Video is an essential part of growing your business. In fact, according to this study, 79% of people said that they were convinced to make a purchase after watching a video from the brand. So now more than ever, investing in video production is extremely important.
But once you have your high-quality videos, how do you know what video-sharing platforms to use? In this article, we’ll walk you through the top video hosting platforms, the pros and cons of each, and how to choose the right one for your business.
YouTube
Of our list of the best video hosting sites, you won’t be shocked to learn that YouTube takes the top spot. As the largest video-sharing platform and the second largest social media platform (with over 2.6 billion active users), YouTube is a free platform where you could get your videos in front of an extremely large audience.
Not only does YouTube offer a lot of opportunity for views, but it also gives you access to analytics to better understand how your videos are performing. This data is gold – it can help you to determine what you need to change in your content and what you should do more of.
One of the pros of YouTube (aka the popularity and number of users) is also a con. With that much popularity comes a lot of competition. There is a ton of content on YouTube that you need to compete with to engage with users. However, if you’re solely using YouTube to host your videos for use elsewhere on your website, advertising, etc., then YouTube is a great option.
Vimeo
Unlike YouTube (which is really a video hosting platform for all), Vimeo has a reputation for being a hub where creative professionals can share their content. That doesn’t mean that you can’t host your business videos there, though! It’s now becoming a spot that businesses are also utilizing because it is so well-known for being one of the highest-quality video hosting platforms.
Vimeo offers 4 different pricing plans, so you can tailor your services to what you need. There is also a free plan with basic services if paying for a platform is not within your budget. Depending on your plan level, you will have access to a variety of different levels of video analytics. Again, as we mentioned above, these analytics are super important! However, since Vimeo doesn’t have the viewers that YouTube has, you’re likely to get fewer views and thus fewer insights on your videos on Vimeo.
Wistia
Wistia is next on the list of best video-sharing platforms. So what sets Wistia apart from the rest? Firstly, it integrates seamlessly with a variety of marketing platforms that businesses may be using, like HubSpot, Pardot, and Marketo.
Another huge benefit of Wistia is the fact that you can actually drive traffic to your site from your videos on Wistia. Or, you can embed your videos directly on your site to avoid sending your users away from your website.
Similar to Vimeo, Wistia also offers a variety of different plan levels, including a free version. Just note that the free plan only allows you to host 10 videos total, so if you anticipate needing to host more than 10, a paid plan or another platform is really the way to go.
Brightcove
Now that we’ve gotten through the more well-known video-sharing platforms, it’s time to dive into the more niche options. While Brightcove might not be a household name, it’s actually one of the largest video hosting platforms specializing in enterprise-level video marketing solutions.
In addition to integrating with marketing automation platforms, Brightcove also offers a variety of other services, including social sharing, live video, and customizable video players. If you’re a small business or just venturing into video production and hosting, Brightcove may not be right for you. However, if you’re looking for a video hosting platform on behalf of an enterprise business, then definitely check out all that Brightcove has to offer.
Hippo Video
And last but not least, we’ve got Hippo Video. Hippo Video offers a solution for splitting up your videos into marketing, sales, and internal. This cloud-based tool has a variety of different features that you may be interested in, but one of the things that sets Hippo Video apart is that it allows users to upload user-generated content (UGC) to your account.
UGC can be an extremely useful tool in your video marketing strategy, and acquiring it is the first step in the process. And Hippo Video can really help in simplifying that process.
One other feature that Hippo Video offers that is fairly unique is the ability to screen record. This allows you to specifically address user concerns or questions, which can be especially useful if you’ve got a SaaS business.
So now that you know the best video hosting for websites, you can make an informed decision on which hosting platform is right for your business. If you have questions about which video hosting you should choose, we can help! Or if you’re just starting your video production journey, then our team of experts is here for you. Send us a message or give us a call at 831-824-9660 to get your next video project today!