It’s hard to ignore the fact that video is now a leading trend for marketing teams. I mean, even LinkedIn prioritized 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 HubSpot’s latest data, including the 2024 Video Marketing Survey, to get a clearer picture of what trends are shaping the field.
I also spoke with several experts to get their insight on how they plan to invest in video marketing as we head into the new year.
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How much does video marketing cost?
Short answer? It varies a lot. You can spend a few hundred dollars on simple videos or tens of thousands on professional productions.
Usually the biggest costs fall into several categories:
- Production. Scripting, shooting and recording costs, which can range from affordable for smaller teams to expensive for large productions.
- Post production. Editing, adding effects and finalizing videos. As the content becomes more polished, it becomes a bigger part of the budget.
- Promotion. Social media ads, paid search or sponsored content to get your video in front of the right audience.
- Tools. Video performance editing and analytics 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 videos, brands may turn to creating more frequent, cheaper content for social platforms.
And while social media 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 putting a significant amount of their overall budget into video.
And it pays off — 52% report high ROI, while 47% see average returns.
Most of the marketers I spoke with 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 analysis? According to digital transformation expert Suriel Arellano, here’s how companies typically cut it:
- 40-50% on production
- 20-30% on sale
- The rest is up to talent and marketing
How artificial intelligence is making video marketing more accessible
Video marketing can quickly become expensive — whether it’s production, post-production, promotion, or results analysis.
But AI video tools are a serious game changer, helping marketers like me cut costs at every stage of the process.
Here’s how I’ve seen AI make video marketing more profitable.
1. Production phase: Brainstorming and script writing
Creating a video from scratch often involves hours of brainstorming, scripting, and outlining. AI tools can significantly speed up this process, reducing the time spent on these tasks.
For example, ChatGPT or Sea breeze can help quickly generate video scenarios or brainstorm ideas. By simply providing AI with a few key details about the video’s goal and audience, marketers can generate entire scripts or drafts in minutes.
This saves both time and money, especially if you have limited funds.
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
After your video is shot, the editing stage can be one of the most expensive stages, especially if you hire a professional editor. AI tools help reduce post-production time by automating many tedious tasks.
Video editing costs could easily add up to thousands of dollars. AI powered tools like 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 best editing features I’ve seen is text-based editing.
Basically, you can edit the words from the video transcript and the editor will cut the video accordingly. Considering I have very limited video editing skills, I love how easy this is. See him 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. Artificial intelligence tools make it easy to optimize your promotion strategy and ad spend.
You can use machine learning to optimize ad placement, identify the best audience, 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 while 10% rent and the remaining group do both. But which approach is right for your brand? Let’s break it down:
| In the 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 talent. |
| Time | Quick turnaround for simple projects. | Longer delivery time but consistent delivery. |
| Control | Full control over the process and changes. | 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 the type and frequency of your content.
For example, if you’re a makeup brand that produces regular tutorial content, in-house production might be perfect — you just need good lighting and a camera to showcase the products in action.
However, if you’re a travel brand that needs destination cinematography with professional talent and multiple locations, an agency may actually be more cost-effective.
Most smaller brands (those with 200 employees or less) report a better ROI when working with outside agencies, especially for content with high production value.
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 throw money at – especially microphones. This will improve the quality of your video, especially if you have to settle for lower-end cameras.
As for everything else (camera, lens, accessories), I think these are great accessories, but if you’re on a budget, you can settle for low- to mid-range options while still getting a high-quality result.
For advice: When shooting with a smartphone, I recommend shooting in landscape mode for YouTube, but portrait mode for platforms like TikTok and Instagram Stories. This saves you re-recording or cropping later.
3. Focus on engagement instead of production value.
Although 40% of marketers stress the importance of engaging in video editing, you don’t need expensive software to create engaging content.
The most important thing is to grab attention quickly (51% of marketers agree that this is key) and tell an interesting story (37% prioritize storytelling and screenwriting).
For advice: “Localization and personalization of video content will be a priority in 2025 because it’s easier and more accessible than ever thanks to artificial intelligence,” says Matt Panousis, co-founder of Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies, an AI-enabled 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 also find good video editing software. Some of this software is even free.
One of those tools is HubSpot’s Clip Creator — which can turn text into engaging videos for your business. You can start with a template or generate a video with AI.
I tried to create a few for my own freelance business and loved experimenting with different versions.
Get started with HubSpot’s Clip Creator.
5. Involve small and medium-sized enterprises in educational content.
Educational videos are one of the most effective types of content in 2024, and including subject matter experts (SMEs) on your team can help you create high-value content without high costs. Small and medium enterprises can provide:
- Expert insight. Adding value to your content with authentic, credible knowledge.
- Efficiency. SMBs are often quicker to deliver accurate and valuable content, which can reduce the need for extensive scripting or research.
- Affordability. Instead of paying outside 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 audiences.
The best part? It’s basically free if you already have a lot of followers. 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 trick 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 seem 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 affordable 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.
