Creating online video requires skills that are similar to producing traditional media. Over the next 3 posts, we will be focusing on the following topics:
- Distribution
- Community and social media
- Complimentary products
Distributing online video & related best practices:
The web has significantly reduced the cost of distributing online video. Ranging from free distribution services to paid platforms, the options are endless. However, not all distribution options are necessary or important. In this post, we’ll focus on 3 platforms that have the greatest overall benefit for content distributors.
- YouTube: Being the world’s largest video distribution site, YouTube should be your number one choice for distributing online video. YouTube attracts niche audiences as well as audiences that can make your video go viral. Along with excellent visibility, the site also offers advanced analysis tools. While new accounts are only restricted to uploading 10 minute segments, that restriction is lifted once you become a YouTube partner.
- Blip.TV: In terms of online video, Blip.TV has been around for a long time. With it’s recently updated publishing system, the service automatically syndicates to online destinations (AOL Video) as well as traditional platforms, such as TiVo. The service also offers a paid version which automatically creates iTunes feeds.
- iTunes: A few years ago, podcasts were huge. While their buzz has died down today, they’re still very relevant. For many long-running podcasts, a majority of their subscribers still access content via iTunes or another podcast software.
The 3 services above will automatically distribute your content to a large number of outlets and significantly increase your potential audience. With iTunes, it’s important to remember that your content needs to be readily and quickly accessible. If your current web-hosting provider cannot handle large amounts of traffic, subscribe to a service such as Amazon S3 or Rackspace Cloud Files. There is no up-front investment and the costs are directly related to usage.
