YouTube Vs. Vimeo? Which Is Best For Video Marketing?

YouTube vs VimeoAlthough YouTube is clearly the biggest video show in town, it isn’t the only one worth checking out. Vimeo is steadily climbing the ranks as not only an alternative, but an option that brings something of its own to the table. This article will pit Vimeo against web giant YouTube in attempt to determine which is best for video marketers.

Access

Businesses looking to get the most from Vimeo will probably want to sign up for a Pro account. The professional version gets you a generous 50 GB in storage, unlimited bandwidth, and compatibility with TVs, tablets, and mobile devices. Vimeo Pro has a lot to offer, but the asking price of around $200 per year is going to be a turnoff for some businesses.

YouTube, on the other hand, is completely free to use. Your free account comes with all the fixings, including powerful video editing tools and the ability to upload unlimited videos. If your videos generate a large number of views or your channel attracts a lot of subscribers, you could become eligible for YouTube’s revenue sharing program, which gives you the opportunity to make money from ads.

Reach

If you want your videos to reach as many people as possible, than YouTube is the place to be. This site has a huge audience that attributes to the billions of views it sees on a daily basis. It also has the benefit of having great authority with Google, which means that a little optimization can go a long way in making sure your videos enjoy nice visibility in the top search engine. YouTube itself is ranked as the second largest search engine, so just having content there could boost your visibility big time.

Vimeo is getting there, but its audience is much smaller than YouTube’s. That aspect alone means your exposure potential is limited right off the bat. However, a smaller audience means less competition, which could work to your advantage when it comes to narrowing your focus for targeted results.

Customization

YouTube gives channel owners the power to customize the look and feel of their channel. You can control various aspects of the layout, including the background, colors, and fonts that can be changed to suit your preferences. Also included is the ability to upload custom banners and avatars as well as implement background links that lead to your online destinations outside of YouTube.

Vimeo takes customization to a new level by giving you control over the look and feel of your video player. For example, you can incorporate a company logo or image into the player viewers use to watch your content, which is very powerful luxury from a branding standpoint. YouTube’s logo is forever attached to its player, and that factor could have some taking your brand less serious.

Analytics

In 2011, YouTube introduced YouTube Analytics, a tool that provided a much more detailed look than the system it was designed to replace. In addition to serving up an at-a-glance overview of your core statistics, YouTube Analytics allows you to drill deep into metrics that tell you which videos are making the biggest impact and the retention they have on your audience. This self-service tool also includes an interactive map that lets you see where in the world your videos are trending.

YouTube Analytics is a powerful measuring stick, but some have argued that Vimeo’s version is even better. Advanced Statistics with Vimeo not only gives you the ability to see who is watching your video content, but how they are interacting with it in the way of comments and likes, where they are interacting with it, and when as you can view statistics over weekly, monthly, or yearly periods. You can also see where online your videos have been embedded, how many times they have been loaded, completed, and more.

The Verdict

Sorry to disappoint you, but in the case of YouTube vs. Vimeo for video marketing supremacy, there is no clear cut winner. The best platform depends on your business and what it needs to make an impact. However, we will help you make this important decision with some recommendations.

If you want to save money or go after the pond with the most fish, then YouTube is the answer. If you want a brand-friendly solution that gives you a little more control and the ability to better target your efforts, Vimeo can probably accommodate you best. There is no right or wrong, but if you carefully evaluate your individual situation, you will be able to make the right decision.

21 thoughts on “YouTube Vs. Vimeo? Which Is Best For Video Marketing?”

  1. Interesting discussion! Well, I think that YouTube may be more suitable if high volume and high exposure are key considerations for your videos. If brand reputation and detailed analytics are more important, then Vimeo may be the better choice. In either case, your business will benefit from being part of the vastly popular, online video movement.

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  2. Youtube is the best video marketing site because it is not only use as a video sharing but also as a search engines.vimeo is also good video sharing website but I don’t think it would more popular than you tube.

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  3. YouTube is undoubtedly the best online video sharing site. It is even used as a search engine. On the other hand, Vimeo is kind of strict and require a small fee to upgrade your account.

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  4. I would choose YouTube anytime, its one of the biggest compnay has has just millions of users 😉 VIEMO not soon 😛

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  5. Absolutely you tube is the best video network site i think No any one better networking site in video marketing expecting you tube.

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  6. Well, the both are the most promising option for the video marketing but my friend, comparably, no one can stand in front of YouTube. Because of YouTube provides elegant option for promotion and marketing. It’s also affordable and effective to achieve traffic.

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  7. Youtube is still the best video marketing place for me as they have a large audience/users. $200 is also a big money where I could spend investing on other stuff.

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  8. Facebook was the only social networking site that was successful in taking over the place of Orkut in the networking world. Orkut has almost vanished now from the list of the most used social networking sites. However, Youtube cannot be taken over by anything even close to similar.

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  9. Youtube is the best video marketing site because it is not only use as a video sharing but also as a search engines. They have millions of users which you can take advantage to market your products and websites for free. Vimeo is a lot stricter.

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  10. youtube clearly wins, alone because of the reach and new marketing channel.
    vimeo only works if I want to have high quality videos and the only distribution channel is my own website…

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  11. Interesting post! In my opinion, Vimeo is great video platform and is certainly worth using! However, I personally would prefer YouTube, primarily because it is free of cost, as opposed to $200 a year for a Vimeo Pro account.

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  12. Youtube is just so famous known to everyone using internet. I have not heard about Vimeo and this is the first place, I came across this social networking site that works on the same grounds as that of Youtube. However, Youtube is the best video sharing site so far.

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  13. I think YouTube is by far the better choice. There is no competition with regards to reach and business owners are probably going to want to reach more people, period. The unlimited (free) storage and potential for revenue sharing has to be a consideration for busine$$ owners as well. Vimeo is solid but just not really close to YouTube at this point in my opinion.

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  14. I think yours was my most useful tip! There really is no excuse for anyone not to try video with such simple steps! Thanks for sharing it with us!

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  15. It seems like a huge setback for Vimeo to charge for storage, since YouTube does this for free, and is already more widely used.

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  16. Youtube is the best, if you often embed youtube videos , you would have known that they are using iframe that helps us in defining height and width of a video just like that, this is more important as far as marketing is concerned, well hey vimeo can’t match the reach of youtube, its massive..

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