With 20% VAT now being added to independent school fees, making the most of every pound in your marketing budget has never been more crucial. Video marketing, in particular, is a powerful tool – but did you know that where and how you host your videos can make a massive difference in their performance?
It’s not just about producing a great video; it’s about making sure it reaches the right audience, delivers on your objectives, and plays a key role in your recruitment strategy.
Many schools stick to embedding videos from their YouTube channels – and while YouTube has its perks, is it really the best choice for your school’s recruitment needs? The good news is there are lots of other video hosting options out there, like Wistia, Vidyard, Vimeo and Sprout, which might give you a better return-on-investment. Before we go on, in the interests of full transparency, Small Films does not have a commercial relationship with any of these hosting platforms – we can be completely objective and just give you our honest opinions.
In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of YouTube and compare it to these alternative platforms.
Whether you’re looking for better branding, stronger analytics, in-built marketing tools, or increased control, we’ll help you decide which video player is the perfect fit for your school’s marketing strategy.
Let’s dive in!
First of all, let’s take a look at embedding videos from your school’s YouTube channel – it’s quick and easy after all.
Embedding videos directly from your school’s YouTube channel has several pros and cons. Here’s a breakdown to help assess whether this approach is best suited to your school’s marketing strategy:
Pros of embedding videos from YouTube include:
- SEO Benefits: Videos hosted on YouTube are indexed by Google, which can increase your school’s visibility in search results and attract prospective families.
- Cross-Promotion Potential: Embedded videos can drive traffic to your YouTube channel, potentially gaining subscribers and expanding your audience.
- Free Hosting: YouTube is free to use, making it an accessible option for schools with limited marketing budgets.
- Unlimited Storage: YouTube can host an unlimited number of videos without additional costs.
- Ease of Embedding: YouTube makes it simple to generate embed codes for videos, requiring minimal technical expertise to add them to your website.
- Analytics Access: YouTube offers basic analytics, such as views, watch time, and audience demographics, which can provide insight into video performance.
- Shareability: Embedded YouTube videos can easily be shared across other platforms, increasing the reach of your school’s content.
However, as YouTube is a free service, it inevitably comes with other costs and a few downsides:
- Competing Content: YouTube videos often include ads, suggested videos, or competitor content that can distract viewers or lead them away from your website.
- Brand Dilution: The presence of unrelated content on YouTube can make your school’s messaging less cohesive and professional.
- Limited Customisation: YouTube’s embed player has limited branding options, making it challenging to fully align the video with your school’s visual identity.
- Privacy Concerns: Schools may find it difficult to control access to certain videos, such as those intended for a private audience (e.g., prospective families only).
- Slow Loading Times: Videos embedded from YouTube can sometimes impact your website’s loading speed, affecting user experience and SEO rankings.
- Basic Analytics: While YouTube analytics are useful, they are not as advanced as those offered by specialised video platforms like Wistia, Vimeo or Vidyard.
- Lack of Lead Generation Tools: YouTube does not offer built-in features like email capture forms or call-to-action buttons, which are critical for recruitment-focused marketing.
Embedding videos from YouTube is a great starting point for schools that prioritise cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and broad reach.
However, for schools looking to maximise branding, privacy, and lead generation, or to eliminate distractions, alternative video hosting platforms may provide better results.
Let’s take a look at the alternatives.
Best For: Schools focused on branding, analytics, and lead generation.
Key Features
- Custom Branding: Fully customisable video players with logos and brand colours.
- Advanced Analytics: Heatmaps, engagement data, and tracking individual viewers.
- Lead Capture Tools: Add email capture forms and CTAs directly to videos.
- SEO Optimisation: Tools to optimise videos for search engine indexing.
- A/B Testing: Experiment with different thumbnails and player configurations.
Pros
- Tailored for marketers, offering actionable insights.
- Tools to drive and track lead generation.
- Professional, distraction-free video experience.
Cons
- Higher pricing compared to YouTube.
- Free plan offers limited functionality.
Best For: Schools prioritising personalised outreach and CRM integration.
Key Features
- Personalised Videos: Create videos tailored to specific families or groups.
- Interactive Elements: Add quizzes, CTAs, and clickable links to videos.
- CRM Integration: Seamless compatibility with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo.
- Advanced Analytics: Track viewer engagement and video ROI.
Pros
- Ideal for nurturing prospective families with personalised content.
- Interactive tools encourage deeper engagement.
- Strong focus on measuring marketing effectiveness.
Cons
- Higher learning curve to utilise advanced features.
- Pricing may be a barrier for smaller schools.
Best For: Schools seeking a professional, ad-free experience on a budget.
Key Features
- Customisable Players: Add branding elements like logos and colours.
- Privacy Options: Password-protected videos and domain-level embedding.
- Collaboration Tools: Team features for video reviews and approvals.
- Marketing Integrations: Compatible with tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot.
Pros
- Affordable and straightforward for most schools.
- Clean, ad-free presentation ideal for maintaining a professional image.
- Advanced privacy controls.
Cons
- Smaller reach compared to YouTube.
- Lacks some lead-generation features of Wistia or Vidyard.
Best For: Schools looking for a balance of cost, functionality, and privacy.
Key Features
- Flexible Privacy Controls: Restrict access via passwords or specific domains.
- Lead Capture Tools: Add forms and CTAs within videos.
- Video Analytics: Track engagement, viewer locations, and devices.
- Live Streaming: High-quality live broadcasts for events like open days.
Pros
- Affordable pricing for schools of all sizes.
- Robust privacy settings to target specific audiences.
- User-friendly interface with good marketing features.
Cons
- Lacks the extensive analytics and CRM integrations of Wistia or Vidyard.
- Fewer advanced customisation options compared to other platforms.
In summary … which video platform is best for your school?
- YouTube: Starting point for schools that prioritise cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and broad reach.
- Wistia: Ideal if you want to optimise videos for recruitment, track engagement, and use advanced branding tools.
- Vidyard: Great for personalised campaigns and schools leveraging CRM systems for lead management.
- Vimeo: Perfect for schools prioritising professionalism and simplicity on a budget.
- SproutVideo: A cost-effective solution for privacy-conscious schools with a focus on live events.
Overall, while YouTube is an excellent starting point for schools thanks to its vast reach, cost-effectiveness, and powerful SEO capabilities, relying solely on it may limit your video marketing strategy’s potential.
Exploring alternative platforms like Wistia, Vidyard, Vimeo or SproutVideo can offer enhanced branding, advanced analytics, and privacy controls that align more closely with the specific needs of independent schools.
However, this doesn’t mean abandoning YouTube altogether. Maintaining an active and engaging YouTube channel is still crucial for building awareness and expanding your reach. Make sure you regularly upload high-quality, compelling video content, and take full advantage of YouTube’s SEO tools – such as tags, descriptions, and thumbnails – to ensure your videos are easily discoverable.
By balancing YouTube’s mass appeal with the targeted benefits of specialised video hosting platforms, your school can create a robust, multifaceted video marketing strategy that stands out and delivers results.
As a marketer at a school, you play a crucial role in crafting a compelling marketing campaign that resonates with your target audience. One of the key elements of a successful marketing strategy is the creation of personas, which helps you understand your audience better and tailor your messages to their needs and preferences. In this blog post from the Small Films team, we explore how to create personas specifically for school marketing, addressing the importance of targeting parents effectively.
