Video is booming. It’s proving to be an excellent online marketing avenue for businesses. More and more people are buying online, or finding businesses to buy from online. Video is one of the fastest ways to build trust, as text and images can only do so much.
Video can show your professional personality, and your business experience and expertise a lot faster and clearer than just displaying text and photos.
When your business is looking to host your videos, the size of the space required can really add up, so just hosting them on your normal business website hosting may not be enough.
Here are some free and paid options you may want to consider when hosting your videos. But before you go ahead with a free option and discard the paid ones, you should really look at what you get, and what videos you are allowed to upload.
Some sites have strict “commercial” and “copywriting” restrictions that you need to adhere to.
FREE
Vimeo
“Vimeo was created by filmmakers and video creators who wanted to share their creative work, along with intimate personal moments of their everyday life.”
YouTube
“Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original-content creators and advertisers, large and small.”
MetaCafe
Since 2003, “Metacafe is one of the world’s largest video sites, attracting more than 40 million unique viewers each month (comScore Media Metrix). We specialize in short-form original content – from new, emerging talents and established Hollywood heavyweights alike. We’re committed to delivering an exceptional entertainment experience, and we do so by engaging and empowering our audience every step of the way.”
Revver
“Revver is an online media network built the way the internet really works. We support the free and unlimited sharing of media. Our unique technology pairs videos with targeted ads and tracks them as they spread across the web. So no matter where your video travels, you benefit because we share the advertising revenue with you.”
PAID
Sprout Video
“SproutVideo is simple, effective video hosting for businesses, non-profits and organizations.”
Viddler B2B
“Viddler is a platform for video publishers. Viddler is built by a team of talented developers, designers, and architects.” Please note: Viddler also has a FREE option for a personal account.
Vzaar
“It all started in March 2007 when Ken Moss, Adrian Sevitz and Ian Snead decided to build an online platform to help eBay sellers supercharge their businesses with video. Today, vzaar’s services have become even more sophisticated. This professional quality online video platform is used by media companies, marketing agencies, corporate communications, e-commerce, web applications and non-profit organizations.”
Google Apps Business Video
“Google securely hosts and streams your videos, so employees don’t need to share videos over email, or burden IT with a complex on-site video solution.”
Have you tried any of these video hosting platforms? Have you had a good experience? Can you recommend any others?
Feel free to share below.
Of course I have used YouTube and Vimeo is pretty friendly too. I didn’t know Google made one too. Thank you for those great resources!
Twitter: abnormalmarket
March 23, 2011 at 10:39 am | Permalink
@Kristen Robinson, Hi Kristen,
Thanks for your feedback, and letting us know you use YouTube and Vimeo. And I’m glad you found some new alternative options too.
Twitter: SheilaAtwood
March 8, 2011 at 6:19 am | Permalink
Fiona,
My video career is short.
I have used YouTube and I am currently using Screencast.com. I use Jing for short instructional videos and Screencast.com hosts those videos.
I have been interested in learning to use Amazon S3 as a hosting option that is cheap. But you have listed a couple that look like some good options I need to check out.
Thanks
Sheila Atwood´s last [type] ..Your Blog Scares The Hell Out of Me!
Twitter: abnormalmarket
March 23, 2011 at 10:36 am | Permalink
@Sheila Atwood, Hi Sheila, Wow thanks for sharing those extra resources. Yes, I was at a seminar last weekend of Armand Morin, and he recommended Amazon S3, so I would definitely add that to the list as well.
Thanks for stopping by Sheila. You are such an excellent wealth of information
Twitter: evolveredes
March 15, 2011 at 9:11 am | Permalink
I have mostly used Vimeo for the video quality, but I will try some of the ones you pointed out. Thanks!
Twitter: abnormalmarket
March 23, 2011 at 10:30 am | Permalink
@Roberto – Tijuana, Hi Roberto, Thanks for your comment, and letting us know which is your favourite
Vimeo’s policies forbid business-related videos.
Twitter: abnormalmarket
March 23, 2011 at 10:27 am | Permalink
@Nick, Hi Nick, I had a close look at Vimeo before posting their site here. But if you work for Vimeo… that would be really helpful to know.
I noticed in their “terms” that they don’t want businesses posting “commercial” and self-promotional videos, but I think if you work in the creative industry, or your business is related, then Vimeo could be a good spot to keep your portfolio.
Thanks for bringing this up.
I like Google Video (PR7) and it’s dofollow and Daily Motion which is the same as Google Video…not to mention Youtube which is a PR 9 and dofollow now. Link some juice to Vimeo which is nofollow but a PR9 and watch it show up in the SERPs.
Google Apps Video is good for internal use but doesn’t work for embedding videos for consumption by the wider world.
Tom Fid´s last [type] ..Federal budget perceptions vs reality
You did a great job of breaking down which sites work best for the types of videos a business wants to host. I’d like to throw our name in the hat, too, ecorptv, we’re a video hosting and sharing site dediated to business video. In the video hosting jungle, choose the path that works best for you.
Chris Crafton
eCorpTV.com
I use a kinda new service Playwire.com and it has been good so far. Lot of options, especially to generate revenue, but still new.