A few weeks ago I did a step-by-step article on building up your YouTube presence. When writing the article, I immediately had a follow-up idea on expanding my tips beyond YouTube. Since then, some of the comments have confirmed the need for this follow-up.
The increasing interest in video marketing and diversifying your efforts is not surprising: According to HubSpot’s research 45% of web users watch an hour or more of video per day. That’s a lot if time our customers spend watching videos! And it’s projected that by 2020, 82% of all consumer web traffic will be video.
Obviously, if you are seriously entering the video marketing arena, limiting yourself to YouTube alone is not a smart idea, just like limiting yourself to any one marketing channel is probably never a good way to go.
With that in mind, what other options do we have?
More video hosting options
YouTube is not the only major video hosting platform out there. There are a few solid options that you want to consider. Here are three additional platforms and how they fit different needs:
|
YouTube |
Vimeo Pro |
Vimeo Business |
Wistia |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cost |
Free |
$20 /m |
$50 /m |
$99 /m |
|
What’s included |
Unlimited videos |
20GB per week |
5TB per week |
10 videos a month |
|
Lead generation |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Customizable player |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Collaboration |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Publish native to Facebook & Twitter |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Clickable links |
No(*) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Domain-level privacy |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Analytics |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes (**) |
|
Video schema |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Customer support |
No(*) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Cons |
Crowded, no good way to send viewers to your site… |
Often has issues with bandwidth; videos load slower. If you are looking for organic visibility, it’s quite niche-specific (artists, etc.) |
Most expensive |
|
|
Best for |
Anyone |
Filmmakers |
Agencies |
Businesses |
- (*) Unless you become a YouTube Partner (which is next to impossible for new and medium-scale channels)
- (**) I (as well as many reviewers) consider Wistia analytics much better than that of YouTube and Vimeo
Choosing a video hosting platform is overwhelming but here are a few easy-to-digest takeaways from the above comparison:
- YouTube is beyond competition. If you are into video marketing, you need to be there, at least for the sake of being discovered through their search and suggested videos. However, a YouTube account is only good for promoting the YouTube account. There’s little chance to drive leads to your site or build solid income there. You do need to be there for branding, though. Besides, none of the other options will offer an opportunity for such a powerful organic spread.
- If you are into creative film-making (artists and storytellers), you’ll want to give Vimeo Pro a try. There’s a big community there and you want to be part of it to find partners/clients.
- If you are a video marketing agency, Vimeo Business may be your platform of choice (thanks to their collaboration and multi-user support)
- If you mostly need videos to embed on your landing pages, Wistia will save you tons of time. It’s the easiest to use and understand. No extra training needed. You don’t have to be an experienced filmmaker OR marketer to understand how it works and use its analytics.
Video courses and on-demand video
These days, anyone can create their own on-demand video channel. Isn’t it awesome? It’s also a very smart way to monetize your videos without forcing your viewers into clicking any ads or buying any affiliate stuff you didn’t create.
When consolidating your video marketing efforts into your own on-demand video channel, there are important goals to…
