Where do you host your amazing video content?
Of course, your first instinct would be YouTube, but as much as the platform is popular, it’s not always the first choice for many people (or even businesses). Some prefer hosting videos to a private channel, some to a creative community like Vimeo, and some want a video player that they can customize and integrate into their web platforms.
Most importantly though, your video hosting platform dictates the success of your marketing campaign and also caters to your business needs. Choosing the right video hosting solution for your business is tough, but if you do it right, your content will achieve its intended goal.
So here’s a list of the top 7 video hosting platforms for businesses. Let’s dig in!
WISTIA
A video hosting and marketing platform, Wistia is designed to help businesses and organizations to create and host videos in a customizable player, allowing you to choose how your player looks for the end-user. You also get a detailed analytics dashboard that lets you measure the impact of your video marketing campaigns.
The best feature of Wistia is its ability to embed videos in emails and websites, letting you control who can post your videos. Additionally, you can also integrate clickable CTAs in your videos that help you drive your marketing campaign to achieve its intended goal. If you’re a business looking to use a private, measurable, controllable video player as well as a video hosting platform, Wistia is highly recommendable.
YOUTUBE FOR BUSINESS
Of course YouTube is a natural video hosting preference for most businesses, however, YouTube is primarily a social network. It is only effective if the business is focused on building a network or a community.
On the other hand, YouTube’s free hosting services, the reach to millions of people across the globe, and its role in helping you with SERP rankings may all seem like important features if you’re just starting out and don’t have the budget to subscribe to a dedicated video hosting platform. That said, it must be reiterated that you can only succeed on YouTube if you are able to build a community.
VIMEO BUSINESS
Vimeo is part Wistia, part YouTube. You get a community, but you also get the collaboration, integration and embedment features required to make the best out of your video marketing campaigns. With Vimeo, you can also capture email addresses and sync them to your email marketing software. Additionally, you can track performance and optimize videos with integration to Google Analytics.
You’re probably thinking by now if you should opt for Vimeo or Wistia if they both seem to share similarities. Well, Wistia is a full-fledged video marketing software, ideal for companies aiming to invest in intensive video marketing campaigns. In contrast, Vimeo is a video-hosting platform that allows for more storage and a user-friendly interface. It’s ideal for independent artists and entrepreneurs who don’t have the budget to deep dive into video marketing.
Vimeo staff selects some outstanding videos every month (they call it Staff Pick) and feature it on their main page which is almost like winning an award. So if your video is exceptionally good and they notice it, you stand a chance of getting enormous marketing boost from Vimeo.
SPROUT VIDEO
Want heat maps, seamless integration, APIs and detailed analytics? Sprout Video is the best platform to opt for. Designed for enterprise businesses, the platform allows for two modes – live (for live streaming of product launches) and on-demand (hosting videos as per business requirements) in a customizable player. You can change the colors of your player, create on-demand playlists, autoplay or loop videos and save time with player presets and defaults. Additionally, you can also embed videos into platforms like Shopify, WordPress, Squarespace and others.
One feature that sets Sprout Video apart from its competitors is the strong security it offers users. You get total control over your videos through password, login and single sign-on protection. All these options are perfect for businesses that value privacy and want video accessibility limited to authorized users only. You can also restrict access to your videos based on specific URLs or geographic location, making Sprout Video the perfect choice for businesses that want to host their videos without making it publicly available.
VIDYARD
More of a video-collaboration platform, Vidyard helps you connect with your team and your customers by letting you add video into your emails and website. You can record videos for sales or pitches, create internal videos and collaborate with team members or simply host your video on the platform for easy shareability.
Unlike other platforms, Vidyard’s main offering is the ability to screen record videos while also offering custom CTAs, gated content and other features. It also stands out from competitors for its ability to provide real-time analytics, channeled into Hubspot or other popular marketing platforms. Vidyard is a one-stop-shop – marketing, collaboration, hosting, screen recording, customization, all made possible in one platform.
BRIGHTCOVE
A cloud-based video management platform, Brightcove provides video editing, live streaming, publishing, analytics, content management, and more for enterprise-level organizations. It is used across organizations to host internal and external content while allowing for privacy and control over content distribution.
Similar to Sprout Video and Vidyard, but designed exclusively for enterprise organizations, Brightcove is often preferred for its video security and allows companies the ability to have a centralized depository of their videos that can only be accessed by authorized members within the organization. It solves the issue of having a common space for professional videos created in the organization and lets users tag and organize content as needed. Brightcove is not suitable for small or mid-level businesses though, so purchase this only if you think a large corporation would benefit from its niche features.
SPOTLIGHTR
Previously known as vooPlayer, Spotlightr is a video hosting platform that promises to rid the user of common problems such as distracting ads, unsecured videos, expensive hosting fees etc. It’s ideal for small and mid-level businesses that want a secure video hosting platform that isn’t very costly. In fact, it’s free forever plan is wildly popular with independent entrepreneurs who want to kickstart their journey with one or two videos in their arsenal. At its most expensive, the enterprise plan is just for $62/month which is the cheapest amongst all other options.
Spotlight is a good choice for customers that need to scale their storage and bandwidth needs. They also offer privacy, gated content, and real time analytics. If you’re just starting out or you’re ready to scale, Spotlightr might be a good choice for you.
Conclusion
There are dozens of video hosting platforms out there with each having its own pros and cons. The right tool for your platform depends on your budget, your video marketing plans, the features/services that you prioritize and what you eventually want from your marketing goals. Remember, the right platform should empower your teams to derive ROI from videos. If it’s not doing that, it’s not right for you!