Your company has standards for how your marketing material will look the colors used in your logo.  You take the time to edit your company’s blog posts to ensure everything has correct spelling and grammar. You re-read an email to a client three times before sending it. You want everyone and everything that represents your company to be the best it can be, and your company’s videos should also have a set of standards for video and be a part of your company’s brand style guide.

Until just a few years ago, online video was not that common. Those companies that did want to post a video had no choice but to hire a professional cinematographer or video company because average people did not have the tools to create a video. Now, with the incorporation of cameras into everything from our computers to our cell phones, more people have the ability to record a video. As a result, there are so many more online marketing videos out there. Even though it may seem like just about anyone can make a video, the truth is that it takes special equipment and expertise to produce a video that is truly high-quality to promote your business.

Your company video should reflect the quality of your brand.  All of the brand videos on the web are the quality equivalent of tacking a hand-written notice on the bulletin board at the local coffee shop.  If you are the Nordstrom of your particular industry, then your video needs to reflect that.  90% of the buying process starts online, so every aspect of your online image is either helping or hurting your chances of convincing a potential client to reach out.  If cell phone video is the lowest form of video is that the right thing for your high quality brand?

One way to gauge the standing of your current videos is compare your videos to your competitors’. Then ask your video production agency what you could do to take your videos to the next level. There are so many factors where even slight improvements make huge effects on the overall appeal of your video.

Work with your video producer agency to determine a budget and a set of standards for your videos. Maximizing picture quality is obvious, but you will need to make many other important decisions on lighting, on-screen talent costuming, and post-production elements such as editing, titles, and transitions.  A video production company will also make sure you avoid mistakes such as cheesy titles and missing footage. Although hiring a freelancer or in-house videographer is also an option, we recommend choosing an agency, which will offer the highest level of expertise and versatility. Your team will give you essential pointers and let you know what styles best fit your brand. These standards should then be shared throughout your entire company and incorporated into your brand style guide.

The Internet is where most of your audience is, so your company should take full advantage of video to make the best possible online impression. In particular, the Millenials who grew up with the Internet from infancy have high expectations for online content and will not be interested in your company’s bad video content. Avoid losing eyeballs right off the bat by setting standards that will keep your video elements clean – so you will be at the top of the video scene.