Using company video to connect with prospects is a critical part of the buyer's journey, now more than ever. Before signing any contract, decision makers want to see how a product works and what it will do to improve their productivity.
Before publishing the first live stream or scripted video, marketing leaders need to identify their production team. Should they seek to produce videos in-house, or go out of their way to get a professional team? Prior to allocating resources, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of creating an in-house video team.
Who's Included on the Company Video Team?
As with all initiatives, a company video team should balance the marketing creativity with converting sales. Those who join an internal video team should strive to answer one question: how does this video solve the problem of our target audience?
A company video team starts with the marketing leader, who must champion the cause. Their job is to lead video creation and work with sales leaders to focus a message towards a prospect audience. Through this partnership, the marketing leader can determine which types of video are right for the brand: webinars, live question-and-answer sessions, streaming from conventions, or pre-recorded tips.
After setting direction, the marketing leader will need help from their team. This includes support from:
- Writers: Marketing writers set up the tone of the video and drive home a solution for the viewer. Their work may range from script writing to talking points, or briefing speakers before live streaming.
- Graphic Designers: Before a video goes live on any format, it will need slides, visual aids, and thumbnails. Graphic designers can produce all of those elements, making a live event visually captivating.
- Audio Visual Engineer: Going live isn’t as simple as buying a webcam – behind the lens is someone making sure the speaker is seen and heard clearly. The audio visual engineer makes sure a live stream goes off without a hitch and corrects issues in post-production.
Before requesting new positions from HR, start by looking inside the team. At any organization, there is an excellent chance one (or several) team members are interested in fulfilling these roles.
Advantages of Building an Internal Video Team
After identifying who should be on the internal video team, it’s time to consider their value. There are several advantages of building a company video team to handle the company’s streaming outreach.
The biggest advantage of an internal video team is cost-savings. Adding new positions dedicated to the video team drives up the cost of lead acquisition and reduces return on investment (ROI). Starting with a company video team allows marketing leaders to prove how valuable live video is to the organization, while building the case for advancing team skills or adding new positions as leads come in.
Second, who knows a company’s culture and message better than those who work there already? Using an in-house video team provides unique perspectives on products and solutions, finding creative ways to convey that to the audience. Everyone working together ensures videos don’t get boring.
Finally, when projects are on deadline, a company video team can go live faster than a professional team. While professional video crews require contracts and coordination, an internal team can put the needed elements together on short notice. If there is a major shift in the industry which requires a company’s expertise, the internal video team can be ready on notice – primarily because they are already in the building.
In-house Video Team Disadvantages
Although internal video teams provide crucial cost-savings and product expertise, it can also come with downsides. Before sending out a project kickoff e-mail to the prospective company video team, think about all the disadvantages.
While the marketing team may be excited to start producing live videos, they may not come with the expertise. As a result, technical difficulties – ranging from latency problems to inaudible sound – can undermine a live stream. And after a live shot is botched, the audience won’t come back to re-watch a post-produced corrected version.
Creating more responsibilities for an internal marketing team is another disadvantage of recruiting current employees. If a marketing team is already stretched thin, putting videos on top of their current duties could reduce output quality on all fronts. Before using the existing team, take a close look at their overall workload and consider how adding video could affect them.
Adding a new video-driven project to inside marketing could also insulate the team further, creating a vacuum chamber inside the organization. When teams insulate around a project or initiative, MarketingDive notes it can steer them away from the bigger picture, resulting in “aspirational groupspeak.” Prior to pivoting staff to an in-house video team, consider how it may affect their understanding of the brand promise and how to convey it in an important medium. Correcting mistakes or off-brand messaging can negate all cost savings – not to mention brand equity.
Does it Make Sense to Hire Professionals?
When starting a new initiative, marketing professionals often turn to outside agencies to set it in the right direction. But is using a costly team the right move to launch a video campaign?
If the stream is complex and requires high quality, using a professional team could make sense. With the right amount of lead time, a dedicated video team can manage live stream setup, videography, editing, and publishing. The result is a highly polished video that will wow target audiences and drive new sales.
What about webinars and question-and-answer sessions? Unless executives are presenting at an important conference, or an “ask me anything” live stream involves a celebrity guest, hiring an external video team could simply add polish where it’s unnecessary. This adds hurdles to the ROI, resulting in more overhead and lower potential reward. For these exercises, using an internal team is not only acceptable, but expected from the audience.
Building an in-house video team could be the best way to add video to the marketing plan, but only if the company culture and workload supports it. By weighing the pros and cons against the video goals, marketing leaders can make sure their team is ready to go live on location.
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