There are many ways to use video in your marketing strategy, including on your website, on your social media channels, and in your email marketing. Video is an incredibly popular way for businesses to reach their audience, especially with the rise of video-centric social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram’s heavy focus on reels.
The latest data estimates that 86% of small businesses are using video as a marketing tool in some capacity. This survey from Wyzowl has some great information about how businesses are using video and why some aren’t. (Spoiler alert: The time investment required for video is a big factor for companies who aren’t using video.)
If you are using video as part of your marketing strategy, it’s important to think about where you host your videos. Whether you’re working with a video production company or taking a DIY approach with your cell phone and good lighting, you want to make the most of the time and money you invested in those videos.
How to share marketing videos on different platforms
On social media, you will typically be posting a video directly to the platform. However, depending on the content of the video, you may want to post it elsewhere for future use as well.
If you’re using videos on your website, you may be able to post them directly to your site, depending on your web hosting platform and file space. Another option is to upload them to a video hosting channel and embed them on your site. Most email marketing platforms don’t allow for embedded video because of the large file size, so you’ll need to host the video on a different platform and link to it from your email.
If you’re just getting started with video marketing, it’s a good idea to pick a video hosting platforms that fits your video needs. Here are a few common video platforms where you can upload your videos and then leverage them on other platforms.
YouTube
YouTube is the most well-known video hosting site with 2.6 billion users worldwide. Hosting your marketing videos on YouTube is free, and the platform has a wide audience reach and is the second largest search engine behind Google. That means people may discover your videos directly on YouTube without first interacting with your other channels.
However, because of its popularity and expansive content, some businesses block access to YouTube by default. If you’re marketing to a highly regulated industry (finance, education, etc.), you may want to consider a different platform for video hosting to ensure your content reaches your target audience.
Vimeo
Founded in 2004, Vimeo is another popular video platform with 200 million users. They offer a basic free plan as well as paid plans with different capabilities. When hosting videos on Vimeo, you won’t have to worry about ads showing before your video as can sometimes happen on YouTube. On the other hand, it’s less likely people will find your video on Vimeo compared to YouTube. Vimeo does offer some enhanced privacy capabilities, and it’s a great option if you need somewhere to upload your high-quality videos for sharing on other platforms.
Wistia
Wistia video hosting was made with business owners in mind and offers detailed analytics on how people are engaging with your video content. The free version can get you started, but you may quickly need to shift to a paid plan for more video uploads. If your goal is to host video somewhere online that you can share to other platforms, Wistia is a good option to consider.
Vidyard
Vidyard is another video hosting platform created with businesses in mind. Their free plan offers a limited number of embeds but unlimited links, and you can upgrade to a monthly plan for additional embeds and more detailed analytics. Vidyard focuses on virtual sales and marketing, and their tools include the ability to record screenshare videos for things like product demos or learning videos.
When it comes to choosing a video hosting platform, the most important step is to identify your goals for video marketing and think about what capabilities you need now and in the future. By identifying the needed capabilities first, you can more easily evaluate the available platforms and pick the best option for your organization.
If you want to introduce video into your marketing mix, check out our previous blog on tips for creating video content or reach out to the StoryPath team to chat about what video marketing looks like for your business.