I am sure that if you ask anybody about a hosting platform for online videos, YouTube will instantly come to mind.
They own the space but there are other niche players who are better.
It is THAT famous and so widely-used that people most often utilize YouTube for all of their video hosting needs. After all, it is the go-to search engine for everybody, only second to Google.
However, there are alternatives to YouTube that will function the same way and will provide you with similar services, but distinct in their offering. One of them is Vimeo.
Y es, it is substantially smaller than YouTube at only 280 million monthly views but can still drive traffic to your online marketing platforms and generate leads to your websites if you knowhow to work your SEO.
So, to give Vimeo closer scrutiny, read on.
Who is Vimeo?
Vimeo has been around as early as 2004 and was initially developed to cater to the needs of professionals and creatives alike. Today, it boasts of a 70 million creator base to give them a platform by which they can showcase their talents and unique video creations.
Vimeo is the older brother to YouTube at 16 years old and counting, and those who have been using it for quite a while see it as a more refined and advanced option than others.
I ndeed, this doesn't mean that those who express their passions and creativity through Vimeo are not fun-loving people. In reality, the contrary is true.
I ndeed, this doesn't mean that those who express their passions and creativity through Vimeo are not fun-loving people. In reality, the contrary is true.
If you browse through the website, you will find out that there is countless content that will tickle your fancy and keep you glued to your screens watching.
So, what makes Vimeo different from other video hosting websites?
Market Differentiation
If there's one thing that will set Vimeo apart from all the rest, it's the quality of the videos they keep on their platform. By imposing stricter requirements on the videos that may be uploaded on their website, there is less video content, but you can be assured of the value and worth of every clip that you can view on the page.
This strategy may seem a bit off-putting for some, but the emphasis on quality over quantity is what makes Vimeo a superior video hosting platform compared to the others. It distinguishes them from a technical aspect, and it makes a world of difference in terms of excellence and outstanding delivery of content.
When your goal is to position your business distinctly, and you want to target the high-end digital market, aiming to provide unique and superior video content to your viewers, then Vimeo can surely help you stand out.
Moreover, there are no advertisements allowed on the Vimeo platform, so it's one thing that you will worry less about, which gives you greater control over your target audience's viewing behavior on the platform.
Vimeo vs. YouTube
From the Vimeo website description above, it has become apparent how you can differentiate it from YouTube. So, the question comes down to when you should choose to upload your videos on one instead of the other.
Perhaps your objective is to shore up views on your videos because you're starting with your business, and you need all the social shares that you can get to drive traffic to your website. In this case, Facebook and YouTube will help a lot to give your marketing efforts a much-needed boost. Their reach and clout are far more expansive and broader than Vimeo, and this reality will bring in the views.
On the other hand, if your marketing campaign involves high-definition, rich and top-quality videos, and this content will be maintained in your channels, Vimeo is the preferred way to go. Vimeo's capability to keep your videos available to the creative population is trustworthy and dependable, and you are assured that your viewers are genuinely seeking to be engaged by fantastic video creations.
What are the Vimeo Options – Vimeo Plus vs. Pro?
Getting into Vimeo comes with a cost, so choosing among the options that they provide will boil down to how much you want your marketing efforts to pay off through the platform.
The two most popular choices are the Vimeo Starter and Vimeo Standard, so most video creators are typically faced with these options. Let’s take a look at them in greater detail, as well as the other offerings.
Vimeo Plus
The Vimeo Starter was created for everyone. Anyone who wishes to avail of Vimeo's hosting services can sign up and pick Vimeo Starter if you plan to post videos on the platform on quite a regular basis. The plan is at $7 per month if you opt to pay annually, or you can also choose to pay month-on-month at$12. You have 5GB of storage every week and 250GB for the entire year.
Vimeo PRO
This option will cost you substantially more, and it's easy to see why. At $20 per month on an annual payment mode, you get 1TB storage for a year or 20GB every week. If you opt to pay $34 per month, you have no limits on your weekly uploads, and you can enjoy 3TB of storage for the entire year.
What makes this option better than Vimeo Plus is the team collaboration feature. If you are subscribed to Vimeo PRO, you can have three members with you on the platform to work on your videos and manage them in your Vimeo PRO account. Professional video creators mostly avail of this subscription.
Vimeo Business
You get to store as much as 5TB worth of videos when you go Business in Vimeo. You pay $50 per month on an annual billing cycle, and weekly limits will not restrict you. Your team collaboration is at ten members in this subscription, and you will be provided with marketing tools for your videos to help you create leads through emails.
Several other freebies in this account will be tremendously helpful for organizations and their creative teams.
Vimeo Premium
The premium subscription is meant for those requiring advanced video capabilities through Vimeo. At $75 every month, billed annually, you get a 7TB storage with no weekly restrictions. The team collaboration feature is present as well as an option to do live streaming at 1080p. You can also seamlessly integrate with other social media platforms and enjoy live chat with your viewers.
Suppose your business has its team to create high-quality videos. In that case, the two latter subscriptions will be perfect for their vast storage capacities and collaborative tools. Still, if you are outsourcing your video creation and want to post the output from time to time, then the only choice you have to make is between Vimeo Plus vs. Pro.
Vimeo Plus vs. Pro – which direction should you go?
The only distinction between Vimeo Plus vs. Pro, aside from the obvious added cost and the storage capacity, is the feature on team collaboration. So, suppose you are the owner of your business, and you create your videos for upload on your Vimeo account, whenever necessary for the marketing of your products and services. In that case, a Vimeo Plus account will work best for you.
On the other hand, if you are a professional video content creator and you work with a team, the Vimeo PRO subscription will help you with your additional storage and management of your videos within your team as you work on your content on the platform. For an additional cost compared to a Vimeo Plus account, you benefit from Vimeo's collaborative tools.
What are the Upside and Downside to Vimeo?
Like anything in the world that you are considering, you must look into the pros and cons before making your final decision. Here are some of Vimeo's.
Advantages
Vimeo has the Video on Demand or VOD feature
This VOD feature is by far the most substantial upside to the Vimeo yet as it offers viewers an option to pay a fee so they can watch shared videos on your channel. As the account holder, you can manage this aspect by controlling how far your video can reach, like across the globe or restricted only to select countries.
The most exciting part about VOD is that you take home 90% of the earnings as a creator when people pay to view your content.
Videos you upload on Vimeo may be updated after posting
Another fantastic thing about Vimeo is that you can edit videos that you have uploaded on the site and re-post it, maintaining all the statistics that you have gained so far. It avoids having to lose footing and the likes and comments that you have obtained if you, say, merely had to change a misspelled name or caption on a specific frame.
Vimeo is the more sophisticated option
If you genuinely want to know the big difference between a Vimeo video and a video from YouTube, check out the ones that go viral and examine them in terms of quality. It will be very apparent from the first view that Vimeo videos' superiority far exceeds those of YouTube.
This reality is because of the stricter and higher standards that Vimeo requires from account holders and for every content that they want to post on the site. This strategy results in an inventory of videos on the platform, which are sifted only to produce superb value.
Vimeo’s videos are outstanding in quality
It goes without saying that if Vimeo filters the uploaded videos on their site, then the ones that do make it through their rigid requirements are only the best ones. Therefore, there is no question about the quality of the content you can see on the site.
We can say that Vimeo's market positioning in the video hosting landscape works well for them because the stricter the standards, the fewer videos that they need to process to upload on the site. Consequently, the site's content has a higher bitrate, and the audio is also remarkably better, given that the upload support is at 320kbps.
Disadvantages
Vimeo offers fewer options in terms of video types
Because Vimeo is meticulous in letting videos on the site, there is less variety in terms of video content. Though documentaries proliferate on the site, cooking channels are quite few or vlog-style contents. Gaming videos are missing altogether.
Vimeo costs money
An ad-free platform will surely cost money, and this is what Vimeo provides. Every membership option will require a fee depending on how many videos you plan to post on the website. There's a free account option, but at 500mb upload every week, this amounts to almost nothing.
You have to work harder for SEO on Google
This downside is not to say that videos on Vimeo will never show up higher on SEO ranks.
Still, creators will understandably have to exert more significant effort to be seen since YouTube content is prioritized, being owned by Google.
Still, creators will understandably have to exert more significant effort to be seen since YouTube content is prioritized, being owned by Google.
A good workaround to this is to create videos on YouTube as well, just not the same ones, not to drive traffic away from your Vimeo channel.
Final Verdict
Ultimately, Vimeo provides an option for targeting a particular niche by employing its distinct features. There are so many ways that you can take advantage of their unique business model to benefit you.
You need to use all the information provided in this article to help guide you in your decision. If their offering works for you, it’s going to be worth every penny.
You need to use all the information provided in this article to help guide you in your decision. If their offering works for you, it’s going to be worth every penny.
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