You are thrilled with your new video. Now, you want to show it to the whole internet world. In this article, we'll tell you which online channels are best for publishing your video and what to consider when choosing the right platform.
No desire to read? Listen to the whole blogcast here:
In this article, you will learn:
- what you should consider before publishing your video on the Internet,
- which providers are suitable for hosting your video, and
- what advantages and disadvantages each platform has.
Important: Planning in Advance.
You are proud of your new video. You want to show and share it as many times as you can, but even the most beautiful, creative video brings no satisfaction if nobody gets to see it.
The Internet offers numerous possibilities to present your video – whether it’s your own website, Facebook or LinkedIn, or YouTube or Vimeo. The variety of online channels is huge.
There are Internet platforms well-suited to present your video called "video hosting" (we'll come to this in a moment). Before choosing the right platform, however, it makes sense to keep two important things in mynd. These are crucial not only for the publication of your video, but also for its further use and marketing.
Your Video Follows Your Goal.
Your video is not just any video. It has a specific intent. Do you want to increase your profile or sell more? Do you want to present a product or service? Do you want to explain complex processes or train your employees?
Your video has a distinct look for its intended purpose, whether it’s an animated explainer video, an authentic image film, or an inspiring recruiting video for your company.
Our explainer video tells you why you can sell more with video.
Your Target Audience.
Who are your customers? Who is the intended audience of your video? What is most important to them? What moves and inspires them?
If you have been advised by a professional video production company, you don't have to think any further because those questions were already answered during the conception of your video.
Are you wondering what the entire production process of a video looks like? In our guide to explainer videos, we will give you detailed help along your way.
Personas help take a user-centered view to better understand the target group.
In a best case scenario, you (or your contractor) did everything you could during the creation of your video to reach the needs of your target audience with useful content. These people decide whether your video is appealing and if your company will be remembered, which is the ultimate goal.
The decision to make a video in the first place was wise since it is very popular, especially with brand-related content. Users, across all audiences, enjoy videos the most.
The target audience is very important in achieving your goal, so you must ask questions regarding them. Where is your target group? Where do you reach them? This will be crucial in deciding which video hosting provider to use.
Often, a platform is not limited to video hosting. Rather, they combine several useful areas for marketing your video- competitive environment, advertising, or community management.
Tip:
Remember what your video's goals are, what target group you want to reach, and what kind of video it is. Then, not only will it be easier for you to choose the right platform for your video hosting, but also will help make the following decisions for your video marketing.
Video Hosting: A Comparison.
There are online platforms that are indispensable and especially suited for the delivery of your video and further integration and distribution on the Internet. For your video to be playable online, it must be uploaded to a web server. You don't have to think of your own because there are easier solutions.
Host your video on YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia. You simply upload your video in the maximum size (e.g. in FullHD) and the video portal does the rest. Several versions are created in the best possible quality. Your video is optimized not only for every device, but also for every internet connection.
Embed the provided code on your website and you’re done!
In the following we will introduce you to three platforms- YouTube, Vimeo and Wistia. You will learn what distinguishes them, along with disadvantages each channel brings.
YouTube.
Internet plus video equals YouTube. This equation is ingrained in most people’s minds, and rightly so! After all, YouTube was the pioneer and is still the top dog in social video – a trend for actively searching, viewing, and adding videos. With a billion hours of playback per day for more than a billion users (almost a third of all Internet users), it goes without saying, YouTube has a huge community.
You can find an endless amount of diligently regarded, evaluated, and commented videos on video’s largest platform. There are numerous tutorials, screencasts, and useful videos for every topic with the possibility to create several language versions and subtitles. Soon there will even be YouTube Stories where users can experience a brand authentically, close, and in everyday life.
The best part? It's free and unlimited!
You can upload as many videos as you want at no cost. What makes it even better is that YouTube is also a search engine. It is the second largest search engine in the world and is now part of Google. As with search engines, users can search the platform for content that is relevant to them.
If you upload your video to YouTube, you need to take special care to add all important keywords to the description, create them as "tags," and lead the user to your website with backlinks, if necessary, so that your video is found and brings traffic to your website.
Based on the keyword, YouTube suggests search results, just like a classic search engine.
Your video can also appear in a Google search. You may have already noticed that YouTube suggests suitable videos to you in a search query, which means you can double your chances that your video will be seen by the right people.
Google displays videos matching the search query.
YouTube Analytics also gives you a tool to measure and monitor the performance of your video. Playback times, access sources, demographics – all this gives you an insight into who your video has reached so far, allowing you to draw in-depth conclusions for the best possible placement of your video and for your video marketing strategy.
Learn more about using YouTube Analytics at YouTube's Creators Academy.
If you have a suitable budget, you can promote your video. For example, your video can be shown before, during, or after other videos on a specific topic. It can even be prominently located on the homepage or as an advertisement next to another video.
The different advertising formats on YouTube: TrueView In-Stream, Discovery, or Bumper Ads.
While all these things make YouTube a great platform, it’s also their major disadvantage. Whether your video is advertised or not, as it is shown next to other videos, videos from other potential competitors can appear next to yours.
The largest video platform also means numerous uploads of videos at the same time! Your video can quickly become a needle in a haystack if you only rely on an organic search.
When it comes to advertising, the size of your budget always depends on the market you are targeting. The more popular and pursued, the more expensive it will be. With a smaller budget, it can sometimes be difficult to get visibility. You’ll have to work harder to find other relevant keywords. Find your niche!
Vimeo.
Vimeo has a smaller community, but it's also more creative, especially with film enthusiasts, directors, producers, and designers. The platform serves filmmakers as a source of inspiration and a portfolio at the same time. The result? A colourful mix of artistic and professional videos and films all in a clear, user-friendly design.
Vimeo focuses on the creativity of the video. This is evident in the categories and subcategories.
For this reason, Vimeo's community is all the more passionate. The exchange and the loyalty among each other is great. The Vimeo employees curate especially great videos. You get to know each other through promoting each other.
Unfortunately, only Vimeo Standard is free.
Vimeo uses a staggered pricing model. In the free basic membership, there is a limited upload of 500 MB per week, 5 GB total memory, and only the basics in terms of features, video player, analyses, and data protection. If you want more, you have to pay. For unlimited live streaming and a total memory of 7 TB, Vimeo Premium costs 80 dollars a month. Yes, you read that correctly- even with the largest package, the total storage space is still limited.
It's worth taking a moment to look ahead to your future goals. Is your video just a one-time upload or will many more follow? Do you even want to build a video community for your brand? Of course, you don't have to know that immediately because you can always upgrade later.
However, Vimeo’s paid membership provides particularly good and personal service. If you’re lacking in-depth knowledge in video technology, this can be useful for a company.
Data protection is also taken seriously on Vimeo. You can choose between private and public settings and all the differences in between. This allows you to define your target group more precisely.
Another advantage is that your video is not preceded by any other commercials on Vimeo. In fact, Vimeo doesn't show any advertising, which means competitors won’t overcrowd your video.
Meaningful analyses to evaluate the performance of your video are included in an upgraded packaged membership. However, the basic free membership is sufficient for beginning your video process.
Wistia.
Wistia is probably the (still) most unknown video platform in our comparison, mostly because it’s especially made for companies. Their service is designed to be your competent partner for video hosting for every question you may have along the way.
The Wistia Learning Center offers not only tutorials, but also other important marketing tips and tricks for companies.
Numerous tutorials and guides show you how to best publish and market your video, providing you with fast, helpful, and friendly support.
However, Wistia is free for only standard features.
What does that mean exactly? There is a customizable video player, an upload limit of 3 videos, and a powerful analysis tool about your video and its viewer.
Here is where Wistia really shines, especially for marketers – the platform brings a lot of user data. Wistia can tell you where viewers come from, where they click, and even where they stop the video. All this information gives you insight for maximizing performance, as well as future video productions.
Und hierbei glänzt Wistia förmlich. Vor allem für Marketer bringt die Plattform viele Nutzerdaten: Woher kommen Zuschauer, wohin klicken sie und sogar: Wo stoppen sie das Video. All diese Informationen geben Ihnen hilfreiche Aufschlüsse für die Maximierung der Performance wie auch für zukünftige Videoproduktionen.
You can integrate custom Call-to-Actions (CTA's) to lead your viewers to a newsletter subscription or directly to your website. For example, users can enter their email address directly into the CTA window without leaving the video.
Wistia does not pursue its own SEO strategy. This means that if you embed your video on your website, it has a direct impact on your domain ranking. Wistia can also be linked to marketing tools, such as Hubspot or Marketo.
Wistia verfolgt außerdem keine eigene SEO-Strategie. Das heißt, wenn Sie Ihr Video auf Ihrer Website einbetten, hat das direkte Auswirkungen auf Ihr Domain-Ranking. Außerdem lässt sich Wistia mit Marketing-Tools wie Hubspot oder Marketo verbinden.
If uniform branding is particularly important to you, then Wistia’s video player (even the free version) can be adapted to your design without distracting the user with advertisements and banners.
Conclusion: Which Online Channel is Right for You?
The comparison of YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia shows that the choice depends on your goal and your target group.
In this article, we have introduced you to the most important online channels for publishing your video and have looked at the respective advantages and disadvantages.
Now, it's your turn!
Which online platform you use for your video is always a question of your goal and your target group because you want to reach, excite, and inspire them!
Our recommendation:
If you are primarily looking for a creative community or serve a specific niche, Vimeo may be your choice.
If you’re using your video for a specific search query or even to solve a specific problem, YouTube is the better channel for you, especially when it comes to greater reach and advertising.
Wistia is for the marketers, thanks to its versatile conversion optimization.
Keep an eye on your overall video marketing strategy.
Let's think one step further. Do you already have a YouTube channel with followers, playlists, and interactive content? Do you want to? Do you just want to embed the video on your website? Do you serve a creative niche?
Let's think one step further. Do you already have a YouTube channel with followers, playlists, and interactive content? Do you want to? Do you just want to embed the video on your website? Do you serve a creative niche?
At best, the selection of your online video channels fits the sales funnel of your video marketing strategy.
