Here Are Some Of The Best Video Hosting Sites You Can Try

Video is now one of the most popular forms of content on the internet. If you have video content or are in the process of creating video content, you’ll eventually have to decide where to host your videos. It’s a part of every good video marketing strategy. 

Hosting allows you to upload and store your video on a third-party website. Viewers can access the video by visiting the host website directly (e.g. YouTube.com), or you can use what is called embed code to add the video to your website. A hosting site is another avenue your potential customers can take advantage of when they’re looking for your business.

So, let’s take a look at why you should consider using a video hosting site, how to decide which one is right for you, and look at some of the best video hosting sites.

Why Use A Video Hosting Site

We’ve already mentioned that a video hosting site is another way to get people to your website. By providing information about your company (like in the video description) you can provide links to steer them where you really want a visitor to go — your website.

Video hosting sites can also keep track of how many views your videos are getting, whether people are watching them, and for how long, and how many new or unique viewers you’re getting.

Is Self-Hosting Videos An Option?

That depends. Due to limitations in bandwidth and storage space, your site may not be able to handle video file uploads. But if your site can handle the upload, your site’s loading speed may still suffer as a result, leading to negative SEO implications. You’ll also have to account for different sizes and quality versions of your content to accommodate different viewing settings.

If you don’t think you have the ability to manage all of your content, a video hosting site/service may be for you.

How To Decide Which Video Hosting Site To Use

An easy way to decide which video hosting site you should use is to determine the purpose of your video(s). Is your video a how-to video, a video blog, a product or service demonstration video, or a fun workplace video? All of these videos serve a different purpose, and different hosting sites will complement them in different ways.

You can essentially break down your videos into three categories: social, brand and exclusive. They help describe the purpose of your video.

• Brand videos are the videos you want people to see on the homepage or product page of your website. These videos tell your customer what you are all about and can be fun but still need to get a message across and have a clear call to action.
• Company culture videos are videos that show small glimpses into the culture of your business. Typically these are funny workplace videos or videos showing you out in the community and are typically shot on a phone and uploaded to your social media site.

• Social videos are your vlogs, how-tos and funny videos that have a good message but don’t intentionally promote your company. It shows creativity and culture without blatantly trying to sell something. They’re more about awareness.

Where to Host Social Videos

So where should you be hosting your video? The obvious answer is YouTube. YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world and has the most active users. Additionally, if your video is hosted on YouTube, it could show up on Google search IF you optimize the descriptions of your videos and your channel.

Vimeo is another great choice. Vimeo has a slick interface and allows you to keep your branding without mucking it up with all the distracting extra videos on the side navigation bar and the ads.

Where to Host Brand Videos

You have a few options when it comes to hosting your brand videos, including Wistia, Vidyard, or Brightcove. These companies are geared toward marketing, conversion and sales. They also integrate well with your other online marketing resources such as Hubspot, Marketo, Eloqua, and Salesforce.

All of these companies have customer service, customizable embed players, HD video streaming and built-in analytics.

Choosing the right company really depends on the size of your business and how much video you plan on putting out. So put your best person on the job and have them do a little research on what company fits your brand and budget.

Where to Host Company Culture Videos

Finally, Facebook or Instagram are great places to host your company culture videos. Your social media accounts are great for sharing all types of video, but hosting videos on Facebook or any of your other social media sites limits you to those who have followed you on those sites.

And with Facebook constantly changing the way you see content, a lot of people will miss your posts if you limit your video to Facebook only. Instagram will provide you with a completely different audience to attract because the site works differently. It allows you to host shorter videos that get right to the point you’re trying to make.

Remember, you will still want to share all of your videos via social media, but try not to use it as the main place to host the majority of your videos.

Hosting in the Right Place

Choosing the right place to host your video can seem like a difficult task. But the type of video you’re producing can steer you down the right path. Finding the best video hosting site for your videos will not only help people find them, but it can also help to drive leads and conversions.