Training videos, social media ads, landing page testimonials, TV commercials: the possibilities for producing branded videos are practically endless.
Older roundups such as Biteable’s video marketing statistics can help you find research, but headline percentages are not forecasts for your business. Check the original study, date and sample before using a figure to support a budget decision.
Start with the job the video needs to do.
Start with a specific communication problem: a product customers struggle to understand, a procedure staff need to follow or a question your sales team answers repeatedly.
The production approach should suit that problem. A short demonstration may need a presenter and a quiet workspace, while a campaign involving several locations, interviews or animation needs more planning and specialist support.
Before commissioning the work, compare the proposed cost with how often the video will be used, who will watch it and the value of helping those people understand the subject.
That gives you a useful basis for deciding what to produce.
The sections below cover measurement, equipment, reuse, distribution and music when producing video in-house or with the help of a third-party expert.
5 Reasons Businesses Invest in Video Production
1. Video gives you results you can measure.
Businesses, and the marketing teams operating behind the scenes, don’t base decisions off of gut instinct and luck alone. They want to see relevant case studies, trends, updated statistics, and real data first.
So it’s one thing to say that video production is a smart investment, and it’s another to prove it.
Industry statistics can suggest questions to investigate. For your own project, choose measures that relate to its purpose and record a baseline before publishing:
- Compare sharing and useful responses with similar posts. The older WordStream statistics roundup is background reading, not a reliable prediction of how often your audience will share a particular video.
- Ask viewers whether the video answered their question. Feedback from the people you need to reach is more useful than assuming all customers want more video.
- Video marketing research summaries can offer context for traffic measures. Track visits from your own video links and distinguish those visits from traffic generated by other campaign activity.
- Measure the action your landing page asks visitors to take, such as requesting a demonstration. Compare results over an appropriate period and consider other changes to the page, audience and offer.
Views, watch time, enquiries and sales measure different things. Agree which matters for the project, and avoid attributing an entire campaign result to the video when other activity contributed.
Alongside measurement, production cost, reuse, distribution and music choices affect whether a video is a sensible investment.
2. Simple videos can start with equipment you already have.
A recent smartphone can be enough for a simple staff update or demonstration. The more useful question is whether you can record intelligible sound, show the subject clearly and give someone time to plan and edit.
Whether you’re making 15-second social media videos or longer-form content, corporate video production always involves the same three stages: pre-production, production, and post-production.
With a basic understanding of the process and a few select pieces of gear, anyone can produce brand videos. And that’s true whether or not you have a large production team.
If you have a smartphone, you can film, edit, and share brand videos on the same device. And if you have the budget to rent or buy camera stabilisers, lighting equipment, and other gear, you can do that too.
Another option you have is to work with a company that specialises in video production, like Dream Engine. A production company can take responsibility for planning, filming and editing where your team needs support.
3. You can repurpose video for multiple channels.
The great thing about video production is that the footage you get from one shoot can be used in ad campaigns and social media posts now and later.
So if you’re filming a long-form video for YouTube, consider this an opportunity to repurpose parts of the video for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, your website, and other digital channels.
Give each shorter version enough context to stand on its own, and link to the full video where the platform allows it.
After publishing, compare viewing, clicks and useful responses across the different versions. Use those results to decide which subjects and formats to test next.
Another option you have is to share user-generated content (UGC) from your customers.
Customer videos can show how people use a product, provided you have permission to publish them and check that the statements are appropriate. Treat figures in older roundups, including the WordStream UGC comparison linked here, as historical context rather than a promised sales uplift for your own customers or campaign.
4. YouTube search can help people find relevant videos.
Often described as the second largest search engine in marketing articles, YouTube offers a way to publish answers to questions people search for. The useful opportunity is reaching viewers interested in your subject, rather than relying on a platform ranking or a headline audience figure.
The audience figure of two billion global users cited in older coverage is not a current estimate or your addressable market. Check whether your prospective viewers use YouTube for the questions your business can answer.
By using tools like VidIQ, TubeBuddy, and YouTube’s Search Suggest bar, you can isolate the most popular search terms and use that information to create your video content strategy.
Research can help you choose useful subjects and descriptive titles, but it does not guarantee rankings. YouTube considers relevance, engagement and quality. Review how viewers find each video and whether they watch and take the intended next step.
5. Stock libraries can simplify music selection and licensing.
Music can support a video’s pace and mood, although some presentations work better without it. Choose a track that leaves room for speech, then check whether the licence covers the intended use before committing to the edit.
Licensing requirements vary with the track and the way the video will be used. A library licence may cover a straightforward project, while a commercial song or a broader campaign may require additional permissions.
Check the rights for both the recording and the composition, along with any conditions that apply to the intended distribution. A track available to download is not automatically licensed for advertising, television or every client project. Keep a copy of the applicable terms.
Check the platforms, territories, duration, client use and paid advertising permissions relevant to your project. If the wording is unclear, ask the library or rights holder before publishing. Do not assume that a subscription or a previous purchase covers a new use.
Stock music companies and the YouTube Audio Library let you search for tracks and review their licence conditions. In the YouTube Audio Library, some tracks require attribution. Read the terms for the selected track and intended platform.
Depending on which stock library you use, the licence may be available online without individual negotiation. Allow time to check its coverage, download the documentation and confirm any attribution required in the finished video or description.
Conclusion
Whether you produce in-house or work with a production company, start with a defined audience, a useful subject and a distribution plan. Those decisions give the project a purpose against which you can judge its cost.
Plan the versions you need before filming, allow time for review and confirm any music or footage permissions. These steps make the budget easier to assess and reduce avoidable changes later in production.
After publishing, compare the agreed measures with your starting point. Use audience feedback and results to decide what to improve, reuse or stop producing, rather than assuming every video will increase traffic or sales.
Mackenzie is a copywriter at Soundstripe, a stock music company that provides filmmakers, creators, and advertisers with different genres of background music such as sports music and folk music for video.
Ryan Spanger is the founder and managing director of Dream Engine, a Melbourne video production company established in 2002. Over the past two decades, he’s produced hundreds of videos for businesses, government departments, universities and healthcare organisations across Australia. Ryan specialises in helping organisations explain complex ideas through clear, engaging video content, with particular experience in corporate communications, training and education.
