Businesses and consumers alike are pushing for their video content to be seen by as many people as possible, especially their target audience. Currently there are two main channels to use. YouTube is the big fish in the pond, whereas Vimeo has the advantage of niche audiences. So, which channel is better for promoting your business videos?
Quick facts about Vimeo and YouTube
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As at March 2014
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>1 Billion
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Avg. monthly visits
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100 Million
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$3.7 Billion
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Yearly revenue
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$40 Million
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1 Billion
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Registered users
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100 Million
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61 Countries
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Countries
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Unknown
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2005
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Established
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2004
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Statistics from Wpromote, 2014.
Differences between YouTube and Vimeo
YouTube
With so many users and contributors on its platform and the cost-free ability to upload videos to YouTube, the platform stores an immense amount of content. Due to this amount of content, competition on the platform is intense.
Because of YouTube’s sheer size, users' videos are compressed when they are uploaded therefore reducing the video’s quality. YouTube has also introduced a lot of advertising into its videos which impacts on the viewer’s experience.
YouTube users are primarily interested in entertainment, which explains why videos go viral on YouTube. Users aren’t heavily interested in content that is focussed on selling products, but it is a great medium for product demonstrations and videos associated with the product, such as tutorials. Video producers need to ensure their videos of this nature conclude with a clear call-to-action for the viewer.
Due to being owned by Google, the community aspect of YouTube is mildly limited as users are required to have a Google+ to be eligible to comment on videos. On the other hand, because of its parent company’s influence on the internet, the platform’s videos receive special treatment with regard to ranking highly on search engine results pages.
Vimeo
Vimeo provides users with a much more professional, user orientated experience. Its video player is larger than YouTube’s; it provides an uncluttered interface; the video player’s colours can be altered to match the video’s brand; and there are less advertisements on Vimeo than YouTube.
Because of account restrictions, Vimeo’s free basic account members cannot upload an unlimited amount of content to the platform. This proves to be an advantage for Vimeo and businesses using the platform as there is much less content on the platform than YouTube, which reduces the noise that branded videos have to cut through to reach their audience. The site’s community is predominantly made up of video professionals and their focus is on quality, not quantity.
Aside from the basic account that members can sign up for, Vimeo has multiple membership accounts that can be purchased: Vimeo Plus, Vimeo pro and Vimeo Business. These accounts provide members with no advertisements on their videos, added video storage and promotional features available for their content.
Conclusion
This blog may appear as though we are leaning towards Vimeo as the better option. Vimeo certainly provides a greater acceptance of branded content and is better for interacting with the audience but due to its smaller community and Google’s ownership of YouTube, Vimeo falls behind in terms of its video’s reach ability and search engine optimisation. Your business should use both platforms to promote its video content, however it should keep in mind the pros and cons we have outlined of each platform and devise a promotional strategy based on where its resources will be used most efficiently.
References
Wpromote. (2014, April 2). Video Marketing Value Fight Night! YouTube vs. Vimeo (Infographic). Retrieved from Wpromote: http://www.wpromote.com/blog/infographics/youtube-versus-vimeo