Online-video technology is changing the world. Without it, the iPhone would not be near as interesting. Without it, citizen journalism would not be as compelling.
Smartphones, video cams and wearable cameras are just about everywhere. You can use one to share your company story.
YouTube is well-known for online video. Here are six other video-hosting sites you might want to know about for hosting your company video.
Animoto
This is one of my favorite video-hosting and video-creation sites. You can upload photo images and combine them into a hip video. You can add your own video and audio clips, too. The website says, “The heart of Animoto is its newly developed patent-pending Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology that thinks like an actual director and editor.”
In plain language, it takes your stuff and makes it into a cool video that you host on the Animoto site or embed on yours.
Flickr
The photo-sharing site allows a lot of video. Upgrade to the Pro version for $25 a year, and Flickr lets you upload unlimited video and photos. It's more storage and bandwidth than you can ever hope to use.
The free plan lets you upload two videos a month, which should be plenty for the average small-business owner getting started in online video.
Screencast.com
Using Camtasia or Jing (a free video tool), you can upload your video creations direct to TechSmith’s Screencast.com. It offers a generous free level, and pro accounts start at $10 a month. I’ve used Camtasia for years as a desktop solution and love it. Jing is a light version that does quick video walk-throughs (think online tutorial) by capturing your screen and sharing it with your audience.
Slideshare
If you’re accustomed to uploading business slide presentations to Slideshare, then you may know that their free plan does not allow video uploads. But the Silver plan at $19 a month does allow 10 videos a month. It gives you a decent amount of control for that fee. However, part of the value is the platform reach and reputation—is it well-known and trustworthy.
Kaltura
If you want to host video on your own site and control the program on your own server, Kaltura is a good open source solution. This self-hosted online-video platform is free and has a solid support community.
Vimeo
The free level of Vimeo lets you upload one HD video a week and have basic controls over the video player. Small businesses should read the rules for “no commercial use” language. Upgrade to Pro if you want to share marketing messages. Pro levels include annual fees: Plus ($60) and Pro ($200).
Hosting sites help you market
You can upload video on Facebook, of course, but I haven’t found it as user-friendly and accessible as other video platforms. My preference is to upload elsewhere, then embed it to Facebook.
Each of the video-hosting platforms here has a combination of brand power and utility. Using these sites, small-business owners are able to quickly start using video as a marketing tool.
There are plenty more video-hosting sites. Let us know which are your favorites, and why.
Image Credit: Looxcie (a new hands-free wearable video camera)
