It’s onerous to disregard the truth that video is now a number one development for advertising and marketing 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 one more day, however I digress).
The reality is that video is right here to remain, and advertising and marketing groups are investing extra in it than ever earlier than.
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With 2025 simply across the nook, I made a decision to take a deep dive into a number of the newest HubSpot knowledge, together with the 2024 Video Advertising Survey, to get a clearer image of what traits are shaping the sphere.
I additionally spoke with a couple of specialists to get their insights on how they’re planning to spend money on video advertising and marketing as we transfer into the brand new 12 months.
Desk of Contents
How a lot does video advertising and marketing price?
The quick reply? It varies wildly. You would possibly spend a couple of hundred {dollars} on easy movies or tens of 1000’s on skilled productions.
Sometimes, the largest bills fall into a couple of classes:
Manufacturing. Prices for scripting, filming, and capturing, which might vary from inexpensive for smaller groups to costly for large-scale productions.
Submit-Manufacturing. Modifying, including results, and finalizing the video. As content material will get extra polished, this turns into a much bigger a part of the funds.
Promotion. Social media adverts, paid search, or sponsored content material to get the video in entrance of the appropriate viewers.
Instruments. Software program for modifying and video efficiency analytics, plus any subscriptions to specialised video platforms.
Waiting for 2025, I believe 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 significant spend, I count on personalised, interactive video codecs will develop into a much bigger a part of the funds as manufacturers search for new methods to have interaction audiences.
How a lot are entrepreneurs spending on video advertising and marketing?
The numbers inform an fascinating story. Our 2024 Video Advertising Survey exhibits entrepreneurs are placing a major quantity of their complete funds 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 funds subsequent 12 months.
It is sensible once you have a look at the affect: 52% cite model consciousness as their major objective, and 41% say video helps clients perceive their merchandise higher.
What’s the everyday funds breakdown? In accordance with digital transformation knowledgeable Suriel Arellano, right here’s how companies often slice it:
40-50% on manufacturing
20-30% on promotion
The remaining on expertise and advertising and marketing
How AI Is Making Video Advertising Extra Reasonably priced
Video advertising and marketing can get costly rapidly — whether or not it’s for manufacturing, post-production, promotion, or analyzing outcomes.
However AI video instruments are severely altering the sport, serving to entrepreneurs like myself scale back prices throughout all levels of the method.
Right here’s how I’ve seen AI make video advertising and marketing cheaper.
1. Manufacturing Stage: Brainstorming & Scripting
Making a video from scratch typically includes hours of brainstorming, scripting, and outlining. AI instruments can considerably pace up this course of, decreasing the time spent on these duties.
For instance, ChatGPT or Breeze can help in rapidly 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 total scripts or outlines in minutes.
This protects each money and time, particularly when you’ve got restricted assets.
Now, as knowledgeable 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 convey a degree of experience your mission desperately wants.
Nevertheless, I do advocate utilizing ChatGPT that can assist you brainstorm new concepts or angles and polish sure elements of the script.
2. Submit-Manufacturing: Modifying & Results
As soon as your video is shot, the modifying part will be one of the costly levels, particularly in case you’re hiring knowledgeable editor. AI instruments are serving to scale back post-production time although by automating lots of the tedious duties.
The price of modifying a video might rack up 1000’s of {dollars} simply. AI-powered instruments like Descript and Adobe Premiere Professional can automate video modifying duties corresponding to reducing, including subtitles, and even creating social media-friendly codecs.
One of many coolest modifying options I’ve seen is text-based modifying.
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 modifying abilities, I really like how simple that is. See it right here in motion.
Supply
3. Promotion: Advertisements & Viewers Concentrating on
As soon as your video is prepared, selling it to the appropriate viewers is essential.
Conventional advert spend can rapidly add up, particularly in case you’re counting on guide focusing on and content material creation. AI instruments make it simpler to optimize each your promotion technique and your advert spend.
You should use machine studying to optimize advert placements, determine one of the best viewers, and modify campaigns in actual time to scale back price per conversion.
You may also 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.
Reasonably priced Video Advertising Methods
1. Weigh your choices.
In accordance with our video advertising and marketing knowledge, 69% of video entrepreneurs surveyed personal manufacturing gear whereas 10% hire, and the remaining group does each. However which method is true to your model? Let’s break it down:
In-Home
Companies
Value Construction
Decrease price per video, greater upfront funding.
Greater per-video price, no gear funding.
High quality
Good for easy content material, restricted by workforce abilities.
Skilled high quality, entry to knowledgeable expertise.
Time
Fast turnaround for easy initiatives.
Longer lead instances however constant supply.
Management
Full management over course of and edits.
Much less direct management however skilled administration.
Greatest For
Common, easy content material wants (social media, product demos).
Complicated initiatives, high-production worth content material.
The selection typically comes right down to your content material kind and frequency.
For example, in case you’re a make-up model creating common tutorial content material, in-house manufacturing is perhaps excellent — you simply want good lighting and a digicam to showcase merchandise in motion.
Nevertheless, in case you’re a journey model needing cinematic vacation spot pictures with skilled expertise and a number of places, an company might really be cheaper.
Most smaller manufacturers (these with 200 staff or much less) report higher ROI when working with exterior companies, significantly for high-production worth content material.
However in case you’re planning to create frequent, easy movies for social media, constructing an in-house workforce might be a wise long-term funding.
2. Separate need-to-haves from must-haves.
If there’s one piece of video gear you need to concentrate on, it’s lighting.
Many imagine that having one of the best digicam 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 you could preserve your viewers’s consideration in a video.
Sound is one other space to splurge on — particularly your mics. This can improve the standard of your video, particularly if it’s a must to accept low-end cameras.
As for all the pieces else (the digicam, the lens, the equipment), I believe these are nice add-ons, however in case you’re on a funds, you may make do with low to mid-range choices whereas nonetheless getting a high-quality outcome.
Professional tip: Once you’re filming with a smartphone, I like to recommend capturing 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. Concentrate on engagement over manufacturing worth.
Whereas 40% of entrepreneurs emphasize the significance of partaking video modifying, you don’t want costly software program to create compelling content material.
What issues most is capturing consideration rapidly (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 might be a precedence in 2025 as a result of it’s simpler and extra inexpensive than ever due to 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 might be a key facet of partaking your viewers.
4. Use free modifying software program.
When you’re a part of a small enterprise or workforce that’s attempting to create a video advertising and marketing technique with out spending a lot cash, don’t fear.
You should use the superior video instruments that include smartphones, and you’ll find good video modifying 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 what you are promoting. 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 cherished 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 efficient content material varieties in 2024, and involving Topic Matter Specialists (SMEs) in your workforce can assist you create high-value content material with out the excessive price. SMEs can present:
Knowledgeable Perception. Including worth to your content material with genuine, credible data.
Effectivity. SMEs are sometimes faster at delivering correct and priceless content material, which might scale back the necessity for intensive scriptwriting or analysis.
Affordability. As an alternative of paying for exterior specialists or influencers, your personal workforce members can present the identical degree of experience.
6. Use extra video on social media platforms.
The simplest solution to promote movies is on social media platforms, with 69% of entrepreneurs saying it’s the best technique for reaching audiences.
The most effective half? It’s primarily free if you have already got a powerful following. We’ve additionally seen that you just don’t want a large promoting funds to succeed in your audience, so there’s no motive 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 Is Definitely worth the Funding in 2025
Video advertising and marketing can really feel overwhelming, particularly once you’re working with a decent funds. 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 definitely worth the funding.
Concentrate on what issues most: capturing consideration rapidly, telling partaking tales, and getting your content material in entrance of the appropriate eyes via social media.
And with AI instruments making video manufacturing extra accessible than ever, I imagine there’s by no means been a greater time to start out creating movies that join along with your viewers — with out breaking the financial institution.
Editor’s Word: This put up was initially printed in March 2016 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.