Top Mistakes When Hiring Video Agency and How to Avoid Them
5.00/5According to the State of Video Marketing Report by Wyzowl, an astonishing 91% of businesses used video as a marketing tool in 2024. Whether you’re producing an explainer video, brand film, or social ad, video content continues to dominate digital marketing. Video is not just a visual asset; it’s also a conversion tool and a brand statement. It plays a key role in your customer journey.
However, achieving success hinges on choosing the right video production partner. Hiring the wrong team can result in wasted budgets, low-quality videos, and missed business opportunities. While many companies understand the importance of hiring a video agency, few know what mistakes to avoid during the selection process.
In this article, we’ll explore the most common mistakes businesses make when hiring a reputable video production company and explain how you can avoid these pitfalls.
Common Mistakes When Hiring Video Agency Professionals
Some hiring pitfalls relate to the agency as a whole, while others are specific to the people you’ll be working with. The professionalism, expertise, and communication style of the team members can determine the success of your video project.
Below are the top mistakes businesses make when hiring video production teams and how to avoid them.
1. Not Evaluating the Video Production Company’s Experience
One of the most common mistakes is assuming that a video production company’s reputation reflects the expertise of every team member.
To avoid this mistake, we highly recommend that you always ask who will be managing your project directly. Take the time to review their portfolios, qualifications, and previous work. Ensure that you work with directors, editors, and animators who have experience with your specific content type and industry.
2. Ignoring Communication Skills
It’s also very common to hire a technically skilled professional who lacks communication and collaboration skills.
During discovery calls or proposals, pay attention to how clearly the team explains their process, timelines, and creative vision. As you talk with them, ask yourself:
- Do they ask good questions?
- Are they responsive?
It’s imperative that you understand and always remember that poor communication often leads to missed deadlines and creative misunderstandings.
3. Overlooking Cultural and Brand Fit
One thing you really want to avoid is hiring professionals whose values or audience tone don’t align with your brand.
To avoid this, it’s important to take the time to share your brand guidelines with your potential video partner agency and request work samples that align with your tone, whether it’s playful, serious, luxurious, or minimalist.
You should also ask them how they adapt their storytelling for different audiences. This is important because not every audience reacts the same way to a specific type of video.
4. Assuming One Person Can Do It All
Another common mistake is relying on a single professional for scripting, directing, editing, animation, and sound.
You need a balanced team. If you are working with a video production company, they most likely have this covered. However, you still need to ask the right questions and verify that they have specialized people in each key area. If you are working with freelancers, look for someone with a support network or subcontractors they trust.
As you consider your options, remind yourself that high-quality videos require diverse skill sets and specialized roles.
5. Hiring Based on Price Alone
Although it’s tempting to choose the lowest quote, cheap work often means poor quality, inexperience, or unreliable execution.
When considering video production services, focus on value. Ask about deliverables, the number of revisions allowed, licensing rights, and distribution support. Keep in mind that a low-cost provider may lack insurance, equipment, a strategy, or the ability to scale. Focus on return on investment (ROI) rather than just the upfront cost.
According to research, including a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by up to 80%. However, this only works if the video is professional and aligned with your strategy.
6. Skipping Reviews and References
It’s common for businesses to make quick decisions without researching an agency’s past work or client satisfaction. While this may not seem problematic at first, it can lead to unexpected delays, hidden costs, or poor communication.
Before making a decision, make sure you read reviews on platforms like Sortlist, LinkedIn, Clutch or Google and speak with at least one previous client about reliability and results. Ask your peers about their experiences with different video production companies.
Your decision will determine the outcome.
7. Not Setting Clear Roles and Responsibilities
Lastly, businesses often fail to clarify who is responsible for what. Skipping this, can lead to confusion and duplicate work.
To avoid this common mistake, it is important to define each professional’s responsibilities in writing before you start your relationship. These responsibilities may include script development, shooting, editing, motion graphics, and feedback rounds.
We highly recommend using project management tools, like Asana or Trello, to track task ownership.
8. Not Defining Clear Goals
Once you have decided who you want to work with, avoid the common mistake of jumping into video production without a defined objective. This is one of the most costly mistakes. Without SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), your content may be visually impressive but strategically useless.
To avoid this, take enough time to create a clear brief that outlines your target audience, message, and desired outcomes.
Bonus Mistake: Forgetting About Distribution and Promotion
Even the best video won’t be successful if no one sees it. Be sure to if the video production company provides video SEO services, ad placement, YouTube optimization, or campaign distribution. Some agencies only cover video production process, while others offer turnkey services, including social media edits, thumbnails, and performance tracking.
Checklist: How to Choose the Best Video Production Company
In summary, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that you partner with the right video company for your project and brand.
✅Define clear, measurable goals before outreach.
✅Evaluate individual team members, not just the agency brand.
✅Look for a strategic and creative fit, not just visual flair.
✅Get clear contracts and timelines, including a revision policy.
✅Confirm who will handle what (script, shoot, edit, and distribution).
✅Don’t expect one person to be the entire production team.
✅Focus each video on one objective.
✅Ask about marketing support, not just production.
Conclusion
Avoiding the most common mistakes when hiring video agency professionals requires due diligence, effective communication, and strategic planning. Whether you’re creating a 15-second social ad or a five-minute product demo, your next video production partner must understand your brand, audience, and objectives.
As you go through this process, remember: The right video production company doesn’t just deliver content; they help drive growth. If you don’t know where to start looking for this partner, we recommend taking a look at the video production agencies in our portfolio. They have the experience and teams, and you can see reviews and comments from past clients.
