The popularity of video on demand has revolutionized the way videos are viewed and broadcasted over the web. VOD allows people to watch videos from any internet-enabled device at the time convenient to users. The convenience of viewing entertaining content, educational tutorials, etc. from virtually on any devices from anywhere is the beauty of VOD.
VOD is transforming itself from a marketing technique and evolving into a famous business model. While Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. are mainstream brands that have built their businesses around VOD but an increasing number of businesses of all sizes and niches are making it a key part of their business model. You can make your videos exclusively available to everyone online or your subscribers only. Basically, the content will remain online and in most cases, extensive video libraries are created.
In this blog, let’s explore in-depth on how to choose the best VOD platform with powerful features and interactive tools that enhances the virtual experience for your audience.
Why is Video Demand Important for Businesses?
Reports show that the video streaming industry is a lucrative one that is expected to be $70.5 billion by 2021. However, it is not just the business model, but also the efficacy of the VOD platform that makes it very popular. If you are a video production company with a competent business plan, you can start your own VOD platform to secure your own space in the market. Not just media companies, fitness brands, sports brands, educators, food bloggers, etc. have scope to develop their VOD platform to present excellent ways to generate profit from video content instead of just offering it as an addition to basic content. For example, Nia TV is a great example. Nia TV is an on demand fitness platform that offers users at-home workouts and podcasts to embrace a fit lifestyle.
Choosing the Best Video On Demand Platform Providers
Before launching your video on demand platform, you will have to build a strong library of videos especially if you are going to implement a subscription-based business. You must have a vast library of content your users feel worth to invest in. If you don’t have a large library but want you to launch your business, you can start with an advertisement or pay per view business model allowing your users to watch videos for free or pay for individual videos alone respectively.
While you can leverage free platforms like YouTube which has a built-in audience, creating your VOD websites is the best bet if you want to generate revenue by selling videos online and bringing more visitors to your website.
When you want to develop a VOD platform, it is equally important to choose the best video on demand platform providers. Choosing a white-label video streaming solution that can be personalized according to the requirements of your business is the best bet. Here are some of the important features to look for in your VOD solution to ensure you are signing up for the best deal that offers value for the money you spent.
Intuitive Search and Smart Recommendations
Intuitive search and smart video recommendations are one of the most important features of any on demand video streaming platform. Intuitive search allows to predict the query in real-time as the user types and suggests the videos similar to videos users are looking for. It also helps to search for videos using titles, categories, subcategories, and genre along with the ability to search for users in their username. Smart and personalized video recommendations are yet another important feature that delivers videos that match to the viewer’s preferences and search history
Unlimited Video Uploads and Categories
A good enterprise video streaming solution must be scalable enough to cater to your growing business. It must support unlimited video uploads and categories regardless of the niche.
Multi-Screen Support
Look for a solution that offers support for multiple devices to deliver a multi-screen viewing experience with the power of technology. There are video on demand platform providers who offer support for Android TV, along with Android and iOS apps, tablets, and other digital devices.
Reliable Video Streaming Server
Look for a service provider that supports reliable streaming no matter the device your users use or the network condition. If you want to know how to set up a video streaming server, it is important to know the quality of streaming you want to deliver. Ngnix server is an open-source web server that is used by some of the biggest enterprises like Google, Adobe, Autodesk, Cisco, Apple, Intel, LinkedIn, DuckDuckGo, and more. Nginx server effortlessly converts the HTTP format to HLS and RTMP format for the website, Android, and iOS respectively.
As the strong points of this streaming server are performance optimization and high concurrency and low memory usage, it outperforms other web servers. Some of the common features of this video streaming server are.
- Load balancing
- Asynchronous processing
- Reverse proxy with caching
- Web sockets
- FastCGI support with caching
SEO Friendly
To run a successful on demand video streaming platform, one of the important factors your enterprise video solution must have is SEO optimization. It must feature SEO optimizations that enable you to bring in more traffic and thereby more exposure to your video platform. Any user who searches for the videos in your platform must be able to easily find it with any common search engines. This is when an SEO friendly solution helps you to optimize your content and videos on Google and Bing.
Diverse Monetization Channels
An enterprise video streaming solution must be the one that allows supporting multiple monetization channels. Accelerate your revenue generation with monetization models like subscription-based, advertisement-based, transaction model (Pay-per-view), and hybrid monetization model. Flexible monetization support (like the one YouTube offers) allows your platform to monetize through both audio and video streaming efficiently.
Payment Integrations
If you are seriously thinking about how to start a video on demand business, you must expect your platform to cater to users with diverse payment requirements. While some of your users prefer to make payments on your video platform using credit cards, some might prefer to use online wallets.
Make sure you don’t miss out on any of your users just because they don’t find the most commonly available payment integrations in your video platform. Also ensure that the payment gateway you choose supports different monetization channels like subscription-based, ad-based, and pay-per-view, or a hybrid model that supports your business goals. A secure payment gateway will also make sure it supports different payment methods and make collecting payments from users simpler.
Dynamic Admin Panel
To run your video streaming business flexibly, you need to have full control over your business. A dynamic admin panel is the most significant aspect that helps you to control your account, videos, and users on your video platform.
It also helps in controlling the monetization aspects of your platform and collecting commissions. A powerful admin panel will also allow you to convert high-resolution videos to a lower resolution when uploading the videos if necessary making the uploading process fast and smooth.
Referral Programs
When you are launching an on demand video streaming platform, it is important to gain new users and referral codes work great for this purpose. Recommendations help to bring in new users to your video platform. When a new user registers to your video website using a referral code, your platform can offer some credits to them which will be stored in a built-in wallet. Look for an enterprise video streaming solution that offers this important feature.
Native Android and iOS Application
As we live in a smart digital world, a good number of your users would be those who use mobile devices to watch videos. This is exactly why you need native Android and iOS apps for your video streaming platform to increase your business exposure and promote the growth of your brand. Mobile apps can also be leveraged as a powerful marketing tool in researching and targeting your potential customers.
Analytics and Reports
The best enterprise video streaming solution features built-in tools for powerful analytics to track the performance of your videos and the platform in general. With this feature, you can easily determine what type of videos are driving more views to your video platform and facilitating better engagement. By analyzing the behavior of your users, you can bring in more exposure and revenue to your business.
Security
The security of your communications is critical. Choose video on demand platform providers who offer solutions with multiple layers of security natively built into the solution like a restriction to access page source elements and console, geofencing, etc. Deploy secure experiences that delight your users with safe and secure navigation, search, and video delivery across all platforms and devices.
Lead the Video Streaming Industry with your On-Demand Video Streaming Platform
Redefine the way entertainment is delivered to your customers by building your own video on demand platform. If you are looking for how to start a video on demand business, choose StreamView which is one of the best VOD solutions that facilitates creating a professional video website for a competitive price.
Being a white label VOD solution, it allows you to launch a highly customizable and scalable video platform. StreamView enables you to launch your VOD business quickly with a professional website and mobile apps without putting in a hefty amount of money. Standard back end structure and powerful built-in features allow you to launch your project with ease. You get the complete source code and advanced technology for a single time payment.
StreamView allows you to create a platform that is simple and intuitive to use and can be easy for people with no advanced technical knowledge. Pre-built templates are available to display your videos, which can be customized according to your requirements. Additionally, it also provides all the above mentioned important features to deliver the best possible user experience to your customers.
Conclusion
Hope this blog has helped you figure out the best on demand video streaming platform for your requirements. To make your final choice, take advantage of the free trials to test all the features, and to see if it is compatible with your business needs. If you are looking for an enterprise video solution that matches your unique business requirements, we are here to help you.