When it comes to video marketing hosting platforms, does your mind just default to YouTube? You are not alone. With 100 hours of video uploaded every minute, it’s obvious that YouTube seems to be every marketer’s first choice. But is it the only choice? No! Vimeo has been around since 2004, and has some amazing features that can make it the right choice depending on your needs. Take a look at six reasons why we love Vimeo.
#1 Vimeo has a growing user base
While it may seem like nothing in comparison to YouTube, Vimeo now has an impressive 170 million viewers Worldwide, and has even cracked the coveted 100+ million unique monthly visitors. According to its website, Vimeo also has 25 million members, 715 million video views, and a year over year global growth of 80%. They may not be YouTube numbers, but they also cannot be ignored.
#2 Vimeo offers less competition and more engagement
Vimeo’s smaller size makes it easier to stand out, since there are less videos to compete against. Vimeo also attracts a different kind of viewer. Vimeo’s emphasis on high video quality makes it the go to destination for video professionals, filmmakers, and other creative types. The narrower content focus, and lack of grumpy cat or Beyonce videos, has led to a highly engaged community looking for stimulating, artistic video content with high production values. If your video marketing campaign is targeting this demographic, Vimeo is the place to look.
#3 Vimeo has no in-video advertisements
That’s right, Vimeo contains no annoying 30 second pre-roll ads! No advertisements means no distractions, keeping viewer eyeballs on your content, as well as fewer potential customers tempted to skip over your video because of an annoying pre-roll ad they can’t skip. This is a HUGE selling point for Vimeo.
#4 Vimeo is pretty and customizable
Vimeo stands above the rest when it comes to video customization and aesthetics. The site itself is much cleaner than YouTube, focusing on the video content rather than ads or other white noise. There are also more options for customizing how your video looks, both on Vimeo or embedded. You can take out the Vimeo logo, the like button, the share button, the full-screen button, as well as many other player preferences to make your video look just the way you want it. This allows you to create the most aesthetically pleasing videos embeds that will fit any website or brand.
#5 Vimeo has advanced privacy settings
Vimeo also offers more choices when it comes to privacy settings, giving you more control over who is looking at your video content, as well as what they can see. Unlike YouTube, which only offers Public, Private, or Unlisted, Vimeo has six different privacy settings:
- Anyone: allows anyone to see the video
- Only me: video only visible to you
- Only people I follow: video is visible only to those you follow on Vimeo
- Only people I choose: video is visible only for those you specify
- Only people with a password: protect your video with a password
- Hide this video from Vimeo.com: post this video on the web but do not have it visible on Vimeo
Having the ability to finely tune your video privacy settings allows you to present your video exactly the way you need to achieve your marketing objectives.
#6 Vimeo has some cool advanced statistics
Vimeo, like YouTube, offers some very insightful video analytics to ensure that you know exactly how your video content is performing. Although the analytics provided by Vimeo do not vary too much from YoutTube, they are presented in a way that is much easier to read. Vimeo also provides the option to view stats “at a glance”, giving you a snapshot of how your videos are performing for a specific period of time.
Another difference I have noticed with Vimeo’s analytics is the ability to see your top referral URLs, giving you the chance to see each specific URL your video is being hosted on and which are getting the most views. Cool stuff!
While not as all-encompassing as YouTube, Vimeo fits a targeted niche, and its features reflect that niche. If your video marketing campaign objectives overlaps with the features mentioned above, Vimeo could be the hosting choice for you! Don’t be afraid to give it a try and see how it works out.
Are you using Vimeo to share your video marketing content? If so, what are your reasons for using the platform?