Video on demand (VOD) is the future and the future is here. All over the web, new services are popping up, offering consumers a new way to view their media. Some of that is already published media that they have bought the rights to (Shudder). Others are original content made by these services, giving them a unique platform where people can enjoy new kinds of video series they couldn’t see anywhere else (the now-defunct Seeso). Other platforms allow for both (Go90).
Over the top programming puts control into the viewer’s hands and Netflix, Hulu and other services show us the value of the business model.
Modern-day technology allows anyone – from huge brands to small businesses – to create their own VOD channel. Similarly to how blogging allowed anyone to become a journalist or a book author years ago, VOD solutions allow all of use to become broadcasters to build niche video brands of our own.
If you are considering creating your own, you may be wondering how to go about getting started.
Video-on-demand (VOD) content ideas for digital publishers and small businesses
While the idea of Video-On-Demand marketing sounds fun, how does it work in practice? Here are a few ideas for you to make it easier:
1. Re-package your Youtube channel
For an active Youtube video creator, VOD may be a natural extension of what they are already doing anyway. All they need to do is to collect past videos, organize them properly for easier consumption and pack them into a well-structured video course.
This is exactly what Tim Milgram, a well-known dancing teacher and a popular Youtuber, did by setting up his video lessons into a standalone site and promoting it from already built marketing channels.
2. Allow access to your past webinars
Webinar marketing is one of the most effective lead generation tactics out there. It’s easy to convince your site readers to sign up to a free educational event they can join from the comfort of their homes.
But how do you best utilize past webinars?
Surely there should be a way to get more of that effort!
Creating a well-organized repository of your past webinars and allowing your readers to get full access in exchange for them sharing their email is the most natural and effective way to generate even more leads from your webinar marketing efforts.
ClickMeeting allows you to easily host and re-purpose webinars. It allows custom branding, customized invitations, Facebook and Youtube streaming and more. Plus they offer an on-demand webinar feature allowing you to record and organize your webinars for easy access and more leads:
Furthermore, ClickMeeting integrates with a variety of platforms including PayPal, Google Analytics and major CRM solutions.
3. Re-package your text content
This may require a bit more work but if you have a bunch of written tutorials, turning them into videos is totally doable.
There’s a bunch of video creation and editing tools that require no technical skills. And with tools like Text Optimizer, you’ll have no problem expanding your initial content to provide more value, worth subscribing to.
Text Optimizer uses semantic analysis to cluster your target topic into related concepts and subtopics for you to expand your content beyond the initial scope. It’s a great tool for topic discovery and content optimization.
Putting everything together
The beauty of the VOD idea is that you can utilize all your existing marketing channels and engage your whole team in the process. Let’s say part of your team is responsible for content writing while other people keep your social media channels active and there’s an absolutely separate island of people handling web design and/or video creation.
A VOD strategy can put everything together uniting your whole company behind one exciting goal, i.e. creating a branded VOD channel.
There are many pieces to the puzzle, from finding old content to finding the best way to re-package it into videos, so using collaborative tools that could help organize the process is the best idea here.
You can start by creating Trello boards to organize upcoming tasks and deadlines. There’s a variety of more collaborative tools to choose from. I also use Content Cal to break the process into various campaigns to ensure each new piece is promoted properly and we create enough buzz for the upcoming channel:
ContentCal unites your team allowing every employee to craft social media updates promoting their piece of content. You can assign moderators for them to ensure the social media marketing schedule is consistent.
VOD platforms to choose from
So how do you actually put a VOD channel together? The next step is finding the right streaming video on demand platform to launch from.
Here are a few Video-On-Demand (VOD) platforms to start your own streaming service:
StreamHash
StreamHash doesn’t mess around. They immediately let you know that they are a Netflix clone, with a similar layout and features. But they are also a white-label service that allows people to launch their own version with their own content.
You buy it once and it is yours, so no monthly subscriptions. They have a free version to try it out, a premium version for just under $150 and then the ultimate version for $700 for those who are serious. That one includes a mobile service.
Kinow
Kinow help to market your video using a smart assistant that gives you more insight into your user base.
This is excellent for anyone who is making their own content for their service as it provides information on who is watching what, how often and other important details that could help you narrow both your content and marketing strategies.
They tout their “technical solution” so there is no price. They instead quote based on the needs of your brand, customizing the experience and cost.
Vidizmo
Looking for something a bit more large-scale? Enterprise video platforms are less common than smaller ones thanks to the business model that opens up new doors from startups.
But Vidizmo is an enterprise-level platform with features tailored to bigger operations. This platform includes training and onboarding, live event streams, webinars, company communication and more. You can get a quote by filling out a request form, as with most enterprise products.
Cleeng
If you are worried about pricing your course, Cleeng is a great way to overcome that issue. They give you total control over your global pricing scale by letting you work based on videos, not the service itself.
You can also control your subscribers’ pricing model which is an awesome feature that is surprisingly lacking in modern-day VOD services. Some pretty recognizable names, like Epicurious, use this tool. Try it if you are planning on setting a certain number of videos and first want to test the waters before you really commit.
I would appreciate a little bit more clarity with pricing. From how it looks, you pay more as you generate more subscribers.
Finally, here are more VOD solutions (and their comparisons):
The majority of the big players in VOD industry are not willing to disclose their pricing making it a bit tough to compare them to other platforms, because, let’s face it, price is the most essential variable there.
But the good news is, there’s a huge variety of solutions, so you are likely yo find one that best suits your needs.
Do you have a VOD platform to add to the list? Let us know in the comments!
