Beyond Youtube: Smart Alternatives for Your Video Marketing Campaign
There’s no denying that YouTube is the king of online video platforms. With estimated 300 hours of content added every single minute, it’s surely the first choice for brands launching any video-based content marketing campaign.
But what to if you feel like you already made the most from YouTube and now want to extend your brand presence to other places, experiment with different types of video content or reach new groups of consumers? Here are alternatives to YouTube that could give your campaign the edge you’re looking for.
Vine is just perfect if you’d like to experiment with short-form video content that we so often see go viral. Vine isn’t exactly a video sharing platform, but a mobile and desktop app which is associated with Twitter and allows users to post looping videos of maximum 6 seconds.
Sure, this limited duration is a challenge and the format won’t fit every brand, but it’s something you should definitely consider. Heather Taylor from Ogilvy recently said that the brand vines are so popular that they’re shared four times as much as other online videos.
How to make the most from these 6 seconds? Obviously, you can’t introduce your product or do a proper sales pitch. What you can do, however, is show your brand’s personality. Have fun with short clips and spread the good vibes to your audience.
Marketers use Wistia when they need more features and access to analytics than those provided by YouTube. One thing you should know about Wistia is that it’s a paid platform — plans start at $25 a month. Wistia basically delivers clips to websites and mobile devices.
But that’s not all. The power of Wistia lies in its analytics and conversion features which are just great for capturing leads and learning more about how viewers interact with each video.
If you’re going to invest in this platform, you should also consider the quality of your video content. In fact, Wistia has a video-production page which offers tips on improving video quality on a budget. Using Wistia, you’ll be able to tell whether your audience really engages with your videos and use these insights to drive campaign changes across your marketing channels.
When you see it for the first time, Vimeo looks very similar to YouTube. However, there are many things that render this platform different. Vimeo is known as the first platform that supported uploading of high-definition pieces. Naturally, Vimeo attracts a smaller audience, but you can count on these groups to be of high quality. To top it all, Vimeo is ad-free.
How to get started on Vimeo? Creating high-quality video content is a must — Vimeo removes content which is purely commercial. One way to tap into the potential of Vimeo is creating a paid account. With plans starting at $59.95 a year, you’ll be able to add your logo on top of your videos, customize your video player and benefit from a range of premium features.
Vimeo is characterized by a tight community of users who are loyal to the platform. Don’t consider this website as just another place for uploading your content — focus on the community and get to know them before sharing your work.
This video hosting platform is tailored to business needs and helps to better integrate video content to your marketing strategy by adding calls-to-action, creating curated playlists and monitoring how users interact with your content.
The analytics section is pretty impressive and features heatmaps, as well as aggregate and individual data. If you’re having doubts about hosting your video on a smaller platform and potentially reducing your rank in search, Sprout Video should change your mind with its array of Video SEO options.
Vzaar is a platform that provides full video hosting control. You can upload your video from web, desktop or mobile. All it takes is choosing video quality and dimensions, picking the domains which will be allowed to play the video, and you’re done.
Vzaar also offers a smart content management system which helps to quickly categorize videos for creating playlists and podcasts. You can tap into monetization options with various roll linear advertising functions. To top it all, the platform is integrated with Google Analytics, helping you to easily track the performance of your content.
Choosing one of these YouTube alternatives, you’ll be on your way to expanding your reach and engaging new audiences with your amazing video creations.
James Pointon is a content marketing expert who works at OpenAgent — real estate specialists from Australia.
