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You’ve got a problem on your hands. You know that video is one of the best ways to market your business, but you have simply no idea where to get started.

Thankfully, there’s no need to go it alone when you want to create video content for your business.

No “best director” academy awards sitting on your shelf? No problem. You don’t have to be a master filmmaker, director, editor, or writer to create compelling and results-driven videos - you just need to get help from a professional corporate video production company or video marketing agency.

But now, we’ve run into another problem. What’s the difference between video production companies and video marketing agencies?

These two kinds of companies might sound similar or even identical on the surface. After all, they both involve creating video content for your company. However, there are significant differences between them that you can’t afford to miss. They might perform similar duties, but in practice, the outcomes can be dramatically different.

Let’s clear up that confusion by taking some time to define each kind of company, and in the process, you’ll learn what kind of video partner is right for you and your business.

What is a Video Production Company?

A video production company specializes in every aspect of planning, writing, filming, and editing videos for your company. Essentially, a video production company is a one-stop-shop to handle every element of creating a video, including everything from the earliest brainstorming to the final edits.

The primary benefit of working with video production companies is that they can handle the entire content creation process while still working closely with you. Most companies let you maintain complete control over creating your video, which allows you to ensure that the video comes out just like you want it without having to do any of the production work yourself.

If you’re only looking to get a well-made video and aren’t worrying about widely distributing it - such as an internal employee training video or a video for a special personal occasion - then a video production company might be just what you need.

However, the main limitation is that most of these companies tend to focus primarily on the production side of things. A production company might not help you very much if you’re trying to make something like an advertisement or a social media video. In other words, they’re not marketing professionals.

Promotion aside, production companies can make some of the finest professionally-produced videos on the market. If high-quality content creation is the main thing you’re looking for, then you could serve to benefit with a production company.

What is a Video Marketing Agency?

If a video production company is where your videos come off the assembly line, a video marketing agency is where you sell them. A video marketing agency is dedicated to helping you reach your long-term professional goals through engaging video content.

Want to increase your sales? Need to get your newsletter in a few more inboxes? Craving more social media engagement and growth? The right video marketing agency should have you covered for all these. This kind of company is typically staffed with a team of expert marketers, strategists, and creatives who can help you discover exciting opportunities and strategies to get the results your organization needs using your videos.

Think about the marketing services you can expect from a more generalist marketing agency - such as promotion, distribution, and planning. That’s what you’ll typically have with a marketing agency but only focused on your videos (who could have guessed?).

Of course, it’s worth noting that video marketing agencies likely won’t give you the same amount of control over the video creation process as you would have by working with a production company directly. Marketing agencies are more likely to have your corporate video production outsourced to an external company, which might yield different results than you would initially hope. Additionally, outsourcing production could end up costing you more than you would have had if you’d work with a production company directly.

However, if you’re valuing measurable results over creative control, then a marketing agency will be worth it.

Which Should You Choose: A Video Production Company or a Marketing Agency?

Your decision between choosing a video production company or a marketing agency will largely come down to one question: what are your goals?

If you’re looking to create a beautiful training video and have plenty of control over the process, then a video production company will likely be the right choice for you. With a production company on your side, you’ll be able to create your ideal video while still drawing from the expertise of professional directors, editors, and actors.

However, if you’re focused less on the video itself and more on the benefits you hope to achieve from it, then a video marketing agency might be the better fit. Not only will an agency help you develop brilliant videos, but it can also provide results-driven marketing strategies that will help you achieve measurable benefits from your videos. Whether you need to boost profits or grow engagement, working with a marketing agency can help you achieve your goals for growth, expansion, and engagement.

Of course, not all video companies stick exclusively to marketing or production activities.  There are plenty of companies that straddle the line between them, doing a little bit of marketing and a little bit of production as needed. If you think that your project might require a mix of video marketing as well as production, then you might want to seek out a hybrid organization like this.

See How Sparkhouse Serves Your Needs

Sparkhouse is your one-stop-shop for all your video production needs. Not only can we create actionable videos that speak to your unique mission and values, but we can also develop engaging content that helps you reach your marketing and growth goals. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or the latest trending startup, we’re eager to work with you. Don’t hesitate to contact us today and see how we can provide just the videos your brand needs!

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