Are you using videos for your business? If not, you should reconsider. More than 80% of people using videos for marketing reported an increase in lead generation and website traffic.
While Google-owned YouTube has dominated the video scene with everything from funny cat videos to cooking classes, another platform has started to steal some of the spotlights.
If you’re a video watcher, you’ve probably noticed that more and more of the videos cropping up are courtesy of the Vimeo platform.
If you’re wondering whether to use Vimeo vs YouTube for business, there are several factors to consider.
Keep reading to learn about the differences and how they might relate to your business strategies.
What is Vimeo
It seems as though everyone and their mother, literally, are using YouTube. It dominates the digital scene with more than 2 billion users, which is more than one-third of the internet.
Its greatest strength is a large number of users and its strong SEO. That might also be its greatest weakness. When it comes to customer reach, the numbers are there, but the quality isn’t always present.
Created in 2004 by a group of filmmakers who wanted to share high-quality videos, Vimeo is increasing in popularity. It is particularly attractive to people targeting a niche market and who want to be part of a creative community.
Main Factors to Consider
Both options have customers who swear by their chosen platform. Here are a few of the features that illustrate the differences:
Cost
While both have free options, businesses using Vimeo should choose one of the paid options as the basic option isn’t good for those who wish to upload many videos. The basic option is, well, very basic.
Also, to get the business features, such as the option to sell your videos directly, get live support during event streaming, and take advantage of its marketing software integration, the paid option is a necessity.
YouTube is free, although it has paid options as well. But there’s a catch. Your viewers will be subjected to ads prior to watching your video, which means they may choose not to watch your video.
Advertising is how YouTube earns money, versus Vimeo, which earns money through subscriptions and is completely free of ads.
Demographics & Community
Is your audience worldwide or is it limited to a country or region? What age range? Are you trying to attract a broad audience or targeting a niche market?
With YouTube, you’ll get a huge mix of users, including young children. Quantity isn’t always better than quality, which is why it’s important to be clear on your business goals.
While YouTube has a much bigger reach due to being the second-largest search engine after Google, it can be hard for your videos to stand out in the crowd.
Vimeo’s community — smaller, more niche-oriented, and supportive — provides an opportunity for content creators to get constructive feedback.
Production Quality
Most YouTube customers watch videos via phone, and on a phone, the production quality isn’t as important.
Vimeo’s roots are in high-quality videos. This is particularly important if customers are watching videos on a larger screen. If you’re an independent filmmaker or will be showing videos at a conference on a large screen, Vimeo is an excellent choice.
Analytics
While customers rank YouTube higher on its analytics, making it easier to track which videos are the most effective, you will lose your stats if you completely replace your video.
If you find yourself needing to do lots of editing or other updates to your videos, the experience will be frustrating and time-consuming.
Although Vimeo’s analytics are reported to be less robust, if you make a mistake and want to completely replace your video, your stats will stay intact. Also, the Business and Premium plans offer Google Analytics integration.
Privacy
While YouTube offers a basic privacy setting, Vimeo has more options in its privacy settings, such as making videos password protected and restricting the videos even from Vimeo itself.
This makes Vimeo the better choice for people wanting to sell their videos or offer online classes that require a fee.
Vimeo’s platform does such a good job of attracting artists and creators with a niche focus; there are plenty of interesting videos to watch, such as movies. You can learn more about downloading Vimeo videos for free by checking out this resource here.
Brand Identity
Everyone recognizes YouTube’s brand, and that might be a good thing for your business, depending on the type of services or products you offer.
But if maintaining your company’s brand identity is important to you, Vimeo offers the ability to customize the look and feel of the videos to match your brand. This is one of the top reasons people choose Vimeo over YouTube.
Customer Service
Be honest with yourself. How much technical support do you need or want as a content creator?
YouTube’s reputation for customer service is less than desirable. They have a help center in the form of a message board, but many people find it easier to resolve technical issues through live support.
YouTube customers have also complained about their videos being flagged and removed without explanation, which can be devastating to a business.
Vimeo, on the other hand, offers quick email responses from their support team and live support with the Premium package.
Vimeo vs YouTube for Business: The Big Picture
Now is a great time to decide on Vimeo vs YouTube for business, especially since it’s estimated that in 2021, people will spend 100 minutes per day watching videos online.
If you have a sales quota to meet, need lots of data, and want to increase the chances of drawing massive amounts of people doing organic searches on Google, YouTube may be your choice.
But if your video is your product, such as an online class or an independent film, and creating a tight-knit niche community is important to you, then Vimeo is the way to go.
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