In 2016, 73 percent of all internet traffic was video content, according to Cisco. Video content traffic is expected to climb to 82 percent of global internet traffic by 2021. But what does this all mean for video content distribution tools and channels? It means there’s more than ever!
To say that’s a lot of video content would be an understatement. But it does hammer home the importance of not only using video content as part of your content marketing strategy, but also having a solid plan for video content distribution to your audience.
Although video content is becoming increasingly important to marketers (according to a 2016 study from Social Media Examiner), what’s just as important is video content distribution. From paid options to free tools, here are the top video content distribution tools to use.
Social Media Video Content Distribution
Social media platforms offer both free and paid video content distribution tools to get your video content out to the right audience. Which platforms you use ultimately depends on where and who your audience is.
You have two options video content distribution on Facebook. Option one is free and involves sharing your videos on your brand’s profile. The second option is to purchase an ad and share your video in the ad. These days, Facebook ads might be a better option for distributing video content. Organic reach (that is, sharing your posts with your followers) has declined. Plus, when you purchase an ad, you have the option of choosing the specific audience that will see it.
If your audience is mainly on Twitter, you can share videos through the platform for free, similar to Facebook. Or you can create video ads, which you pay for. Like Facebook, you have the option of choosing a specific audience for your video ad.
Instagram might not be the best option for video content distribution, since your video can’t be more than 60 seconds long. But if your audience is mainly on the photo-sharing social media platform, posting an edited version of your video can be a good way to get them interested.
You can pin your videos to a Pinterest board to get people to click. Another option is to grab a still from your video and use a text overlay to pique people’s interest. Include a link to the video content in the pin so that your followers can watch the whole thing.
Snapchat
Although your video content won’t last long on Snapchat, the social media platform offers two options for getting it out to the public. One is paid, and involves using a video ad to promote a longer-form video. The other is to use Multi-Snap, a relatively new tool that lets you connect six 10-second videos.
LinkedIn views itself as the best social media platform for content marketing. The site also recently introduced an uploading tool for adding videos up to 10 minutes in length to the news feed. Whether video content distribution is a hit for LinkedIn remains to be scene, but if it’s where your audience is already, it can be worth a shot.
Video Players
YouTube
Part social network, part video player, YouTube has one billion users who watch one billion videos every single day. It has the built-in audience you need to increase your video’s reach.
Vimeo
As with social media, choosing the right player for your video content matters. Vimeo is much smaller than YouTube, with just 170 million viewers. But those viewers tend to be international, making it an ideal platform for reaching a global audience.
DailyMotion
DailyMotion is a French video content player with an audience of 300 million viewers.
VidMe
Considerably smaller than other players, VidMe has 25 million monthly users. It has a bit of a DIY ethos, and is committed to putting the creators of videos first.
Brightcove
Brightcove is a bit different from the other video players. For one thing, it’s not only a video player. The company also offers a suite of video marketing services, as well as a video player content management system that runs on HTML5.
Wistia
Like Brightcove, Wistia is a video player that lets you embed video on your own website, rather than on social sites. It’s a good option if you are hoping to distribute video directly from your site. Wistia offers a range of price plans, from free to premium.
Amplification/Recommendation Tools
Amplification and recommendation tools help you distribute your video to a wider audience. While a few are video-only tools, most aren’t.
ContentAmp
ContentAmp allows you to distribute your video content to a network of top social media influencers who then promote your content on Facebook and Twitter. These influencers share the articles natively with their audiences, instantly increasing traffic and engagement. The entire process is pay-per-click, meaning you only pay for the traffic that is being driven to your content.
Waach
Waach lets you publish videos to multiple platforms, promote those videos, and track your results. It offers a 14-day free trial, and after that plans range from free (but very limited) to $119 per month.
Buffer
Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that helps you plan posts and schedule them in advance. You can use it to promote your latest video on your social media profiles, or to reshare old video content. The free option is designed for individual users, while the business option costs $99 per month and lets you have up to 25 profiles per platform.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another social media management tool. Like Buffer, it’s not exclusively for video. Plans range from $19 to $99 per month. There’s also a custom enterprise option.
Outbrain
Outbrain lets you promote your content on another website. It’s one of the tools responsible for those links you often see at the bottom of articles. It works on a pay-per-click basis, and you can set a daily budget so that you don’t spend too much.
Taboola
Taboola also helps to drive traffic to your video by including it in a link at the bottom of articles, or by recommending it to people visiting other sites. It’s another pay-per-click content distribution option.
Nativo
Nativo is a native ad promotion tool that can help you get your video linked on top-tier websites. When viewing your video, the audience remains on the initial website, so it is a win-win for your content and the hosting site.
StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is a link-sharing service that lets regular people share and discover new content. It also offers a paid option for brands that can help increase the reach of your video content.
Email Distribution
Email isn’t dead. In fact, it’s a great way to get your video content out in front of an audience. People are more likely to click through an email that has a video content in it, according to a survey from Get Response. These tools can help you master video content distribution over email.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an email marketing service that lets you send and track emails. The service ranges from free to $199 per month.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is another email marketing service that includes drag-and-drop design templates and email sign-ups on your website. Plans start at $20 per month and are based on the size of your email list.
WiseStamp
Wisestamp gives your brand a professional-looking email signature. Even better, it lets you include a link to a video in your signature. It starts at $6 per month for an individual account. Business accounts cost $2 per user.
Goodbits
Goodbits helps you put together an email newsletter using drag-and-drop tools. It’s not necessarily a stand-alone tool, as it can be integrated with an existing Mailchimp account. Plans are priced based on the number of subscribers you have, and start at $19 per month.
Video Content Hubs
A content hub lets you centralize all your content, making it easy for people to find and connect with.
Vidyard
One of the services Vidyard, a video platform, offers is a content hub. It lets you put all of your videos in one location, without distracting ads. The company’s pricing is based on the range of services offered, which means you need to contact it directly for a quote.
Acquia
Acquia’s content hub isn’t designed specifically for video, but it can be an ideal tool for centralizing content in a range of formats.
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