How Brands Are Investing in Video Marketing on a Budget [2024 Data] – InstantFollowerz

It’s hard to ignore the fact that video is now a leading trend for marketing teams. I think even LinkedIn has jumped on the bandwagon by prioritizing video content (now whether you agree with that or not is a conversation for another day, but I digress).

The truth is that video is here to stay, and marketing teams are investing in it more than ever before.

With 2025 just around the corner, I decided to take a deep dive into some of the latest data from HubSpot, including Video Marketing Survey 2024to get a clearer picture of what trends are shaping the field.

I also spoke to several experts to get their insights on how they plan to invest video marketing as we enter the new year.

Content

How much does video marketing cost?

Short answer? It varies a lot. You might spend a few hundred dollars on simple videos or tens of thousands on professional productions.

Typically, the biggest costs fall into a few categories:

1. Production. Scripting, shooting and recording costs, which can range from affordable for smaller teams to expensive for large productions.
2. Post-production. Editing, adding effects and finalizing videos. As content becomes more polished, it becomes a bigger part of the budget.
3. Promotion. SOCIAL MEDIA ads, paid search or sponsored content to get your video in front of the right audience.
4. Tools. Video editing and performance analysis software, plus all subscriptions to specialized video platforms.

Looking ahead to 2025, I think we’ll see more teams relying on AI tools to reduce costs, especially in production and post-production.

With the rise of short videosbrands could shift to creating more frequent, cheaper content for social platforms.

And while social ads will continue to be a big spend, I expect personalized, interactive video formats to become a bigger part of budgets as brands look for new ways to engage audiences.

How much are marketers spending on video marketing?

The numbers tell an interesting story. Our 2024 Video Marketing Survey shows that marketers are investing a significant amount of their overall budget in video.

And it pays off – 52% report high ROIwhile 47% see average returns.

Most marketers I’ve spoken to plan to increase their video budget next year.

It makes sense when you look at the impact: 52% cite brand awareness as their primary goal, and 41% say video helps customers better understand their products.

What is a typical budget schedule? According to digital transformation experts Suriel ArellanoHere’s how companies typically share it:

• 40-50% on production
• 20-30% on promotion
• The rest is on talent and marketing

How AI is Making Video Marketing More Accessible

Video marketing can quickly become expensive – whether it’s production, post-production, promotion or analysis of results.

ass AI video tools I’m a serious game changer, helping retailers like myself cut costs at every stage of the process.

Here’s how I’ve seen artificial intelligence make video marketing more profitable.

1. Production phase: Brainstorming & Scripting

Creating a video from scratch often involves hours of brainstorming, scripting, and drawing. AI tools can significantly speed up this process, reducing the time spent on these tasks.

for example, ChatGPT hours Breeze it can help quickly generate video scripts or brainstorm ideas. By simply giving AI a few key details about a video’s goal and audience, marketers can generate entire scripts or outlines in minutes.

This saves time and money, especially if you have limited resources.

Now, as a professional writer, I should add a disclaimer here. I’m certainly not advocating that ChatGPT replace human creatives, including writers. A skilled screenwriter will bring a level of expertise that your project desperately needs.

However, I recommend using ChatGPT to help you come up with new ideas or angles and polish certain aspects of the script.

2. Post-production: editing and effects

Once your video is shot, the editing stage can be one of the most expensive stages, especially if you’re hiring a professional editor. AI tools help reduce post-production time, even as they automate many tedious tasks.

Video editing costs could easily add up to thousands of dollars. AI powered tools such as Description and Adobe Premiere Pro it can automate video editing tasks like cropping, adding subtitles, and even creating SOCIAL MEDIA-friendly formats.

One of the coolest editing features I’ve seen is text-based editing.

Basically, you can edit the words from the video transcript and the editor will trim the video accordingly. Considering I have extremely limited video editing skills, I love how simple it is. See it in action here.

Source

3. Promotion: ads and audience targeting

Once your video is ready, it’s crucial to promote it to the right audience.

Traditional ad spend can add up quickly, especially if you rely on manual targeting and content creation. AI tools make it easy to optimize both promotion and ad spend strategies.

You can use machine learning to optimize ad placements, identify the best audiences, and adjust campaigns in real-time to lower your cost per conversion.

You can also use AI-powered translation tools to create multilingual versions of your videos. It can be helpful for reaching an international audience without the expense of hiring multiple voice actors.

Affordable video marketing techniques

1. Weigh your options.

According to our video marketing data, 69% of video marketers surveyed own production equipment, 10% rent, and the remaining group do both. But which approach is right for your brand? Let’s break it down:

	In-House	Agencies
Cost structure	Lower cost per video, higher initial investment.	Higher cost per video, without investing in equipment.
Quality	Good for simple content, limited by team skills.	Professional quality, access to professional talents.
mine	Quick turnaround for simple projects.	Longer delivery time but consistent delivery.
Control	Full control over the process and editing.	Less direct control, but professional management.
Best for	Regular, simple content needs (SOCIAL MEDIA, product demos).	Complex projects, high production value content.

The choice often comes down to your content type and frequency.

For example, if you’re a makeup brand that creates regular tutorial content, in-house production could be perfect – you just need good lighting and a camera to show the products in action.

However, if you’re a travel brand that needs cinematic destinations with professional talent and multiple locations, an agency might actually be more cost-effective.

Most smaller brands (those with 200 employees or less) report a better return on investment when they work with outside agencies, especially for high production value content.

But if you plan to create frequent, simple videos for SOCIAL MEDIA, building an in-house team could be a smart long-term investment.

2. Separate the must-haves from the must-haves.

If there’s one piece of video equipment you should focus on, it’s lighting.

Many believe that the best camera does the trick, but the truth is that lighting is what makes or breaks video quality.

Lighting sets the tone and mood of your video, two elements you need to keep your audience’s attention in your video.

Audio is another area to splurge on – especially your microphones. This will improve the quality of your video, especially if you have to settle for cheap cameras.

As for everything else (camera, lens, accessories), I think these are great additions, but if you’re on a budget, you can settle for lower to mid-range options and still get a high-quality result.

Pro tip: When shooting with a smartphone, I recommend shooting in landscape mode for YouTube, but vertical for platforms like TikTok and Instagram Stories. This saves you from having to re-record or crop later.

3. Focus on engagement versus production value.

While 40% of marketers emphasize the importance of engaging video editing, you don’t need expensive software to create compelling content.

What matters most is grabbing attention quickly (51% of marketers agree this is key) and telling an engaging story (37% prioritize storytelling and screenwriting).

Pro tip: “Localization and personalization of video content will be a priority in 2025 because it is easier and more accessible than ever thanks to AI,” he says Matt Panousisco-founder of Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies, an AI powered VFX studio.

So finding ways to personalize and humanize your content will be a key aspect of engaging your audience.

4. Use free editing software.

If you’re part of a small business or team trying to create a video marketing strategy without spending a lot of money, don’t worry.

You can use the great video tools that come with smartphones and you can find good video editing software. Some of these software are even free.

One of these tools is HubSpot’s Clip Creator — that can turn text into engaging videos for your business. You can start from a template or generate a video with AI.

I tried making a few for my own business and loved experimenting with different versions.

Get started with HubSpot’s Clip Creator.

5. Include SMEs in educational content.

Educational videos are one of the most effective types of content in 2024, and including a subject matter expert (SME) on your team can help you create high-value content without high costs. SMEs can provide:

• Expert Insight. Adding value to your content with authentic, credible knowledge.
• Efficiency. SMEs are often quicker to deliver accurate and valuable content, which can reduce the need for extensive scripting or research.
• Accessibility. Instead of paying external experts or influencers, your own team members can provide the same level of expertise.

6. Use more videos on SOCIAL MEDIA platforms.

The most effective way to promote video is on SOCIAL MEDIA platforms, with 69% of marketers saying it’s the most effective strategy for reaching your audience.

The best part? It’s basically free if you already have a strong following. We’ve also seen that you don’t need a huge advertising budget to reach your target audience, so there’s no reason not to try.

My favorite hack here is finding ways to repurpose your content. For example, you can take one piece of content and turn it into a YouTube video, a few TikTok clips, an Instagram reel, and so on.

Video marketing is worth the investment in 2025

Video marketing can be overwhelming, especially when you’re working on a tight budget. But here’s what the data tells us: You don’t need Hollywood production value to create content that resonates with your audience.

With 52% of marketers seeing a high ROI from video and 41% saying it helps customers better understand their products, it’s clear to me that video is definitely worth the investment.

Focus on what matters most: grabbing attention quickly, telling engaging stories, and getting your content in front of the right eyes through SOCIAL MEDIA.

And with AI tools making video production more accessible than ever, I believe there’s never been a better time to start creating videos that connect with your audience—without breaking the bank.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.