. Videos that are not produced well are considered amateurish and unprofessional — even if the video itself is informative and unique. Before you choose your video spokesperson company, you need to make sure that the quality of the video itself is going to be up to par.
Of course, most business owners aren’t up to date on the most current audio and video technology. The best way to determine whether a company is able to produce high quality videos is to ask for samples of the videos that they have produced. These videos should have clear, clean audio and be shot in a professional, steady, and well-composed way. In a spokesperson video, the actor or narrator should clearly be the star. Too many diversions will distract from the point of the video, and potentially leave the audience feeling confused.
Sourcing and Qualifications of their Actors
Where is your company getting their actors? Do they have actors in-house? Do they source directly from an agency? Or do they simply put out classified ads? Though there is no true “best” answer here, it will still be important to know. If your video spokesperson company hires their own actors or vets their actors thoroughly, they are more likely to produce a higher quality video with a consistent feel. If they rely upon classified ads or third-party listings, on the other hand, the quality of the acting may vary considerably throughout your campaign.
Though it’s optimal to stick to the same spokesperson for each individual campaign, it’s also quite common to switch spokespeople between campaigns or to use different spokespeople for each campaign. As an example, explainer videos may be handled by one individual, while direct marketing may be handled by another. You may even have different spokespeople for different buyer personas, depending on how diverse your audience is. Having a company that has a direct line to many different actors will give you more control over the quality of your videos. It will also give you the flexibility that is often needed if you have to pivot your campaign.
Proximity and Availability
We live in a global economy. And that means that we’re often working with companies that aren’t necessarily in the same geographic location. They may not even be in the same country. Because of this, it’s also very important for you to consider the availability of the company that you’re working with. While you don’t necessarily need to be in the same time zone, you do need a company that is going to be available for your input and questions while you are active during your business day. It also doesn’t hurt for them to be available in a variety of ways: e-mail, phone, and instant messaging.
Additionally, it’s always a good idea to make it a point of hiring a company that is responsive to you in a timely fashion. A reputable, reliable company should be able to respond to your inquiries within 24 hours — but ideally, they should be able to usually get back to you even faster. When it comes to advertising and marketing, there are times when there are opportunities that simply cannot be ignored. If your video company isn’t available for your questions and concerns, you may find yourself feeling frustrated and detached from the creative process.
Additional Advertising Options and Features
Why are you looking for a video spokesperson? It’s very likely that you’re looking for an online campaign — though television ads are effective, they aren’t nearly as plentiful. Many video spokesperson companies today offer additional online advertising options, such as search engine optimization packages, customer outreach, and other methods of boosting your market penetration and reach. In general, the more features the better; it shows an understanding of the online marketing arena that will make your videos themselves far more effective.
Though you might already have an advertising company, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a video spokesperson company that is aware of the ins-and-outs of SEO and social media, and that is able to take some of the burden off your internal advertising staff. A full service video spokesperson company may also be able to create (and run) social media platforms, thereby extending your brand awareness even further. Some video spokesperson companies can even help you set up an advertising website, or help you integrate your videos directly into your existing site or eCommerce portal.
Comparing the Cost of Video Spokesperson Companies
Finally, many advertising decisions come down to cost. But when comparing video spokesperson companies, the cheapest isn’t always the best. Not only do the above quality considerations need to be taken into account, but an apples-to-apples comparison also has to be done between different vendors. An itemized breakdown for each spokesperson company should be compared; otherwise there could be add-ons that you may need to pay more for later.
In general, companies that tend to be far less expensive than others are usually cutting corners in some major way. Sometimes they may outsource their editing (or even acting), which can create unpredictable results and missed deadlines throughout the campaign. Other times they may simply be low-balling their introductory pricing, and may end up ultimately raising their prices once the campaign is in full swing. Choosing a bid that is either middle-of-the-road or a little towards the low end (rather than being the absolute, rock bottom lowest) is usually the best way to get value for your dollar.
Though there’s a lot to consider when hiring a video spokesperson company, it’s well worth it in terms of returns. There are very few advertising tactics that an audience connects with as well as a video spokesperson. Video spokespeople not only give customers an idea of the brand’s identity, but they also reach out and relate to the customer on a more direct and personal level. Through this, you’ll be able to increase both engagement and conversions for an extremely reasonable investment.
Latest posts by D-Mak Productions (see all)
- What Should a Business First Consider Before Hiring a Video Spokesperson Company? - September 12, 2016