10 Things to Look for When Choosing a VOD Streaming Platform

Looking for a premium VOD streaming platform for your business? Here are ten features you should look out for before selecting one.  

Over the last few years, VOD (video-on-demand) streaming has become one of the most popular industries globally. 

The VOD streaming industry hit $72.2 billion last year, and most of that revenue came from the U.S. Experts project that by 2026, the video streaming industry will reach $115 billion. 

 

Video-on-demand platforms are the pinnacle of many consumption areas because they work so well in the marketing, entertainment, and educational industries. Just think about it; any creator, teacher, instructor, producer, or entrepreneur can produce quality video content and make it accessible to their audience.

The best part? Audiences are accustomed to it. Take Netflix or Amazon Prime as examples. We watch those streaming platforms daily – they’re on our televisions and smartphones, and we get to access that content anywhere, at any time. Brilliant, right? 

So, if you’re looking to teach, entertain, or share your passion online, VOD streaming is the way to go. But not all video on-demand platform providers offers the same features. This is why we’ve drawn up ten essential things you should look for when choosing your VOD streaming platform. 

Let’s check them out!

What to Look for When Selecting a VOD Streaming Platform for Your Business

1. Content formats and uploads

When you set up your business on a premium on-demand video streaming platform, you will see that there are two basic phases to be mindful of: 

The collation phase: This is where you will be uploading, managing, and organizing your on-demand videos to the platform. There are a few basic things you’ll need your on-demand streaming platform to do here. These may seem minor, but if you don’t have these features, your daily content management tasks may deem very difficult:

• Try to find a platform that allows you to simply drag and drop files into it. It’s a quicker and easier process than clicking upload, selecting a file, and clicking upload. 
• Look for bulk uploads as an option within the platform. 
• Ensure that the platform supports your video format such as MOV, MP4, FLV, MKV, etc. 
• Check for video hosting and storage limitations – some platforms offer unlimited content and classes, which is the top option. 
• Some of the best video on-demand platforms offer no file size limitations – you want to go for a platform with this option because videos are large and only seem to be getting larger by the year (due to high-resolution needs).   

 

2. The distribution phase: Once your content is uploaded and organized, the next phase is about making it accessible to your audience. This distribution phase may sound simple enough, but you should be sure to check for a few things related to offering your customers a good user experience: 

 

• Check what audio formats work within the video on-demand platform. You also want to check the sound quality of your video once it plays back. There should be no distortion. 
• Ensure that your videos load quickly and do not buffer on the platform. 
• Look for any limitations regarding geographic areas. Most premium video on-demand platforms allows anyone in the world to access your content, provided they’ve subscribed. But some limit access to users who are only in your country or region, so it’s important to check this upfront. 
• Even though you’ll be playing predominantly in the video on-demand space, it’s vital to check that the platform can live stream, and if it does, what type of live streaming integration does it support? The best video on-demand platforms integrate with live streaming giants such as Zoom. This way, your live stream is always seamless and easily accessed by many members. 

2. Multiple device delivery

Not all your viewers will be using the same device to watch your video content. This means you need to be comfortable with the fact that your content is attainable and watchable across multiple devices. The best video on demand platforms includes a “transcoding” feature. This means that you are able to convert your video format into another format without compromising its quality. So, you get to cater to everyone on multiple device types while delivering high-quality content every time.  

3. Branding capabilities 

Branding forms a huge part of selling who you are and what you offer through your video content. An ideal VOD streaming platform will allow you to create your desired look and feel of your video on demand website or store. 

White label video on demand platforms allows you to manage videos which can be easily rebranded. This is available because the user is paying for the white label video on-demand platform, whereas with platforms such as YouTube, you aren’t able to rebrand. After all, the platform is technically free to upload to. 

Here are a few elements you should look for related to branding and marketing your video streaming website: 

• Can you add your own graphics and logo to the website? 
• Do you get notified of any customer messages via the platform? 
• Can you do email marketing through the platform?
• Can you measure marketing efforts via reporting?

4. Ability to upgrade

Premium video on-demand platforms let you upgrade your plan in the future, should you wish to do so. This may sound like an odd feature to look for, but video streaming is on the rise. And once you have a steady stream of members, you will need to invest more into your VOD streaming platform to cater to their needs.  

By the same token, you shouldn’t need to invest in a VOD platform that costs a significant amount upfront because you won’t need all the fully-fleshed features when you begin. Instead, start on a smaller tier plan and slowly upgrade as your business needs change. 

In order for the upgrade to be possible, your VOD streaming platform should provide you with multiple plan options and allow you to gain access to a few crucial features that will help you scale your business seamlessly. Some of these features are: 

• Having unlimited admin users 
• White labeling your domain and website 
• Selling digital and physical products on your website (eCommerce)
• Advanced marketing 
• Priority support 
• Advanced Reporting 
• Mobile and TV apps

5. Roles and permissions

You’ll notice that in the ability to upgrade section, admin users were mentioned. Each VOD streaming platform allows you to have varied users with different types of permissions, respectively. Here is a breakdown of what kinds of roles you can expect to get when signing up for a premium video on-demand platform: 

• Admin: The admin role is the role that controls all major aspects of your platform – including content, customers, revenue, and marketing. 
• Teacher: This role is more limited as opposed to the admin role. Teachers can have access to the content and customer information but not necessarily access to revenue or sales information. 

These roles should be adaptable enough that you are able to set permissions and change them for each user as time goes by. Roles and permissions allow you to keep your data and content safe, which leads us to the next feature. 

6. Security and privacy

When you create a video streaming business, you must ensure that all your content is secure. This helps you protect your original assets and ensures that your videos always belong to you, on your platform, and not anywhere else on the internet.

Protecting your content is one piece of the privacy and security pie. You want to be able to ensure that your videos are encrypted and stored safely on your chosen VOD streaming platform. But your customer data is also another huge segment of the pie. Check for the following elements when looking for a secure video on-demand platform: 

• Is the app or platform on a secure URL? 
• Does the platform offer a privacy policy that is readily available to you? 
• Does it protect your transaction and payment information?
• Is your revenue and income managed via secure payment processing methods like PayPal or Stripe? 
• Is your customer information private? 

By ensuring that your video on-demand platform is compliant and secure, you can be sure that you and your members will have a safe and pleasant experience online. This feature is often overlooked and should always be checked upfront prior to launching any content and products. 

7. Content delivery

Creating content and uploading it to the platform is one step. But delivering the content to your audience is where your VOD streaming platform quality really counts. Why? Because this is the point in time where your audience will be interacting with your content and consuming it. 

Just think about it. Imagine if Netflix movies and TV shows constantly buffered and the subtitles never switched on when you needed them to? You would be annoyed. Anyone would!

So, content delivery is crucial. You can ensure that your customers have a good experience by checking for the following pressure test points: 

• Is your video buffering when a user presses play?
• Can all of your videos be accessed easily?
• Can a user search and find a video quickly?
• Does the audio play automatically?
• Can a user turn on closed captioning without trouble? 

If the answers to these questions are all yes, then you’re in the clear and should be able to serve your customers with a pleasant streaming experience. If not, you may have to reconsider your VOD streaming platform. 

8. Video monetization

Taking the time to create quality videos is one thing. But selling them is of the utmost importance. Subscription video on demand platforms allows you to sell videos based on subscriptions. 

You may have heard of the term “SVOD” – subscription-based video on demand. Similar to Hulu or Netflix, subscribers are allowed to consume as much video content as they wish for a flat rate on a monthly basis. Having a subscription video on demand platform is also excellent because it sets you up for the best type of video monetization there is – one that provides recurring revenue to you.

TVOD (transactional video on demand) is different from SVOD because it’s where consumers buy content on a pay-per-view basis rather than a monthly fee for all-encompassing content. TVOD is very piece-meal style of transaction. Some consumers love it if they want to purchase just one beginner course on photography, as an example. But if you create content which is more progressive and tells a bigger story over time, SVOD is the way to go. 

People enjoy the SVOD option because it is easy to access and easy to opt out if they wish to. Now, this may not sound good to creators, but giving customers freedom is a large part of being in an online-based business. Your efforts should go into building strong relationships and trust with them while providing unique and entertaining video content to them. 

9. Customer support 

Let’s be honest – every time you sign up for a new service or buy a new product, you know that you’ll be dealing with that brand’s customer support sooner or later. When you run a business on a VOD streaming platform, you can be sure you’ll need quality customer support at the tip of your finger. 

Some of the best video on-demand platforms allow you to contact a support agent for any queries or issues you may be facing. As you upgrade to larger plans, you’ll also get access to priority support and even a dedicated account manager at the top tier. 

Try to ensure that your chosen VOD platform allows you to speak to an agent at any time of the day. Also, ensure that their response times are rapid and they are able to resolve issues before they escalate and start to hinder your client’s streaming experience. 

10. Additional revenue streams

This is where video on-demand platforms start to get intriguing. As a creator, you’ll be thinking about the content management, subscriptions, and marketing features in a VOD streaming platform. But a hidden gem is the ability to have additional revenue streams on the same platform. 

That’s right – some VOD platforms allow you to create additional income with minimal effort. You can do so by selling digital products on your website that is managed by your platform. This way, all your product management, shipping, tracking, and taxes are easily accessible to you without you having to invest in another eCommerce site. On some platforms, such as Mastera, you can sell physical products too. 

You can also earn additional income by selling once-off videos or courses to customers. This goes back to the TVOD revenue model, which can be a golden nugget when used to complement the subscription video on demand (SVOD) model. 

These types of revenue streams are ways in which you can build your business to be scalable and successful in a fraction of the time. 

Mastera: Empowering Creators with a Premium VOD Streaming Platform   

White label video on-demand platforms are designed to help manage the operations of your business while you do what you enjoy doing – making those videos! Take the time to choose the appropriate VOD streaming platform for you while ensuring that it ticks these ten boxes we’ve just spoken about. 

If you do that, you’ll be sure to start on the right foot and set your business up for success before you earn your first dollar. 

So, are you ready to start creating, managing, and thriving with a premium video on-demand platform? Speak with our Mastera team to schedule a demo and learn more about how you can use a video on-demand platform to scale your business the right way.