How to Select a Video Hosting Provider for your Business

You finally decided to take the plunge into video hosting for your business, and want to implement videos for products, introducing your company, or customer testimonials. But, how do you actually get those videos online? In this post, we break down the key factors you need to consider when signing up with a video hosting provider, and how to make the best choice for your business.

 

Budget

If you have a small budget for video hosting for your business, you actually have a lot to work with. Video hosting does not have to be expensive or complicated, rather, it should be easy and affordable. Although certain free options are tempting, like Youtube, you have to consider whether it is the right choice for your business. If you properly evaluate your business needs, and what you want to achieve with online video, you will likely find it is worthwhile to invest in a professional video hosting service. The most obvious reason is the ads that free hosting providers like Youtube depend on for revenue, but far worse for your business are the other videos that appear at the end, driving people back to Youtube, rather than staying on your site (for more detail, please refer to our blog post on Youtube and small business). To properly compare the cost of hosting your videos on different websites, look at the cost per GB of bandwidth or storage, and weigh the cost against the availability of different features.

 

Security

For any small business, the security of content, especially videos you invested a lot of time and effort into, is paramount. The main exception would be marketing videos, where you might want them to be shared widely, but we are focusing on the type of videos you want to publish on your website, like testimonials, product videos, and the like. Features to look for include SSL embed codes, login protection, signed embed codes, domain whitelisting, and password protection. These security tools enable you to control how your videos are shared online, where they can be played, and who has access to them.

 

Marketing

A properly designed video content marketing strategy will help grow your email list, generate leads, and improve both SEO and SEM. To achieve these core marketing goals with video, look for tools that will enable you to capture viewers’ email addresses, analyze your audience in-depth, customize pre- or post- roll screens, and generate video sitemaps for SEO. To really leverage these features, consider where your target viewers are in your marketing funnel. Are you trying to generate leads? Or are you driving conversions? Having a clear focus on your desired outcome when implementing different marketing tools will make a big difference to their efficacy.

 

Customer Service

Sometimes, it is really important to get a quick answer to your question, or to solve a technical issue you are having with your online video. Want to wade through forums or Google searches? Or just reach a live person quickly and easily? Customer support can be make or break for video projects - it is easy to overlook a key setting, or to not be totally comfortable getting everything set up for the first time. At SproutVideo, we know better than most how complicated online video can seem at first. That is why we make certain commitments to our customers, like providing live chat and email support for all plan levels.

 

Scalability

Sure, you might be just starting out with video, but you need to think at least ten steps ahead to make the right call about where you stash your videos today. Video hosting is particular sticky as far as online business services go because, after going through all the effort of uploading, customizing, and embedding your videos, the last thing you want to think about is starting all over with another platform. Some projects might be shorter term than others, but in general, life will be much easier if you pick a platform and stick with it. To make the best decision for the long term, look for an API documented in at least a couple languages, and tools that will help you handle large numbers of videos. Evaluate the cost per GB at larger volumes of storage and bandwidth than you currently need to make sure the platform you want will be affordable in a few months or a year.