YouTube Vs. Vimeo
This fight is set for 5 rounds, our contenders are:
Vimeo
Founded: 2004
Users: 90 million
Global reach: Available in more than 150 countries.
Views: Over 23 million every day
Crazy Stat: An HBO Show Started on Vimeo
YouTube
Founded: 2005
Users: 1.3 billion
Global reach: Local versions in more than 88 countries.
Views: Almost 5 billion videos watched every day
Crazy Stat: 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
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FIGHT!
CONTENT
YouTube: Given that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the planet, there is no one specific form of content it excels in - from school videos to bears sneezing, you can see just about anything on YouTube and you don’t need to be specific to find it. This presents itself as both a blessing and a curse. The sheer variety of uploads means your #SchoolStories will always fit in no matter their message. Unfortunately, this variety also means that your content can become lost amongst a sea of similar pieces, so if you aren't doing enough to stand out you risk just adding to the noise!
The content you post to YouTube doesn’t need to all be of the highest quality, in fact, YouTube is a great way to share things such as school productions, regardless of the quality, for those who could not attend. Keep in mind that while YouTube is flexible in terms of content quality that is no excuse to only give 10%! How about personalising your content, then? You have the option to personalise your page to fit your school branding with header and profile image and keeping your profile image present across all video content.
How does tagging work across YouTube? When you upload your content under the description box there is the opportunity to tag your work, this will then be used to filter and personalise your videos. Additionally, you can include your personalised hashtags within the video description along with any call to actions.
Vimeo: Seen as the home of indie filmmakers and musicians alike, the ‘cool kids’ video hosting site, the upper-class YouTube, even. Vimeo is where you know exactly what you are searching for. The content you post to Vimeo should be your best work, there is no shaky footage or out-of-focus productions here. Vimeo carries a certain stature with it that you should reflect in the content you post, open day adverts, high-quality tours of the school, and other ‘premium’ content. Personalising your content across Vimeo is a bit more robust than YouTube, for example, the option is available for you to customise the play bar into your school's hex code. In addition, you can categorise (up to two main and one sub-category), group and tag (up to 20 individual tags) your content.
ACCESSIBILITY
How easy are these separate channels to navigate and manage? That is what the judges will be looking at in this round. No points will be awarded for the ever-present search bar as that is a feature shared across multiple platforms. First up, Vimeo.
Vimeo: Navigating Vimeo is relatively similar to its competition, just in a simpler form. The home page offers a selection of Vimeo Staff Picks and a Categories section. If you find a content creator you like, following them is as simple as clicking the Follow button either on the video you are watching or by navigating to their page and clicking the Follow button.
Creating a live event, managing your videos and uploading content is clearly labelled and accessible with step-by-step guides. Additionally, there is a wealth of privacy options with Vimeo that are all self-explanatory in their function. Finding your account to manage videos can seem confusing at first, as you must navigate to your logo image in the top right and select it. However, as this is becoming the norm across multiple social channels (YouTube included), we won’t be penalising it.
YouTube: Compared to Vimeo, YouTube can feel quite daunting when you initially load it up. There is such a vast amount of content that eventually it can all end up looking like noise. Thankfully, the sidebar is clearly labelled and easily accessible. Accessing your account, as was mentioned with Vimeo, is done through clicking on your account image on the top right. Ironically, while uploading videos is straightforward and almost guided by YouTube, finding the upload button can be confusing. This is a result of the button to upload being just a logo, not text.
The deciding factor between the two may come down to YouTube being free to use and offering unlimited storage capacity. This is with the caveat that each video should be under 15 minutes until your account is verified where it then moves to allow up to 12 hours of playback.
FEATURES
What is on display in these separate channels? How do they stand up to each other in the features? Let’s find out!
YouTube: YouTube offers a variety of features that will help you share your #SchoolStories. This includes a great selection of video editing tools that will help you add music, titles and transitions to your videos. On top of this, you can add links, annotations and subtitles to your videos. This content can then be scheduled in with the ability to schedule release times for your content, saving you time and allowing you to plan ahead. There is the option to add tags and categories to your videos also, meaning your content is personalised and correctly labelled.
Vimeo: To address the big difference, yes Vimeo does require a paid membership for some of its features. However, this should not deter you from seeing what is on offer. Arguably having no pre-roll ads takes a top spot in the features of Vimeo. Not only does this help prevent drop-offs before the video even starts, but it also avoids any unfortunate situations where inappropriate content is advertised on your school’s video.
The features don’t stop there though! Vimeo has the option of a customisable player and embed. With Vimeo Pro you can add your own logo to the video player, creating a custom outro and giving you the option of using 3rd party players to display your work. In contrast to YouTube, if you notice an error in your upload there is the option to replace a video after it has been uploaded without losing any stats.
AUDIENCE SIZE/ PRIVACY
The final round will focus on potentially the most important aspect, your content’s audience and your content privacy.
YouTube: As we said earlier, almost 5 billion videos are watched on Youtube every single day. Even though both Vimeo and YouTube have mobile-friendly websites, YouTube has more mobile viewers, with more than half of all YouTube views coming from mobile devices. Its audience is huge and continues to grow with a large reach, particularly to 18-49-year-olds. Additionally, and rather unsurprisingly, Google favours YouTube in search terms. This means that if prospective parents were to search a related term in Google they are more likely to find your content on YouTube than Vimeo.
It is important to note that, given the size of YouTube’s audience, there is a chance of hostility within the community. However, this can be remedied through reporting or even removing comments from your content. You may also find that, in terms of privacy, YouTube’s offerings are relatively small with only three listing choices for your content.
Vimeo: It is no secret that Vimeo’s audience is smaller than YouTube’s, having over 23 million views per day. Yet this audience is marketably more supportive than those found on YouTube. Additionally, the privacy options available on Vimeo are robust and varied allowing you to make your content public, private, or unlisted. You can also share content only with users you follow. In addition, you can password protect content and, with a paid plan, have the option to disallow your video being viewed on Vimeo and instead only allowing access through an embed on your school website.
THE RESULTS
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And that is the fight! Both challengers put up a good fight but only one can win.
WHO? To find out, simply fill in the form below to gain access to our exclusive @intSchools ratings!
