by Ydraw | Aug 16, 2018 | Creative Marketing, Explainer Video, Marketing, Social Media Marketing, video, Video Content, video hosting, Video Marketing, video online marketing
Has this ever happened to you?
You’ve produced new video content, created a buzz, promoted the living crud out of it and shared it on social media but even optimizing the title and description still didn’t get you the views that you were hoping for.
What went wrong?
One of the biggest challenges facing anyone in marketing is figuring out how to break through the noise to reach your customers.
While great video content is crucial, perhaps there’s something simple you may have missed:
Subtitles.
Captioning your videos can have a HUGE effect on how successful they are. This is true for movies, TV shows, social media videos, training content, and any other kind of video you might record or share.
Why are subtitles so important?
1) Not everyone watching your video can hear it.
2) Subtitles improve comprehension
3) Some people actually prefer watching videos with subtitles even if they don’t have to. (My teenage daughter is like this; I have to turn off the captions on Netflix every time after she watches something. Every. Dang. Time.)
4) Viewers are more engaged. 
As more people are producing high-quality video content, social networks like Facebook have made it easier to post and share videos on their platforms.
But do you know what’s the most annoying thing about scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed? When the air of silence is violently stabbed by the blaring audio from the video you just scrolled over! This is why social platforms have made ‘mute’ the default volume setting for videos that auto-play. As a result, many users are likely to watch your video without actually turning on the audio.
Captioning videos can help guarantee your viewers get the message, even if they don’t actually listen to what you have to say.
Beyond making your videos more accessible, captions keep your content competitive within the social media landscape and can even boost your SEO!
Everything you’d ever want to know about subtitles and eye tracking software can be found here.
http://refractory.unimelb.edu.au/2015/02/07/kruger-szarkowska-krejtz/
Did I read that entire article?… um… no (totally skimmed it) but what I CAN affirm is that if I’m awake in bed next to a sleepy spouse, eating lunch in a crowded restaurant, riding the bus, quietly not paying attention in church or a number of other moments where I’d choose silence; a video with subtitles will capture and keep my attention when a non-captioned video would just get lost in the upward scroll of oblivion.
Test it out for yourself.
Take a marketing video you’ve already produce and slap some captions on it. (If you don’t have caption-slapping abilities… Ydraw can do that for ya in a jiffy!)
Then launch that video into social media cyberspace and see what happens when your watchers become readers.
Written by: Lesa Thomas
by Jace Vernon | Jul 29, 2013 | video, video hosting
YouTube vs. Other Video Hosting Sites // the Good and the Bad
When you think of online video hosting, the first site that comes to mind is YouTube – and this also applies to the 80% of Americans with internet access. If you have a whiteboard animated video for your business that you want the world to see, uploading it to YouTube should be your first move. However, what exactly are you getting into by letting YouTube host your video, and are there any other viable online video hosting options? Here’s a list of YouTube’s good and bad, followed next time by a list of several video hosting sites that deserve a second look:
The Good:
- Free! This is perhaps YouTube’s greatest quality – all you need are a username and password and you can upload as many videos as your little heart desires
- YouTube provides batch uploading and multiple encoding options
- Users can upload videos up to 15 minutes long and accepts file sizes up to 2GB
- YouTube has one of the largest viewerships on the internet and the largest audience of any video site
- YouTube is the second largest search engine, and because it’s owned by Google, all of its content is indexed into Google’s search engine
- YouTube has a social nature which makes it great for sharing across major social networks and embedding into websites alike
- Though limited, there are customization options for your video player and channel design
- There are several SEO features, and you can add a link to your website in the description section
- You can search for trending keywords and optimize your videos for them
- Resolution on Youtube can be up to 1080p or higher, which is generously high video quality for a free site
- Embedding your video is easy with customizable player dimensions. YouTube also allows embedding of entire playlists or channels
The Bad:
- During times of high traffic, viewers may experience inconsistent streaming which can lead to video abandonment
- Though there are customization options, they are limited to your programming knowledge
- YouTube limits your thumbnail choices to three random images
- Many companies and schools block internet users from browsing YouTube, restricting them from viewing your services
- If your video or its thumbnail image shows up in Google’s search results there’s no guarantee they will be for your own domain
- You can’t use your own ad network, and sometimes the advertisements featured on your video can be for a competitor – when it comes to ads, YouTube has the only say
- There is virtually no customer service – often questions or requests will not be answered or you will only receive non-specific generated answers
- Their user guidelines are arbitrary at best and difficult to dispute, and YouTube has the right to shut down your account at any time for any purpose
Though YouTube has its setbacks, it is still the #1 most recommended video hosting site. You just can’t beat free, even with several restrictions. However, if you’re on the search for the perfect video hosting site and YouTube doesn’t meet your requirements, check back for a list of the next top video hosting options.
+Jessica Anderson
by Ydraw | Sep 10, 2012 | video hosting
Whiteboard Video Hosting
Over the coming weeks months and years Ydraw is going to help all their clients with video marketing and hosting. A lot of our clients have amazing videos but they really do not understand the importance of video marketing. We are going to help so get ready. Questions like, where do I host my video? How do I raise the views? What’s the best route for my video to get the most shares? How do I bring in the most leads from my video? We will be answering all of these questions soon! Aaaaand…Ydraw can now host videos! Isn’t that the best, most exciting news ever? MORE INFO COMING SOON!
Soon we will tell you how to you can host your video with us, all while getting the most important information about marketing your video, it will all be in one place. Stay tuned for more exciting information and developments from Ydraw in the near future.
Here a Fun Quote We’ve Found:
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean & nasty place & it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and KEEP MOVING FORWARD. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and NOT POINTING FINGERS saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. YOU’RE BETTER THAN THAT!”