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When you’re getting started in video, it can feel like there is an overwhelming amount of things to learn. Once you’ve finally got that video put together, what happens next? There are three popular platforms online for uploading and sharing videos. I’ll run through them here with some pros and cons of each platform. I’ve used all three before for different reasons.
Comparing the 3 Most Popular Video Platforms
YouTube – This guy is the big guns when it comes to online video. YouTube is one of the most massive search engines on the Internet, so having an optimized presence there means you’re likely to be found. People can also subscribe there directly, and it has monetization options when your channel grows to a certain size. One of the significant downsides of this platform is that it’s a bit of a black hole (people on YouTube STAY on YouTube) so it’s hard to drive traffic from the platform to your website. It also has limited customization options and video analytics.
Vimeo – This is the “creative’s” platform, because of the tremendously high quality you can get, and there is an active community of professionals using Vimeo. There are no ads like on YouTube, and it’s easy to password-protect content which means that this is the platform I choose to share videos with clients during our editing process. They’ll see the highest quality video on a password-protected page, and once my clients have edited or approved their film, the video file is also easily replaceable without damaging Vimeo’s analytics or links.
Wistia – This is the platform I recommend for online courses, launch videos, or other videos on your website. There is no community on Wistia, versus what you’d find on YouTube or Vimeo, so it’s not going to generate traffic on its own. However, since it’s designed to be embedded, Wistia’s video player is highly customizable to your site’s design and has the best analytics out of the three platforms. Main downside? Wistia is a paid platform.
The Best Platform Depends on Your Objective
There’s no wrong answer here, as much as I know you’d like there to be. However, it comes down to your primary goals for your video. For SEO or monetization, go YouTube. If you’re looking for the highest quality, head to Vimeo. If your brand needs customization and analytics, check out Wistia.
P.S. When you book your Spruce video editing package, we’ll discuss what platform is best for you + I’ll optimize the settings on all your videos, especially for the platform you choose!
