Data from Google shows that 6 out of 10 people prefer to watch videos online rather than on TV. HubSpot reports that more than 9 out of every 10 marketers say online video sharing is a critical marketing tool.
What’s the first website that comes to mind for uploading and watching videos?
Bet the first one that comes to mind is YouTube. It’s not surprising because it’s No. 2 website in the world according to Alexa. No. 1, of course, is Google. And guess what? Google owns YouTube. This relationship gives YouTube an advantage. That’s because Google is more likely to display YouTube videos high on its search engine results.
How many monthly visitors does YouTube have? Hootsuite states YouTube has 2 billion monthly visitors. Nonetheless, people may want to find other video sharing platforms for watching and uploading videos. One reason is due to YouTube’s ever-changing policies, restrictions, and problematic ads. A second reason is to expand their reach beyond YouTube’s audience.
Fortunately, you have a few great video sharing platforms to explore. Here are the top online video sharing sites and apps that make great YouTube alternatives.
DailyMotion
Owned by mass media company Vivendi SA, DailyMotion is a video sharing platform based in France. The company’s audience information reports it gets 3 billion views per month and 250 million unique monthly visitors. The bulk of its traffic comes from Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
The service is free. Like with YouTube, Daily Motion lets users upload, view, and browse videos. It limits daily uploads to 10 videos that don’t exceed 2 hours in total. A single video can’t be longer than 60 minutes or larger than 2 GB.
Any video creator with a large audience in Europe may want to upload videos to DailyMotion. Some users prefer DailyMotion because it has fewer restrictions than YouTube. The French video sharing site does not remove videos. Because of this, the site may contain a lot of pirated videos. Some businesses may not want to associate with that.
Metacafe
Yielding 12 million unique monthly visitors, Metacafe calls itself a “one stop-shop for the web’s best and funniest videos.” Metacafe has been around since 2003, making it one of the older video sites. YouTube launched two years later.
Metacafe is known for its short videos. Most of the videos are 30 seconds or fewer. There will rarely be a video that runs one minute or longer. The platform covers a variety of topics. Visitors can browse videos by the latest, popular, trending, or searching one of the categories. Creators looking to expand their reach may find this one worth testing.
Twitch
Founded in 2011, Twitch‘s describes itself as a “global community of millions who come together to create their own entertainment.” This gives the impression that they offer a diversity of entertaining videos. However, Twitch has gained a reputation as a video game streaming service. Gamers use the platform to stream their games or provide commentary about them.
Broadcasters have the option of doing live videos. A free account comes with ads. Removing ads requires upgrading to a paid plan. Twitch says it averages 4 million unique creators streaming each month and 17.5 million daily visitors.
Vimeo
After YouTube, the second most commonly known online video sharing platform is Vimeo. The biggest difference between the two services is that Vimeo promises to never put ads before, during, or after videos.
Between January and June 2020, Vimeo had an average of 109 million monthly visits. One-third of the traffic comes from the U.S. In second is the U.K. at 7 percent. Video creators that plan to upload to multiple online video sharing platforms will find Vimeo a worthy addition to their list.
Under the free Basic membership plan, you can upload up to 500 MB of video per week. This plan allows users to upload up to 10 videos per day. That is if the videos don’t reach the 500 MB weekly limit or 5 GB of storage. Vimeo caps the total storage at 5 GB. Basic features include embedding and analytics.
The Basic plan users can create one channel, one group, and three showcases. As long as members follow the guidelines, the platform promises the Basic plan is free forever. An account not active for a year may be removed. They’ll send a notification before removal.
If videos promote or represent a for-profit business or brand and contain any advertising, it requires upgrading to a paid plan. The same goes for videos on Vimeo that are embedded in a company’s website as well as product demos or tutorials. Exceptions include independent production companies, authors, artists, and nonprofits.
Veoh
Veoh is part of the social content sharing company Qlipso. All other video sharing platforms and Veoh contain user-generated content. But Veoh takes it a step further. It distributes content from major media companies. They have an impressive lineup consisting of ABC, CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN, and WB.
The platform does not list any video uploading limitations. Word is that it has no limitations in size and length. That could be an advantage of using the service. However, it has a few dead pages, outdated information, and English typos. It may not be an ideal site for businesses or someone who wants to look professional.
Other Video Sharing Platforms
These five online video sharing platforms and YouTube are the top options. There are other services, but they aren’t purely for uploading and viewing videos. For example, Vidyard is a video hosting-only platform that targets businesses. You can’t view videos on the site. It does, however, offer detailed analytics and marketing resources.
Like all the other services, Vidyard’s free plan has limited features. While it comes with unlimited video uploads and file hosting, it limits the embeds to five. This could be an ideal option for anyone who wants to share videos rather than embed them. The analytics on the free plan is limited to view counts.
Wistia is like Vidyard in that it hosts videos and incorporates marketing tools. The free plan is limited and the platform displays the Wistia brand on the video player.
How to Choose the Best Video Sharing Platform
Like with any product or service, the place to start is with your goals. What kinds of videos do you want to post? How long are they? What is the size of the largest file? Will you use it for business or personal? The answers to these questions may eliminate a couple of options.
Live streaming is another consideration that can affect your decision. Not all online video sharing sites allow live streaming. Analytics can reveal a lot of useful information for marketers. But that usually comes with a price.
For those who want to share business videos on their websites, Vimeo or YouTube may suffice. Before considering YouTube, review its policies and restrictions to ensure there are no issues. Test embedding on your website to see how it looks. If your video contains captions, check to see if they work. Few businesses have the resources to be active on multiple social media networks. It’s a lot of work to upload videos and stay on top of its activity. It may not be an efficient use of your time to upload everywhere. You can always test and adjust your video marketing strategy.