Due to the ongoing pandemic, many businesses are taking their businesses virtual by streaming online video as a way to reach their audiences restricted at homes. 2020 has seen a massive boom in online video and it’s more important than ever to consider a video monetization strategy. Don’t worry, we have got you covered. Read on to find out the top monetization strategies that people have used to build profitable, thriving businesses around video.
Why Pay when I Can Upload Videos for Free to YouTube?
This is the most common question live streamers ask! Well, considering YouTube is a video giant that has changed the dynamics of video by placing it in the palm of our hands, it’s a tough place to monetize online video. YouTube is not as overtly advantageous as it seems; here’s why:
- YouTube is NOT a free platform for streaming videos- they take the lion’s share as far as profit sharing is concerned, i.e. roughly 45% of your ad revenue. So, monetizing content through your own platform can help win back some of that lost profit and prove beneficial in the long run. Most influencers have their own streaming platforms as they do not want to part with their hard-earned money.
- YouTube is highly competitive. If you are new to the streaming business and want to reach out to your audience and have budget constraints, YouTube can help you start out. Most starters try their luck on YouTube first. But, in the long-run, you realize that you are losing out on millions of followers as there are hundreds like you out there already. Due to YouTube’s excellent recommendations, chances are that your audience will choose you over your competitors. Making your presence felt, therefore, on a platform that is already overcrowded, is a bad idea.
- If you are thinking about embedding your videos in a site that links to YouTube, it’s not a good idea for your brand image as it hampers the video-experience significantly. Plus, if you want video streamed to a smart TV or mobile app, you would need your own video workflow.
How to Monetize your Online Video?
Try the Freemium Model
A portmanteau for “Free” & “Premium”, Freemium model has become a common monetization strategy over the years. There is a low barrier to entry where users get basic functionality & access at no cost.
A freemium model is designed to give a particular service free of cost to the consumers. It is the first step towards building a relationship with them.
By incorporating the freemium model in your video streaming business, you can offer your users a lot of free videos initially while reserving exclusive content for a premium service at a higher cost, later.
Take the example of music streaming giant Spotify which launched its freemium service to provide access to 50 million free tacks to its users. But, here’s the catch – Spotify’s freemium service isn’t entirely free – it is ad-supported. So, users get to listen to songs while listening to some ads in between the tracks.
Indian Video streaming platform Disney+Hotstar also has a freemium model where users get to scout videos for free, of course by watching ads in between. These people watching freemium content become your freemium subscribers – subscribers who are currently active users of your platform providing zero revenue for now but have great potential to become paid subscribers at a later stage.
Ad-Supported
Known as the most tried-and-tested video monetization strategy, incorporating advertisements in your video streaming platform can open a whole new vista to gain revenue.
Did you know that AVoD spending in the U.S. is set to surge in the next few years and surpass 24.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2025?
This is how AVoD works- companies acquire content from creators and publish it on their platform for free. If the content is popular, advertisers pay a lucrative percentage and that’s how you incur revenue. You can enable AVOD on individual videos and set up ad formats like Pre-Roll, Mid-Roll, and Post-Roll for monetizations.
Muvi lets you monetize your videos, on-demand, or Live Streaming through Ads. Muvi’s HTML5 video player is VAST and VPAID compliant and supports integration with Ad Servers and Ad Networks. You can build your video streaming platform through Muvi which can be integrated with Muvi Server to accurately deliver ads to your users based on their streaming preferences, be it in-content or display ads.
Paid Subscriptions or SVoDs
The most popular method of video monetization, SVOD works by users paying a recurring monthly subscription fee to get access to your videos. You can compel your free subscribers to ditch the free ad-supported plan and upgrade to the premium ad-free plan for a minimal cost for uninterrupted video streaming.
Devise multiple price plans to target different audiences- students, families, etc so that different people can choose their plans effectively based on their priorities. Incorporate attractive features in the premium plan like high audio video streaming, download option, unlimited skips and so on that would lure customers to ditch the free version and enter the paid subscription plan.
The global SVoD industry was dominated by the United States in 2019, with the U.S. market accounting for 43 percent of revenue worldwide.
Muvi lets you monetize your on-demand as well as live videos by offering the option of Subscriptions to your viewers.
TVoD or PPV
TVoD or Transactional Video on Demand is referred to as the Pay-Per-View or rental model wherein you pay for only as much you consume. Working for both live and on-demand, this allows your viewers the ability to purchase a ticket in order to watch a piece of premium content. PPV lets you restrict access to videos bythe number of views or number of hours or both or even an entire TV Series or Individual Season for existing Subscribers and Nonsubscribers.
Donation Monetization
Donation-based crowdfunding is a way to source money for a project by asking your end-users to individually donate a small amount to it. This is a unique monetization model offered only by Muvi to make the best use of your production budget.
How does it work? Well, let’s say, you are confused if to produce the subsequent season of a popular series on your channel? All you need to do is set a goal for the donation against your content and let your end-users donate their store credits and crowdfunding will show how much percentage of the goal is achieved.
Wrapping up,
No matter what kind of video monetization you opt for, it’s important to have a strategy. With a well-executed strategy, your video business will be up and running in no time with a steady inflow of revenue.
Muvi supports all popular formats of video monetizations from Subscription (SVOD), Transactional (TVOD) or Electronic Sell-Thru (EST), Video Ad-Supported (AVOD) model, crowdfunding, pre-pay videos and coupons or a combination of all!
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