If you want to use video production as an efficient marketing tool, you’re going to need to understand where people will be watching your videos. There’s a whole range of platforms where you can upload your finished videos. Knowing the strengths of each will help you plan and distribute your video content in a way that will maximise engagement.
In this post I’ll talk about four of the most common platforms for uploading and distributing brand videos, and the benefits of each of them.
These days social media is critical for driving viewers to any type of content. When it comes to video, Facebook is the default place to be sharing your content.
One of the reasons Facebook is a great place to share videos is that they will instantly stand out among a sea of words and images. The ability to have your video auto-play on peoples feed while they are scrolling is a very effective way to get people to stop and watch.
A strong opening shot is critical to fully leverage your videos on Facebook. You’ll have just a few seconds to convince your audience to keep watching, or else they continue scrolling. Front-loading your video with excellent imagery is key to success here.
“A strong opening shot is critical to fully leverage your videos on Facebook.”
The downside of sharing videos on Facebook is that they usually disappear from viewers feeds after a few days. A video’s reach will be limited without a steady, ongoing stream of likes, comments and shares.
For this reason Facebook is a perfect match for videos which have current relevance. Event highlights, news, or current promotions are all examples of videos which can benefit from the immediacy of Facebook, while simultaneously not suffering too much from the brevity the platform offers.
The cover image is also an oft-ignored opportunity to showcase a video on Facebook. Cover videos will auto-play and are a great way to grab the attention of anybody who visits your page.
Like with all posts, boosting videos or running paid ads can maximise their potential audience.
Like Facebook, Instagram offers great engagement for videos. Again, its auto-play feature and ability to stop viewers on their endless scroll is a prime benefit.
However, being an image based platform, anybody scrolling your profile is likely to view older posts as well, so there’s perhaps a little more longevity than Facebook. Prolific use of hashtags and the Explore page also make it a great tool for being seen by new audiences.
The one-minute restriction for videos in the feed is the most obvious limitation of Instagram. This means that most videos must be edited (or re-purposed) specifically for Instagram.
While Instagram offers auto-play for it’s videos, it pays to do whatever you can to get viewers to stop scrolling on your post. Uploading your videos in 16:9, rather than the default square format, can make them stand out and bookmark them as videos to your audience.
Don’t forget about stories as well. Teasers or highlight recaps are great ways of putting the Stories function to use.
Youtube
Despite being limited to videos, Youtube remains the world’s second largest search engine. Success on Youtube is based largely around strong SEO, viewer retention, and audience-building within the platform.
Content wise, almost anything goes on Youtube. There’s few technical restrictions, and longer videos (~5-15 minutes) can perform much better on Youtube than on other platforms. This is because Youtube’s algorithms are designed to favour videos which keep viewers on the platform for longer. Because viewers on Youtube are actively searching for content, rather than scrolling past passively, they often have a much longer attention span. This reinforces Youtube’s position as the place to upload longer form content, such as tutorials or webinars.
“Youtube’s algorithms are designed to favour videos which keep viewers on the platform for longer”
Youtube also requires careful consideration of how your videos will be discovered. Think about what interested viewers might search for when writing your titles, tags, and descriptions in order to maximise your chances of being found. A strong thumbnail is also essential to get people to click on your Youtube videos.
Youtube can also be used purely as a hosting tool for your videos. You can upload them and embed the links directly in your blog or website with various options.
The downside of Youtube is that it is monetized and designed with ad revenue in mind. This is great if you’re getting millions of views but if not, Youtube will often give priority to other videos which bring in more ad revenue. It is easy for your videos to be overlooked and disappear into a sea of other videos.
Vimeo
Vimeo is designed from the ground up for video creators, rather than advertisers. While it’s a fantastic place to host your videos, you won’t get many native views from new audiences. To drive engagement, you’ll still need to share your videos elsewhere.
As a hosting tool, it offers a lot of interface and privacy options so you can ensure your videos are seen in the right way by the right people. It is also a great way of sharing videos internally or directly as it has password protected links and the ability to download original files. It also has excellent image quality, provided the audience has a fast-enough internet connection. These features combine to make it the ideal platform if you need somewhere to host videos for your website or blog.
One of its biggest strengths compared to Youtube is it won’t direct your audience to another persons videos. Clicking on your profile or video will show the audience only your own videos and details. This limits the possibility of interested viewers being led astray. Choosing what action will occur when a video finishes playing gives you even more control. Options include showing other videos, a call to action, or even email address collection.
There is a cost to these features, though. A Pro subscription is required if you intend to upload content that is commercial in nature (US$20/month). For this price though, you can ensure that all your videos are delivered exactly as you intend without any interruptions from ads.
Which one is right for me?
The key to successful video distribution lies not in choosing one single tool, but in using all of them based on what is appropriate for each individual video. Just because you have optimised a video for Facebook, for example, does not mean you cannot upload it elsewhere too.
Understanding the strengths of each platform allows you to design content from the ground up. And once you have that content, it never hurts to share it in as many places as possible.
