Should Growing Businesses Shift More Budget into Paid Social Video?

In 2025, social spend increased by 21% to £11.5 billion, with video representing 59% of social investment.

This has got many businesses questioning if they should be investing more budget into paid social video. This blog discusses why there has been a shift towards paid social video, what it does differently, which businesses are best suited for social video and whether they should reallocate their marketing budget.

Why is Ad Spend Moving Towards Social Video?

Consumer habits are changing with social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube seeing more engagement through users watching video clips. More text-based channels, like Facebook and Threads, are seeing less traffic as the shift to video content increases.

Social video also offers more precise audience targeting, so businesses can get their messaging across to the right demographics. Plus, it is more affordable to produce video content.

What Does Paid Social Video Do Differently From Paid Search?

The main difference between paid social video and paid search are how they are found by customers. Paid search catches the attention of people actively looking for a specific product or service. Whereas, paid social video targets the ideal customer profile, regardless of if they are looking for the product.

Paid Social Video

First, targeting parameters are set using information such as age, location, interests and behaviours that algin with the desired audience. Once identified, the video content is placed directly into their feeds, reels and stories to build brand awareness.

Social video is more attractive to customers than paid search as it is visual and storytelling which captivates their attention.

Paid Search

The majority of paid search is text-based, so it is more tailored to providing immediate answers and solutions rather than projecting a story.

With these campaigns, for a business to appear in the search results, they need to be ranking for the specific keyword used in the advert.

The more keywords a company ranks for, the more visibility they get. However, ranking for keywords is one step; where a business is positioned for a keyword in the search results also has an impact. You may rank for 50 keywords but if none of them are within the top ten rankings, it is unlikely someone will scroll enough to find you.

Paid search is a responsive approach to demand, unlike social video where it is implicated regardless of the demand.

Which Businesses Are Best Suited to Paid Social Video?

Paid social video won’t be the right advertisement method for every business; it is best tailored to companies with visually appealing services or products.

E-commerce and retail businesses typically benefit from video content because it can visually demonstrate a product being used or how it fits into someone’s lifestyle. This enhances the appeal and is more likely to generate a sale.

Compared to businesses operating in industries, there may be legislation in place to restrict these types of advertisement so social video may not be a viable option. Alternatively, a B2B business may not feel social video is right for their audience or provide the desired benefits that paid search offers.

Hidden Cost of Putting Budget Into Video

When allocating the budget for video content, most would assume it is for filming and editing. Whilst that can be the case, there can also be hidden costs not budgeted for:

• Pre-Production Planning – Before any filming takes place, there needs to be a plan in place which can come at an additional cost.
• Scope Creeping – If the pre-production plan wasn’t clear or expectations changed, the project can grow and require additional requirements that weren’t originally considered.
• Additional Revisions – Most editors quote for an allocated amount of revisions, so if the content requires extra edits, this may come at an additional charge.
• Equipment Rentals – If content requires additional equipment, whether this is a prop or for the behind the scenes, it will incur an extra charge that may not have been considered when allocating the budget.
• Location Expenses – Filming in a different location to the workplace may charge to grant permission for filming to happen.

Why One Video Isn’t a Paid Social Strategy

Creating a singular video for advertisement means there is no data to compare. With nothing to test the video content against, there is no way of measuring the level of success through.

Furthermore, customers lose interest after watching the same video multiple times, resulting in video fatigue. Users scroll past and eventually forget the brand as it blends in with a busy social feed.

A paid social strategy requires continuous resources and multiple social videos to sustain algorithm momentum and reach diverse audiences. It’s recommended to release 2-3 videos a week to continually build the brand awareness.

How Should Businesses Measure Paid Social Video?

To measure paid social video campaigns, companies should set funnel objectives. These are measurable goals assigned to each stage of the marketing strategy; guiding customers from discovery to a purchase decision and long-term loyalty.

The first metric to measure should be reach and impressions as measures the visibility of the video content. The hook rate should also be measured to see if the start of the video keeps the attention of viewers. These measurements are considered top of the funnel.

For the middle of the funnel, track the hold rate and CTR. This is how long people have stayed and watched the video and then if they have tried to find out more information.

Finally, for the bottom of the funnel, tracking conversion rates, ROAS and cost per acquisition provides insight into how the paid social video performed for the business and the return from the investment.

Should You Move Budget From Search Into Social Video?

The industry a company operates within, business goals, customer intent and the budget available will influence whether budget should be moved into social video.

Social video is ideal for top funnel marketing, raising awareness and creating demand; whereas paid search is more beneficial for sales and enquiries.

There is no right answer on which type of advertisement performs better but it is possible for a firm to test paid social video without overcommitting. This can be done by investing a small amount and gradually increasing the budget should it be successful or removing the budget should it lack results.

A successful marketing strategy will use a combination of channels and support data-driven results. Testing social video may provide the insight a business needs to choose whether budget should be taken from paid search into social video.