Let me guess…you were tasked with developing a budget for your corporate video content, and naturally — you took to Google for some guidance. Within a few clicks of your mouse, you got bombarded by over a billion search results in .75 seconds; each attempting to draw you in with catchy titles like “What Does a Corporate Web Video Cost?” and “25 Factors…”
From there, you probably launched your spreadsheet program and began itemizing the major components of video production. Story-boarding, scriptwriting, talent, studio time, hospitality, software, editing, voice-over…before you knew it, you were deep inside a rabbit hole — straining to read between the budgetary lines and completely micro-analyzing the cost of every potential video production detail.
STOP!
We have a better, more practical approach that won’t result in your eyes permanently crossing. Follow our lead and you’ll have an effective budget for your corporate video content in no time.
1. Assess Your Current Marketing Strategy
You can’t possibly know where your marketing strategy must go next if you don’t know where it has been. Start your budgeting process with a complete marketing assessment. Take stock of how the marketing budget is currently being spent. What types of collateral does your team regularly produce? On what social networks does your brand reside?More importantly, what’s working and what isn’t?
Any area of your strategy that has not been producing results should be replaced by video. Don’t believe us? Check out this article.
2. Commit a Percentage of Your Current Marketing Budget
Video is the future. Organizations can try to ignore this fact, but the bottom line is this — it deserves a substantial portion of the marketing budget. Instead of trying to estimate every line item that may or may not pertain to your corporate video strategy this year, make a real commitment. Set aside a bulk percentage and endeavor to work your video strategy within that amount. Taking inbound and outbound marketing tactics into consideration, we recommend setting aside around 20 percent of your entire marketing budget for video.
3. Partner With a Pro
Our final recommendation is to partner with a professional video production agency, who will help you stretch your investment. There are three major budgetary benefits to working with a pro:
A professional video agency will take the guess work out of how to allocate your funds. They know all the essentials, all the shortcuts, the do’s and don’ts, and how best to distribute your video content given your business goals and vertical market.
By working with a video marketing firm, your organization will avoid spending a portion of its precious dollars on equipment, software, and the maintenance required to keep these assets in tip-top shape.
A corporate video partner will save your organization time and money otherwise wasted on lengthy production processes because they have the practical knowledge and creative prowess to help your marketing team act decisively. This will translate into more direct and effective messaging that aligns with your business goals and audience expectations.
That’s it!
You don’t need exhaustive number crunching sessions and volumes of spreadsheet documents to plan an effective corporate video budget. All you need is a refresher on what your audience truly wants, a dedicated percentage of your overall budget, and a video partner with the experience and resources to maximize your investments.
Need help convincing your organization to factor a video production agency into its marketing budget? Check out this article for some awesome advice.
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