Low-Cost Video Embeds, Box.com and the Value of Redundancy for Creators

Creating videos is now a large part of every creator's experience. There are two important considerations when working with video that every creator should consider: delivery and content redundancy.

Creating videos is now a large part of every creator's experience. From courses to content to holding meetings online you are live baby, live! 🎬

There are two important considerations when moving into the world a video that every creator should consider. I'm not just talking about your backdrop or your lighting, but the basic infrastructure around delivery and content redundancy.

Please Note: This guidance is specific to new and emerging creators, not for those of you with a vibrant online business already. Although maybe you can learn something!

Why Video as a New Creator?

The most powerful reason comes down to this: connect you directly with your audience. It's a very intimate experience where the user can be directly connected with you as you teach, communicate, share your message.

Video is an investment, not only on your part in terms of the production, creation and storage. Because it puts you directly in front of your audience, it's completely worthwhile. It brings written content to life.

Video makes all of your content three-dimensional by making the experience human.

More importantly, videos can last forever. This is the easiest way to create an element of evergreen continent that you can continue to share over and over again.

Examples include welcome videos to new members. Introductory courses that everyone needs to take. Weekly check-in messages delivered on the regular.

It is also investment on the part of the recipient. They need to download her access your video. They need to have the time to watch it, and be motivated to. And presumably, they need to learn or be able to take action when the video is done.

Why Host Your Videos Online as a New Creator?

The number one reason you should host your videos online in someway shape or form is redundancy.

  • If you only have a lot of videos on your laptop, and a laptop dies...your videos are gone.
  • If you only have the videos on your community site and that gets locked down or turned off...the videos are gone.
  • If you only have your videos on an actual drive and that fails...your videos are gone.

You get the idea!

The second reason is distributability. Yes, I totally just made that word up. Sometimes you'll have a user in your community who wants to see a video. Getting into the video can be challenging, but if you have a direct link to the video you can share with someone you trust that makes life so much easier. You can easily get that from a place where you're hosting the video.

Sometimes you need to host a video on a different site, for example your marketing site or landing page. Having your video hosting and a third party site makes that a very simple enterprise.  Get link. Insert link. Go live!

The third reason to host on a third party site is optionality. You love Where are you are at right now on the Internet. After much work and investment, everything is coming along nicely. Then in six months from now, you are blown away by new software that is radicalized the world. Who knew that a couple of teenagers in the garage and create something that would transform how you wanted to do business, am I right? 🤣

Seriously though, when this happens getting your contacts out of a place where you've kept it can be challenging. If you have the videos in two places then you have two options. If you only have your videos in a single place and you will have limited means of moving forward.

Here's an example.

While your videos may be tied up in a platform, you want to start piloting a new platform. Since you can't get the videos out easily from your platform, you have to go to Plan B (B is for Backup). Good news, you don't have to touch the videos in the platform! Leave them there and use the videos you have stored externally to test the new site.

This pilot approach allows you to see if the new system truly is better for you and your community. If it is, you can make the leap knowing that it's right without having undone anything that you've already built.

Where to Host Your Video as a New Creator?

There are so many different options where you can host your videos that it's hard to pick the right one. I think it's helpful to think about the type of video and what you're trying to achieve when you think about where you're going to keep them.

For example, YouTube is the most popular search engine for a continent in the world. In other words, people go there to consume content. If you're doing something public and you want the world to know it should be there.

If you're doing something where you want to keep the video content private then you're going to want a different place. I personally use Wistia for my videos for several reasons. I can restrict access, add chapters, put an email gateway on there if it's on a public site, and see all of the statistics for my videos. It's a great one stop shop for all of my video pieces. Bonus that they have a simple web browser version that allows me to record directly through the Chrome browse.  

Here is a video on using Box.com as an inexpensive host for your new project.

There was a follow up question on whether or not you can restrict it downloads on these videos. I am 99% sure there is, and here is how I recommend you do it:

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