So, you are thinking about video marketing for your business. What platforms should you use? What platforms are available? Lots of vendors claim to be video platforms, but perform a variety of functions. Some are better for different types of marketing and who you are trying to reach. Inner Spark Creative has created this guide to video marketing including the pros and cons of each major platform of video marketing, Vimeo and YouTube.
What is Video Marketing?
In simple terms, video marketing is using videos to promote your product/service, increase engagement on social platforms, educate consumers, and reach your audience with a new platform and medium. Video marketing includes demo videos, brand videos, event videos, expert interviews, educational videos, personal videos, and any other type of video used to promote your product or service.
Vimeo vs. Youtube: Key Business Features
When using these platforms, it is important to recognize which is more beneficial for you with different tools. Both platforms have different specialties. Youtube is a social media site that recommends videos to viewers that they have never seen before. Vimeo is a video hosting platform for organizing video playlists. Depending on what you are selling or the type of business you are in, it can be hard to determine which platform is most beneficial.
One good way to start is by asking a few simple questions:
- Who is the target audience?
- Am I looking to post videos or do I want to interact with my audience?
- If I want to interact with my audience, should I use a YouTube channel or a new type of website?
Each platform’s audiences are different, so it is important to determine what each platform can offer you. The basic functions and features of Vimeo and YouTube overlap, so it may be difficult to determine quickly which is best for you.
Benefits of YouTube for Business
Youtube is one of the leading social media sites in terms of popularity. Since it has been around for almost 20 years, there is a large audience and an abundance of stats to back up any decisions made on the platform.
User-generated lifestyle videos and tutorial videos have been increasing in popularity over the years. It has proven with any type of budget, YouTube can bring you success. But, success is defined differently by different businesses. It could mean you are getting more views, more interaction, or like and comment rates. What you are trying to gain out of using YouTube should be figured out by asking questions relating to your goals of video marketing.
Some business pros of YouTube are:
- Recommended your video to 2 billion users
- Ads are pre-rolled before your video starts
- You can engage with your audience in the comments
- Videos can be integrated with other online platforms such as Vidyard or Facebook
Benefits of Vimeo for Business
Vimeo is a video hosting platform that usually contains higher quality videos than YouTube. It is marketed towards the arts and creative industry but has recently been used by more businesses and marketers. Vimeo allows for private videos protected by password, which is excellent if you only want some users to see a specific video. There is not as large of a user audience as YouTube, but there are some other benefits.
Some benefits of using Vimeo for your video marketing are:
- Monetizing both videos and live streams by reaching a paid audience with built-in features
- Different levels of users and payment plans
- No ads from competitors or related businesses
Here are some comparisons of Vimeo and YouTube in categories that may be important to your business to consider when choosing.
Number of Users
Winner: YouTube
YouTube has over 2 billion monthly users, which is almost half of the internet’s population. Vimeo has around 230 million users per month.
Search Optimization
Winner: YouTube
Youtube is the second largest search engine on the internet, after Google. Google is also their parent company. If you want to create videos specific to things people may search, your video belongs on youtube. Also, Google seems to promote videos from YouTube a lot more than any other video platform.
Mobile Viewing
Winner: YouTube
Nearly 70% of YouTube views come from their mobile app or using mobile browsers. Their mobile application is outranking competitors such as Netflix, Hulu, and Twitch. When you upload a video to YouTube, it is automatically optimized for mobile viewing too.
Cost
Winner: YouTube
YouTube is free for everyone to use. Vimeo has a variety of pricing and plans, ranging from a basic package to $75 a month that includes live streaming in unlimited amounts. There are also storage limits with using Vimeo each week, so if you are planning to upload many videos at once YouTube may work better for you if the budget is not large.
Support
Winner: Vimeo
Vimeo offers several levels of tech support. This could be a game-changer for businesses that need more video expertise. YouTube has free help documentation and access to a support community. If you want higher-touch and personalized support whenever you need it, a paid Vimeo account might be the preferred choice.
Analytics
Winner: YouTube
YouTube has all sorts of analytics options offered for free, while Vimeo requires certain plans to access more than basic data.
Video and Audio Quality
Winner: Vimeo
Vimeo’s quality of video and audio are superior to YouTube. Their video quality is easier to read and does not run when the connection is poor, while YouTube’s quality is poorer.
Which to Choose?
At Inner Spark Creative, we can help you choose which video marketing platform is best for your business, and help you with your video marketing plans. We offer a variety of marketing services and are ready to assist in developing your marketing plan. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you and what we can contribute to your video marketing plans.