How much of a social budget should go on video?

Key takeaways

How much to spend on social media video depends on your product and platform. As a GBL rule of thumb, visual and consumer businesses give video 30–50% of the production budget, and B2B or professional firms 15–30%. Start with phone video to test messages, then pay for a shoot once you know what works.

• 30–50% of production budget for visual and consumer businesses.
• 15–30% for B2B and professional services.
• Phone video first to test messages cheaply.
• Pay for a shoot only to scale formats that already work.

Why does video deserve its own budget line?

Short video is central to how Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and increasingly LinkedIn show content, and it often performs well in ads. It also takes more time to make than an image post. Giving it a fixed share stops it being skipped when the week gets busy.

• Social media budget for a UK small business
• Short-form video for small businesses without a studio

What can phone video do on a small budget?

Most of what a small business needs: a quick tour, a before and after, a customer question answered, a product in use. A phone, a small light and a clip-on microphone cost little and last for years. The constraint is time and a plan, not equipment.

• Social media photography on a budget for small businesses

When is a paid shoot worth it?

When a phone-made format has proven it brings enquiries and you want a library of better versions to use as ads, or when your product must look premium. Plan the shoot around a shot list so one day produces many clips. Market rates vary widely by region and crew.

• Social media video production costs in the UK

How do you know video spend is paying back?

Compare enquiries and cost per enquiry from video posts and ads with image ones over the same period. Look at how long people watch, not just views. If video costs more to make but brings no more enquiries, put the money back into formats that do.

• How to find which social posts actually bring customers

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a business books an expensive brand film before posting any video, and the polished result underperforms simple phone clips. Testing with phone video first usually shows which messages work, and later shoots then produce footage that earns its cost.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Video budget checklist

• Set video's share of the production budget.
• Buy basic kit: light, microphone, tripod.
• Test messages with phone video for a month.
• Plan any paid shoot around proven formats.
• Compare video and image results quarterly.

• Influencers vs paid ads: where £1,000 goes further
• Prospecting vs retargeting: splitting the ad budget

Next step

Plan four short phone videos answering questions customers ask most. Post them over a month and compare enquiries with your image posts.