It use to be that businesses could set their video budget by committing to a fixed number of productions with a cost estimate for each. In the event of a budget cut, productions could be canceled. This still happens, but nowadays, such a large share of B2B business is conducted via online video. It makes sense to have a video budget as a resource for boosting your brand by enlivening everything else that you do online — from customer meetings, to social media, to text content like white papers and blog posts.
Video cost components
Costs common to all B2B sales/marketing videos:
- Time spent identifying what you want the viewer to take away.
- Time and talent writing, visualizing, and editing the story.
- Time and talent creating, capturing, and editing visuals and sound.
There may also be out-of-pocket expenses like travel, on-screen talent, and production crews, but very effective videos can be made without them.
It’s all in the editing
Did you notice that the cost elements listed above are all editorial? You simply can’t make an effective video without editorial skill and imagination.
If you’re looking for a steady stream of videos to enhance all your online sales and marketing, you need to budget for professional video resources — probably from a combination of internal and external sources. You want people who can translate customer information needs into videos that get the job done, whether the job is clarifying a common misconception, addressing a customer objection, or anything else where speedier sales communication can be a competitive edge.
With today’s video editing software, ‘getting the job done’ may involve nothing more than repurposing video or editing video captured on a mobile device. For an inspiring and fun take on current trends in video editing, watch this explanation by professional video editor Sara Dietschy.
How much do visuals cost?
Of course, there are lots of situations where talking heads and repurposed visuals can’t get the job done. Sometimes you need to shoot on location, which costs what it costs. Sometimes you want to use animation to make unfamiliar ideas look simple and unthreatening. You can get an idea of the relative cost of different animation styles here. The most expensive style costs about four times as much as the least expensive one.
Budget for the opportunity
So when you’re developing next year’s video budget, do so with an eye to supporting sales and marketing opportunistically. You’ll be able to produce a more videos, and in return earn their support.
