Is Your Business Ready for Video Editing Outsourcing?

Many marketing leaders at small businesses simply don’t have the bandwidth or expertise to create and edit videos. Doing it in-house takes too long—even if you have a talented creative team. And hiring a full-time video editor may not fit into the budget. Whether you’re experienced with video creation or new to this sphere, you may be considering video editing outsourcing. Here’s a breakdown of what video editing involves, why businesses do their own editing, why many outsource, and some key considerations when thinking about video editing services.

What is video editing?

Video editors take rough, uncut videos and clips and turn them into polished, professional marketing and entertainment tools. They do this by adjusting the length and attributes of individual video clips to fit the time requirements of the finished composition.

Full-service video editors can also add music, sound effects, and background or ambient noise to the video to give it the desired feel. They often use royalty-free music or sound effects available online—or may hire a composer to create music or sounds they can use without having to worry about copyright infringement.

The core skill of a video editor is their ability to take an unfinished collection of video and audio and prepare it for mass consumption in line with your brand identity.

For example, suppose you shoot a commercial for a product, making sure the lighting, angles, resolution, and content align with what you want. However, you may end up with dozens—or more—clips that need to be cut and pieced together to form a cohesive composition. In addition, in some cases, you may not be able to capture the voiceover audio as you record your video.

A video editor can take the raw video files you record, as well as separate audio, such as descriptions of the product, music, and sound effects, and put them all together into a smooth, professional commercial.

Experienced video editors can also adjust elements of a video’s visual aesthetics to create the effect you want. For instance, an editor can adjust any of the following details—often with relatively basic video editing software:

• The exposure of individual clips, adding or removing white light as needed

• The color of the video, emphasizing certain hues over others

• The graininess of a video, making it look dated or rough to give it a different edge

• The speed of different clips, slowing them down or speeding them up

• The transitions between clips, including animations, to give the video a more unique feel

• The positions and angles of video clips in the context of the general composition, superimposing clips on top of each other or organizing them in a grid pattern

• The direction of movement of characters and elements in the clips by creating a mirror image of it

In addition, if you choose to shoot the video against a green or blue screen, a video editor can add a background or use your clips to create special effects, superimposing it on another video or image.

Also, you can have a video editor add special effects to your video. Sometimes these involve other video elements that get layered on top of your existing composition. In other cases, a video editor may be able to use editing software that features machine learning that can detect faces and add effects accordingly.

Why do businesses do their own video editing?

There are several situations where it may make sense for a business to do its own editing, primarily because it saves time, makes use of existing resources, and makes it easier to get the finished product just right. For example, if any of the following situations apply to your business, keeping the video editing process in-house may be a good move:

• You’re making simple, short videos, such as for TikTok or YouTube Shorts, and you don’t need professional editing. For some businesses, a slightly rough, “amateurish” short video may make it feel more authentic, as if it was made by a good friend instead of a powerful corporation with deep pockets.

• You already have a full-time video producer and/or editor on staff that can handle the work. In this case, it may be best to take advantage of your in-house resources. You also validate the skills of your in-house professional by using them instead of someone from the outside.

• You’re extremely protective of your brand and how the finished product comes out. Although you can often get multiple rounds of revisions from a video editing service to get it just right, some companies may be better off keeping it in-house. This gives you more granular control over each aspect of the video editing process.

If you choose to keep your editing in-house, there are tools you can use to make the process easier and ensure a more professional end product. For example, you can use video editing and video management software that, after a learning curve, can be powerful assets in the creation process.

Why do businesses outsource their video editing?

Some businesses decide to outsource their video editing—in fact, 44% use outside service providers** because they lack the bandwidth to handle the job. Here are some of the most compelling reasons that push companies to use someone else to edit their videos:

• It saves time, giving the creative minds that power your business the opportunity to tackle other challenges.

• Some small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have limited staff and may not need or be able to afford a dedicated video editing team.

• It costs less to outsource than to pay internal people to handle the editing.

• Some SMBs lack the tools they need to edit videos in-house—even if they have the talent to do so.

At the end of the day, you want to make the best possible use of your current resources without asking too much of your team. For this reason, hiring an external video editor often makes more sense.

For some businesses, it also comes down to agility. For example, an SMB may need to have the freedom to invest its staffing budget in hiring new people on an as-needed basis. If they were to tie up funds in hiring a long-term video editing team, they may not have the flexibility they need to invest in other kinds of talent simply because the money has already been allocated.

At the same time, the business may have relatively limited video editing needs, such as once every three or four months. In this case, hiring a professional provider a few times a year may give the business more financial freedom.

Consider your audience and distribution channels when deciding whether or not to use video editing services

Your intended audience should be a primary consideration when deciding whether or not to outsource your video editing. In some situations, getting an extremely professional look to your videos can even backfire.

For instance, as mentioned above, creating TikTok videos that are a little on the rough side can make your business feel more approachable and human. This includes imperfect transitions, abrupt endings, and imperfect lighting or special effects. If customers feel you’re investing your own time in creating these videos, they may feel drawn to what feels like an authentic small business—one they’d like to support.

At the same time, creating a professional, polished video can convey just the right image, especially when your audience includes industry professionals and others who may expect a high-quality production. For some businesses, hiring a video editor, for this reason, is a good way of establishing or protecting their brand.

For instance, if you’ve created professional videos in the past, investing in an experienced video editing service can help maintain a similar level of quality—which your clientele may have come to expect. Also, it may be a good idea to avoid backtracking when it comes to the quality of your productions—simply because potential investors may see this as a sign your business is flailing or cutting costs to maintain solvency.

Save time and resources by outsourcing your video editing

Many businesses choose to outsource their video editing because it gives them a professional product and more agility when it comes to both content creation and how they spend their resources. With video editing outsourcing, you can create a professional product that meets the goals of your brand strategy and the expectations of your customers. If you want to foster an organic, natural feel to your videos, you can simply tell your video editor this is how you want the production to come across. Outsourcing also saves time by freeing up your internal staff to work on other projects. It’s important to keep your target audience in mind when deciding to hire a video editing service. The product should both match what they expect to see and encourage them to move through the marketing funnel.