On our blog we talk a lot about how-to, why-to, where-to, what-to and who-to. OK, maybe more than one of those is made up but we hope you get the point. All the advice we give here is from years of producing video and marketing content for your clients. Sometimes we’re in the driver’s seat 100% - meaning the client tells us what they need and we plan, execute and deliver. Other times we’re given a script and our client comes to set to help direct the shoot. We’ve learned from our trials and tribulations, and our challenges and successes, how to execute a project as efficiently and as smartly as possible.

Our advice to you, before you take the dive (please see GIF below), is that you should be sure you are exercising proper planning. This will help you to address any hidden pitfalls and costs that may arise during video production. In other words, you want to be aware of the challenges you may have to face before they end up costing you more money than you expected. The following are some issues that can lead to hidden costs in video production and what you can do about them:

Lack of Focus

If you have too many ideas floating around, you may have too many hands in the cookie jar. This kind of interference can seriously mess with focus. It will extend the length of production and lead to more costs all around. In addition to proper planning, you must be attentive and delegate accordingly so that no one is overshooting the goal. And if you can do it, identify just one or two people on the team who know your project inside and out. They can provide feedback quickly and clearly to the creative team you're working with.

Stakeholder Buy-In

Is everyone on board (you know, the most important people AKA the people who have ‘final say’)? Are you sure? The very first step in establishing any video marketing plan is a very important pre-production tactic - ensure you have proper stakeholder buy-in for the project. If everyone is signed off on a budget, you should have no issues with costs down the road. That includes any hidden ones that may come up. And if everyone is on the same page with goals, messaging and outcomes that makes sure that re-dos don’t come up at the end of the project.

The better you can communicate with your investors AND your video production team, the fewer surprises you will have. You should never have to worry about a lack of stakeholder buy-in if you’ve put all your ducks in a row. Just remember, stakeholder segmentation will kill your budget every time. So, don’t be afraid to speak up in the beginning about all of your needs.

To make sure you address any possible hiccups, make time to revisit the budget every week/month and adjust accordingly. Not only does this demonstrate to stake-holders you care about their money, it will allow you to keep a closer eye on the production process. This also means you can better identify issues before they become serious problems.

Improper Planning

There should never be any “winging it” with video production. There are just too many things that need to be done to prepare for a shoot. Lack of direction and a plan will always lead to the most hidden costs. So whether you do these things yourself, or you hire a full-service video production team make sure you keep these pre-production tasks in mind:

• Delineate your business objective for the video.

• Define your audience and create buyer personas.

• Develop your message and write any scripts.

• Hire any talent needed.

• Establish a budget with ALL stakeholder buy-in.

• Set up marketing and sales strategies.

• Pre-production meetings and approvals.

• Schedule a professional video production team.

By far, the most important step you can take before hosting a video production team is to plan accordingly. There should be no surprises the day of the shoot. Of course, nothing ever goes 100% as-planned, but when you are well-equipped, those hidden costs will be a little less hidden. Or better yet, they won’t exist at all.

If you have any questions about avoiding the issues and hidden costs of video production, give us a call. We can help you work through any concerns you may have and help you establish a killer video marketing plan in no time.