When choosing a company to produce your next video project you may wonder,’how can you tell if a video production company is legitimate?’
There are a few ways to determine the professionalism of a video production company when checking them out online.
First, when looking at their website do you feel that it is professional. Do the values that they say they provide resonate with you? The level of design and aesthetic that they have put into their site is a good way to determine if they have what it takes to represent you. The way they represent themselves is a reflection of how they will be able to help you represent your company.
Another way to determine if they are legitimate is to look through their client list. If they don’t have a client list that is a major red flag. They are either novice or don’t feel comfortable sharing their past client work. Both factors will do not give you confidence in their abilities. Their client list should have clients that are of a size, a level of professionalism, a region, or in an industry that is relatable to your business. If they have testimonials, watch/read them and see if they seem genuine and if they highlight things that are important to you like detailed outlines, or never missing a deadline.
Next, you should look through their portfolio and see if their work resonates with you and is the caliber you are looking for. You also want to make sure that their work is consistent from project to project. If one of their videos is amazing and some of the others are awful, that is a red flag. You don’t know what you will be getting from the company. If they are willing to share the information, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they produce all their work alone or sometimes work with an agency. This will give you a good idea of whether or not you can expect the high quality work you are seeing in their portfolio. If they are not open enough to share this information, you could also Google the name of their work or project and make sure no other agency, company, or vendors claims to have produced it.
You should visit their contact page. If their contact page is just a form and they don’t tell you where they are located, that could be a red flag. If they do have a location, you can find out if it’s a home, an office, in a good part of town. This can give you more insight into what type of company they are and how they operate.
Lastly, when you contact them their response and response time can tell you a lot about them as a company. If they are looking for more information rather than just trying to make a sale, they are likely a more legitimate company.
You need to vet a video production company like any other type of company. The big things to look for would be that their client list and portfolio seem transparent and honest and that their work speaks to you.
This article was originally posted on Phanata media: http://blog.phantamedia.com/how-can-you-tell-if-a-video-production-company-is-legitimate/