A detailed comparison on Vimeo vs YouTube for video marketing.
Did you know that an average spends 100 minutes per day on average watching online videos?
The netizens are consuming more and more videos every day. This has made video content an invaluable element of modern business marketing strategy.
For effective video marketing, long and short-form content should be the focus. Even when reels and TikTok are the most talked about, long-form content still delivers sufficient ROI.
State of Video Marketing 2022 report shows that 86% of video marketers cite that video has been an effective method for generating leads. This number went up another 2% from 2021 and up 5% since 2019.
So it goes without saying that a proper video marketing strategy drives profit. While YouTube has consistently been the primary choice for marketers. But for social video marketing, Vimeo can be an excellent option too.
In today’s article, we will discuss which one is the best video marketing platform – YouTube or Vimeo.
What is Vimeo?
Launched in 2004, Vimeo is a video-sharing platform with over 80 million creators. The aspect that makes it stand out from YouTube is its artsy aesthetic and creators.
But Vimeo is more than just a simple video-sharing platform. It lets users–
- Collaborate in different video projects
- Edit their videos
- Host high-quality videos.
While the 3rd feature is quite common, the other two are distinctive to this platform, making it different from YouTube.
What is YouTube?
YouTube is a social video networking platform. Thus, most of the appeal of YouTube depends on the interaction between its audience and the creators. This free platform has effectively replaced television and has become one of the primary sources of modern entertainment for millennials and Gen Z besides OTTs.
Youtube has a diverse and massive audience base. More than 2 Billion users tune in to YouTube every month and consume more than 5 billion videos every day, according to statistics.
Youtube offers interactive live streaming and is the second-largest search engine after Google. That’s why your content must be SEO optimised for better visibility.
Vimeo vs YouTube: What is the difference?
Both platforms primarily function on video hosting but are different in various aspects. The distinctive features were the approach to video content, the audiences, the functionalities, and the monetisation varies greatly.
Let’s examine the differences to gauge which platform suits your brand better.
Audience
A marketing strategy’s effectiveness depends on its audience. Even if you produce enticing and informative content, it will fall flat if you don’t target the right audience.
The viewers and users of Vimeo and YouTube differ from each other. Here’s why:
Vimeo was created by a group of filmmakers. So surely enough, the platform primarily caters to creative professionals and experienced video producers. Its features accommodate artistry. Thus, it is the preferred video hosting site for visual artists, art directors, videographers, editors, and other professional video creators. That’s why it is the niche platform for creative video marketers.
Another aspect that drives users to Vimeo is its non-rigid policy on censorship when it comes to sensitive areas like nudity, controversial topics, use of copyrighted materials under Fair Use articles, etc. With Vimeo, users get to express their artistic freedom.
Another aspect of its popularity is the enhanced privacy of users’ data. Vimeo explicitly states that it does not sell user data. So people who are worried about Internet security and surveillance are more likely to use this platform.
Although Vimeo has a strong user base, it is still a community-driven and smaller platform. YouTube has a massive audience base, making it much more competitive. YouTube delivers both entertainment and education. Thus it has a much more diverse audience base.
YouTube is the main platform for vloggers, who, in turn, become influencers. If we were to compare, Vimeo thrives on creative content, whereas Youtube is more personality-driven.
Features
The functionality of the two platforms differs significantly. Vimeo’s features are based more on the professional use of the video. The platform offers video creation tools, templates, a database for video pros, and stock footage. Vimeo also allows you to create content for different platforms.
Vimeo also provides its users with several features accommodating collaboration on video production. It allows users to leave notes on the video and add teammates. It also has file-sharing features.
The platform also offers corporate use of video. That includes different levels of access to the video library, screen recording, hosting virtual events, etc. All these features facilitate video production for corporate relations.
On the other hand, YouTube is a social video networking site. Its main feature is its recommendation algorithm. Your preference for video content decides what content will show up on your main page, what videos will be shown on the sidebar, and what videos you’re most likely to come across elsewhere on the website.
Another prominent aspect that highlights the dissimilarities of the platforms is social engagement features. Users on YouTube can leave comments under videos and community posts. The platform also enables the users with different ways to support creators.
Another feature that sets YouTube apart is its live video streaming capability. After Twitch, it is the second-largest live streaming service. Users have several live video options that enable their audience to interact with the stream differently.
YouTubes features add to its social aspect, while Vimeo focuses on the professional side of video creation.
Advertising and monetisation
Vimeo allows limited display of ads on their site depending on the type of account a user has, but it does not support pre-roll, post-roll, or overlay ads. The advertising on Vimeo works like this:
- Vimeo Basic members and viewers who are not logged in see banner ads on all Basic and Plus members’ pages. Such users also see ads that will appear on their pages.
- Vimeo Plus members are not shown any banner ads. However, ads do appear on their pages.
- Vimeo PRO and Business members neither see any ads nor will any ads appear on their pages.
It shows that Vimeo’s primary earnings come from membership sign-ups.
On the other hand, as YouTube is a free platform, it profits from running ads. That’s why we see advertisements all over the platform. YouTube offers an advanced and user-friendly ad platform for advertisers. Moreover, when someone spends $10 a day on ads on the platform, they offer personalised support from a “YouTube Advertising Expert”.
Which channel should you use, and how to choose
According to reports, 96% of customers increased their video consumption in 2020, and 9 out of 10 viewers stated that they would like to see more video content from brands. Thus it is clear that video marketing works.
Now that we know the features and other distinguishing basics of the platforms, the next step is to see how you can choose the best one for your video advertising requirement.
Let’s discuss the specifics you need to consider before choosing the best video marketing platform for your business.
Define your audience
For an effective video marketing strategy, thorough audience research is your first step. When you know what your audience likes and interacts with frequently, you can effortlessly pinpoint the platform that will bring you the maximum ROI through video marketing. Knowing your target market is only integral for advertising your brand but also for curating the right content.
Once you have defined your core audience, the data will show you where they interact the most and which content successfully grabs their attention. Then you can choose the right platform for your social video marketing strategy.
Define your video marketing goals and objectives
After identifying your target audience, you need to clearly define your video marketing goals. How you want to portray the campaign will decide which platform will suit you the best. For example, if you choose to curate creative videos for marketing, Vimeo would be ideal for you. On the other hand, if your video marketing goal is to appeal to the social side of the video marketing platform, YouTube is hands down the best option.
Use social listening
For proper audience research and content creation, social listening is the way to go. Investing in an efficient social listening tool like Radarr will help you target your audience based on –
- Gender
- Age
- Location
- Social media platforms used mostly
- Languages spoken
- What they talk about online
- Influencers they follow
Learn more about social listening here.
Use sentiment analysis
Sentiment analysis goes above and beyond the typical marketing techniques. It gauges the inner meaning of conversations on social networks, digging out the opinions and suggestions of your targetted audience. This helps you improve your video marketing strategy by telling you what content is working for your audience and what’s not.
With Radarr’s advanced Sentiment API, you can use software that helps you accurately measure human emotions behind online conversations. With such data, you can constantly improve and adapt according to the need of the market and use marketing platforms accordingly.
Learn more about sentiment analysis here.
Trendjacking
Social media trends have become the key to increasing brand visibility. Thus, very few social media strategies work as well as trendjacking. This method will allow you to identify the trending topics more relevant to your business. You can create content on those trends and market it on a site where your target audience lies.
Understand the nuances of each platform
Each platform has its intricacies. Understanding those nuances is crucial to identifying which platform serves your interest better. While YouTube provides a diverse audience base, Vimeo allows better artistic freedom.
Figure out essential elements like SEO, analytics, and when and how users of a particular platform consume and interact with videos.
Audit available resources
You can audit the data you already have to see which platform has worked better for your competitors. It is a sound way to align your marketing strategy according to your chosen medium. You also need to see what type of videos worked best for your brand, how long it took to produce, etc.
Create a content calendar
Based on the previous consideration, you can create a content calendar to manage your marketing strategy better. If you are trying out both platforms in the initial stages of your marketing, it will help you remain consistent.
Conclusion
As we discussed, both Vimeo and YouTube offer distinct services and features for your video marketing strategy. While audience bases drastically differ, there is no harm if you choose to make the most of both.
Each platform has its pros and cons. So it can be confusing to understand what type of content would appeal to your audience on a particular platform or how to optimise these platforms for increased ROI.
This is why social listening is critical for an effective video marketing strategy, as it pinpoints where the targetted audience interacts the most.
That’s where Radarr comes in.
It redefines your marketing strategy with advanced sentiment API by providing accurate insights on required improvements and changes. It digs deep and extracts trends you can use for your video content. With real-time visualisation and content tracking, Radarr will take your marketing strategy to a newer height.
To see for yourself, book a demo today!
