5 Reasons to Use Vimeo For Your Videos

I am not a video blogger (or vlogger) and I’ve made a conscious effort not to be because I really do prefer writing to articulate my thoughts. However, people still love to watch video, and for me as a digital strategist and speaker, it’s important that I still have some watchable footage of me. I’ve also done a lot of press and features, so instead of using my defunct (well, never really active) YouTube channel to house them, I use Vimeo. It made sense, especially because I am not trying to monetize them. I’m using it mostly as a visual portfolio, not an audience engagement tool.

Here 5 reasons why I use Vimeo (my account is http://vimeo.com/luvvie) for my videos.

Vimeo Videos are Higher Quality

Overall, Vimeo videos look high quality because the platform focuses on HD (high definition). I think they’re crisper than the ones on YouTube and this makes them more interesting to watch.

Vimeo Videos are Ad Free

Ads are everywhere we look now and one thing I really appreciate about Vimeo is that the videos do not have any ads or banners embedded on them. There’s nothing to X out or skip through when you wanna watch a video. It is just the content you want to see. If you want to put an ad on your video, you’d need to have it IN the video.

Awesomely Luvvie for XFINITY’s Innovators Campaign from Luvvie Ajayi on Vimeo.

Vimeo’s Platform Has a Clean Layout

Without ads everywhere, Vimeo seems to prioritize user experience. The platform is really clean, so you aren’t distracted by too many options. The area around videos is white space, not other ads. It is great for those of us with no attention spans, who are always ready to click elsewhere.

Vimeo Has Great Privacy Controls

Vimeo has pretty powerful privacy controls, and they’re easy to deal with since the interface makes it straightforward. You can password protect your videos individually so you control who gets to see them. You can have private videos for family and friends, or even have a video media kit that only important business contacts can view.

YouTube allows privacy control too but ultimately, I am a huge fan of Vimeo over it because of:

Vimeo has a Calmer Community

Let’s face it. YouTube commenters are not known for being pleasant people. In fact, the road to hell is paved with the comments from YT. But I guess anywhere that has the volume of people that it has will have a lot of harshness too. Still, the community over there and the comments (even with moderation) are so overwhelming. Vimeo is a big draw for me because you can post a video, make it public and expect that there won’t be hate hate hate hate in the comments.

There’s even a “Vimeo Guidelines” section that emphasizes that people be decent human beings.

“The Internet is a pretty cool place, but it also gives people the means to insult and/or harass others without taking full responsibility for their words. We request, nay— we insist! — that while you are on Vimeo you respect the people you encounter, as well as their videos. You are free to disagree and/or provide critical feedback, but please keep it respectful.”

Vimeo can be pretty niche. A lot of creative professionals use it, and the primary goals of the videos posted there aren’t to go “viral.” I think that’s a good thing because people place more emphasis on quality than just throwing anything up.

Anywho, the perks of Vimeo increase for those who have Plus or PRO subscription. Like: enhanced privacy, priority support, deeper analytics (stats) and customization. For Vimeo PRO, there’s even On Demand Worldwide Distribution. Sign up and Save 10% on Vimeo Plus or PRO! Use promo code: AWESOMELYTECH10. It’s good until March 31!

Thank you Vimeo for sponsoring this #YourVideosBelongonVimeo post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Vimeo, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.