It’s laborious to disregard the truth that video is now a number one development for advertising groups. I imply, even LinkedIn has jumped on the bandwagon by prioritizing video content material (now, whether or not or not you agree with that, it’s a dialog for an additional day, however I digress).
The reality is that video is right here to remain, and advertising groups are investing extra in it than ever earlier than.
With 2025 simply across the nook, I made a decision to take a deep dive into among the newest HubSpot information, together with the 2024 Video Advertising and marketing Survey, to get a clearer image of what tendencies are shaping the sphere.
I additionally spoke with a couple of specialists to get their insights on how they’re planning to put money into video advertising as we transfer into the brand new yr.
Desk of Contents
How a lot does video advertising value?
The quick reply? It varies wildly. You would possibly spend a couple of hundred {dollars} on easy movies or tens of hundreds on skilled productions.
Usually, the largest bills fall into a couple of classes:
- Manufacturing. Prices for scripting, filming, and taking pictures, which might vary from inexpensive for smaller groups to costly for large-scale productions.
- Put up-Manufacturing. Modifying, including results, and finalizing the video. As content material will get extra polished, this turns into an even bigger a part of the finances.
- Promotion. Social media adverts, paid search, or sponsored content material to get the video in entrance of the appropriate viewers.
- Instruments. Software program for enhancing and video efficiency analytics, plus any subscriptions to specialised video platforms.
Waiting for 2025, I feel we’ll see extra groups leaning into AI instruments to scale back prices, particularly in manufacturing and post-production.
With the rise of short-form movies, manufacturers would possibly shift towards creating extra frequent, lower-cost content material for social platforms.
And whereas social adverts will nonetheless be a serious spend, I anticipate personalised, interactive video codecs will turn out to be an even bigger a part of the finances as manufacturers search for new methods to interact audiences.
How a lot are entrepreneurs spending on video advertising?
The numbers inform an attention-grabbing story. Our 2024 Video Advertising and marketing Survey exhibits entrepreneurs are placing a big quantity of their whole finances into video.
And it’s paying off — 52% report excessive ROI, whereas 47% see common returns.
Most entrepreneurs that I spoke with plan to extend their video finances subsequent yr.
It is smart while you have a look at the impression: 52% cite model consciousness as their main aim, and 41% say video helps clients perceive their merchandise higher.
What’s the standard finances breakdown? In response to digital transformation professional Suriel Arellano, right here’s how companies often slice it:
- 40-50% on manufacturing
- 20-30% on promotion
- The remainder on expertise and advertising
How AI Is Making Video Advertising and marketing Extra Inexpensive
Video advertising can get costly shortly — whether or not it’s for manufacturing, post-production, promotion, or analyzing outcomes.
However AI video instruments are critically altering the sport, serving to entrepreneurs like myself scale back prices throughout all phases of the method.
Right here’s how I’ve seen AI make video advertising cheaper.
1. Manufacturing Stage: Brainstorming & Scripting
Making a video from scratch typically entails hours of brainstorming, scripting, and outlining. AI instruments can considerably velocity up this course of, lowering the time spent on these duties.
For instance, ChatGPT or Breeze can help in shortly producing video scripts or brainstorming concepts. By merely offering the AI with a couple of key particulars in regards to the video’s goal and viewers, entrepreneurs can generate complete scripts or outlines in minutes.
This protects each money and time, particularly in case you have restricted assets.
Now, as an expert author, I ought to add a disclaimer right here. I actually don’t advocate for ChatGPT changing human creatives, together with writers. A talented scriptwriter will deliver a degree of experience your mission desperately wants.
Nonetheless, I do advocate utilizing ChatGPT that can assist you brainstorm new concepts or angles and polish sure elements of the script.
2. Put up-Manufacturing: Modifying & Results
As soon as your video is shot, the enhancing part will be one of the vital costly phases, particularly should you’re hiring an expert editor. AI instruments are serving to scale back post-production time although by automating most of the tedious duties.
The price of enhancing a video might rack up hundreds of {dollars} simply. AI-powered instruments like Descript and Adobe Premiere Professional can automate video enhancing duties corresponding to chopping, including subtitles, and even creating social media-friendly codecs.
One of many coolest enhancing options I’ve seen is text-based enhancing.
Primarily, you possibly can edit phrases from a video transcript, and the editor will clip the video accordingly. Provided that I’ve extraordinarily restricted video enhancing expertise, I like how straightforward that is. See it right here in motion.
3. Promotion: Advertisements & Viewers Focusing on
As soon as your video is prepared, selling it to the appropriate viewers is essential.
Conventional advert spend can shortly add up, particularly should you’re counting on handbook concentrating on and content material creation. AI instruments make it simpler to optimize each your promotion technique and your advert spend.
You should utilize machine studying to optimize advert placements, determine one of the best viewers, and regulate campaigns in actual time to scale back value per conversion.
You may as well use AI-powered translation instruments to create multilingual variations of your movies. It may be useful for reaching worldwide audiences with out the expense of hiring a number of voice actors.
Inexpensive Video Advertising and marketing Methods
1. Weigh your choices.
In response to our video advertising information, 69% of video entrepreneurs surveyed personal manufacturing tools whereas 10% hire, and the remaining group does each. However which method is true in your model? Let’s break it down:
In-Home |
Companies |
|
Value Construction |
Decrease value per video, greater upfront funding. |
Larger per-video value, no tools funding. |
High quality |
Good for easy content material, restricted by staff expertise. |
Skilled high quality, entry to professional expertise. |
Time |
Fast turnaround for easy initiatives. |
Longer lead occasions however constant supply. |
Management |
Full management over course of and edits. |
Much less direct management however skilled administration. |
Finest For |
Common, easy content material wants (social media, product demos). |
Complicated initiatives, high-production worth content material. |
The selection typically comes all the way down to your content material kind and frequency.
For example, should you’re a make-up model creating common tutorial content material, in-house manufacturing is perhaps good — you simply want good lighting and a digital camera to showcase merchandise in motion.
Nonetheless, should you’re a journey model needing cinematic vacation spot photographs with skilled expertise and a number of places, an company might truly be cheaper.
Most smaller manufacturers (these with 200 staff or much less) report higher ROI when working with exterior businesses, significantly for high-production worth content material.
However should you’re planning to create frequent, easy movies for social media, constructing an in-house staff might be a wise long-term funding.
2. Separate need-to-haves from must-haves.
If there’s one piece of video tools it is best to deal with, it’s lighting.
Many consider that having one of the best digital camera does the trick, however the reality is that lighting is what makes or breaks the standard of a video.
Lighting units the tone and temper of a video, two components that you must keep your viewers’s consideration in a video.
Sound is one other space to splurge on — particularly your mics. It will improve the standard of your video, particularly if you need to accept low-end cameras.
As for every part else (the digital camera, the lens, the equipment), I feel these are nice add-ons, however should you’re on a finances, you can also make do with low to mid-range choices whereas nonetheless getting a high-quality end result.
Professional tip: While you’re filming with a smartphone, I like to recommend taking pictures in panorama mode for YouTube however vertical for platforms like TikTok and Instagram Tales. This protects you from having to reshoot or crop later.
3. Deal with engagement over manufacturing worth.
Whereas 40% of entrepreneurs emphasize the significance of partaking video enhancing, you don’t want costly software program to create compelling content material.
What issues most is capturing consideration shortly (51% of entrepreneurs agree that is essential) and telling an attractive story (37% prioritize storytelling and scriptwriting).
Professional tip: “Localization and personalization of video content material will likely be a precedence in 2025 as a result of it’s simpler and extra inexpensive than ever because of AI,” says Matt Panousis, co-founder of Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies, an AI-enabled VFX studio.
So, discovering methods to personalize and humanize your content material will likely be a key side of partaking your viewers.
4. Use free enhancing software program.
In the event you’re a part of a small enterprise or staff that’s attempting to create a video advertising technique with out spending a lot cash, don’t fear.
You should utilize the superior video instruments that include smartphones, and you could find good video enhancing software program. A few of this software program is even free.
Considered one of these instruments is HubSpot’s Clip Creator — which might convert textual content into partaking movies for your corporation. You can begin from a template or generate a video with AI.
I attempted creating a couple of for my very own freelance enterprise and liked attending to experiment with totally different variations.
Get began with HubSpot’s Clip Creator.
5. Contain SMEs for instructional content material.
Instructional movies are one of the vital efficient content material sorts in 2024, and involving Topic Matter Consultants (SMEs) in your staff might help you create high-value content material with out the excessive value. SMEs can present:
- Professional Perception. Including worth to your content material with genuine, credible information.
- Effectivity. SMEs are sometimes faster at delivering correct and priceless content material, which might scale back the necessity for in depth scriptwriting or analysis.
- Affordability. As an alternative of paying for exterior specialists or influencers, your individual staff members can present the identical degree of experience.
6. Use extra video on social media platforms.
The best option to promote movies is on social media platforms, with 69% of entrepreneurs saying it’s the best technique for reaching audiences.
The very best half? It’s basically free if you have already got a robust following. We’ve additionally seen that you just don’t want a large promoting finances to succeed in your audience, so there’s no purpose to not attempt.
My favourite hack right here is discovering methods to repurpose your content material. For instance, you possibly can take a single piece of content material and switch it right into a YouTube video, a number of TikTok clips, an Instagram reel, and so forth.
Video Advertising and marketing Is Well worth the Funding in 2025
Video advertising can really feel overwhelming, particularly while you’re working with a decent finances. However right here’s what the info is telling us: you don’t want Hollywood manufacturing worth to create content material that resonates along with your viewers.
With 52% of entrepreneurs seeing excessive ROI from video and 41% saying it helps clients higher perceive their merchandise, it’s clear to me that video is unquestionably well worth the funding.
Deal with what issues most: capturing consideration shortly, telling partaking tales, and getting your content material in entrance of the appropriate eyes by way of social media.
And with AI instruments making video manufacturing extra accessible than ever, I consider there’s by no means been a greater time to begin creating movies that join along with your viewers — with out breaking the financial institution.
Editor’s Word: This submit was initially revealed in March 2016 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.