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YouTube channels or StoryXpress channels - what's the right choice for your business? Let's see!
Once you start publishing a high volume of videos, it is time to create your channel.
A video channel is much like the channels on television. It represents a series, type, format, genre, and in some cases even ideologies. And of course, your video channel represents your brand identity.
There are a lot of platforms to host channels on. And in this blog post, we shall be pitting together two giants; one in popularity, and the other in stature.
The popular one is, of course, a YouTube Channel, and standing tall is our very own, in-house StoryXpress Channel.
However, please note, this battle is not rigged, and we shall comprehensively, and honestly cover all aspects of both platforms and come to a reasonable conclusion.
What is a YouTube Channel?
A YouTube channel is somewhat of a mixed bag.
Every user who signs up on YouTube and uploads even one video has a YouTube channel.
However, brands can curate their YouTube channel to represent their brand. Here’s a snapshot of Pipedrive’s YouTube channel:
All YouTube channels are similar in format, and you have very limited options for branding.
Except for music channels, YouTube doesn’t offer any distinctions for other types of channels.
However, you can create a business account for ease of access but it all looks the same to the viewer.
What is a StoryXpress Channel?
A StoryXpress channel is a dedicated space for users to display their videos like artwork. Have a look:
StoryXpress lets you create your channel, and gives you a page solely for this.
Unlike YouTube, you don’t have a sidebar of related videos from competitors lurking. No distractions, no ads, a premium channel with your branding on it.
Users can add their logos, color schemes to their channel and each StoryXpress channel is optimized to rank.
YouTube Channel Versus StoryXpress Channel: What’s Right For You?
When Should You Consider Starting a YouTube Channel?
A YouTube channel is a very public affair.
When you create a YouTube channel, you become part of a platform where a billion users are competing for attention.
You need to stand-out in the real sense of the word because all YouTube channels are virtually the same.
You can manage a bunch of playlists underneath, and that’s all you have to work with.
If you are looking for a broader, more diverse audience, then you should consider starting a YouTube channel.
A YouTube channel can be an unabashed expression. It has a large community, and it is accepting of all genres and fields.
But, if you are looking for a thorough pinpointed B2B engagement, YouTube will disappoint you.
Let's analyze the pros and cons of having a YouTube channel.
Pros
Huge Platform, Diverse Audience
YouTube is the second most popular website on the internet, right after its parent organization Google. That means it is getting an influx of over a billion users on your channel.
And the audience isn’t limited to a demographic, you find all kinds of people on YouTube. And your channel can rise to fame in no time for all the right and sometimes, wrong reasons.
Moreover, you get an opportunity to stand amongst other free creators of your field. And this can be extremely good for some healthy competition. The variety and volume of creators on YouTube will always be a motivating factor for any marketer.
The Community
Owing to the popularity and easy-to-use interface, YouTube will bring to you a community consisting of a wide variety of people.
And if you stick around long enough, consistently producing quality content, you can find yourself a niche audience that follows your every move and is interested in every new release.
This community can be your foot soldiers, they will like, share, and comment on your videos. And will promote your channel, if you create an affinity with them. You will find fan pages, subreddits, all in your name, promoting your content.
Free to Use
YouTube is completely free to use, and that is the biggest advantage it has over any other hosting platform. You can host a huge volume of video data on your channels, and it is likely to stay live on YouTube servers for time immemorial.
YouTube is free for users as well and caps no limit on what they can view. (Some content is blocked in some countries, though)
However, for users, YouTube offers a membership. This is for dedicated channels, users can pay to view your content early, contribute to live chat, contribute otherwise as well to engage with you.
Cons
Almost all of the pros YouTube has are also its cons. It is a weird balance of nature that dawns on YouTube in every sense.
Easy to Get Lost in the Sea
Being the huge platform that it is, new users can easily get lost in a sea of channels that have a good enough standing. And no one new seems to make their mark, without proper support from an existing audience they bring from other mediums.
If you are famous, you get more famous. If you have subscribers, you get more, if your videos are getting watched more, you will get promoted more.
This is how the YouTube algorithm works, and it can be a real challenge for new creators to make a mark.
No Customizations
A YouTube channel is the same for all, there is no room to customize your channel to resemble your appeal or color scheme.
You can add a logo to your profile picture, but then again, any user can do that.
There are no ways to stand out as a credible source, other than a checkmark, which requires a thorough verification process.
And your channel looks much like any other channel on YouTube.
Hard to Connect With B2B Audience
YouTube’s huge platform and community are its frailty as well.
People from all walks of life might end up landing on your video channel. And if they don’t understand the content, which they probably won’t, you will get the unwanted dislike button.
And this huge community can be toxic for some creators. They can spam your chat on live streams, fill your comments with dirt and overall, attack your reputation.
When things get ugly on a community platform, the one type of audience that will avoid your channel will be from the B2B community.
Businesses hate getting involved in bad press. They want to be out of it. And unless you have an extremely tight-knit relation, no businesses will engage with you on YouTube comments.
When Should You Consider Starting a StoryXpress Channel?
Spot on, you should consider starting a StoryXpress channel if you are looking to post videos for business rather than fun. Start a StoryXpress channel if you are looking forward to targeting a B2B audience.
StoryXpress is a very private platform. Even though you can display your channel publicly, it is an exclusive offering, making it a much more controlled platform.
Pros
Exclusive Environment
A StoryXpress channel is a controlled and exclusive environment.
Unlike a YouTube channel, a StoryXpress channel doesn't have any video or channel suggestions from your competitors. There is your content only, all over and all around.
With it being so exclusive, comes the impression of high value and higher credibility. StoryXpress also allows you to limit access to certain videos on your channel, using a password.
You can organize the videos on your channel using playlists and set your audience up for a binge-watching experience.
Customizable Channels
StoryXpress channels are thoroughly customizable, right from the thumbnail to the overall look and feel of it.
Your StoryXpress channel is your project, and you are given all the necessary tools and space where you can get the best look for your brand across to your audiences.
You can upload a pre-created thumbnail of your choice or use one from your library of thumbnails created using StoryXpress. Further, you can decide how the video player looks like for individual videos.
And, not to forget, you can also decide the overall look and feel of the channel. Upload your logo, favicon, and set the cover image for the channel. You can also use the logo to direct audiences to your landing pages.
Caters to a B2B Audience
StoryXpress offers a professional, premium experience desired by a B2B audience. There is no infiltration from the outside world, no unnecessary toxicity, a professional environment symbolic of your brand.
You don't have random people commenting on your videos. With StoryXpress, your target audience signs up for a binge-worthy experience.
Further, there are no ads on StoryXpress videos, making it a highly respectable platform for marketers. Because ads are generally from competitors. And it never helps to see an ad from your competitor before your video begins, as in the case of YouTube.
Cons
No Community
StoryXpress doesn’t offer a comments section or a like/dislike button. It is just not that kind of a platform that gathers interactions through user impressions.
This can be a blow to those interactive creators out there who are looking to create a community around their work.
Offered as a Premium Service
StoryXpress channels aren’t free, creators need to buy a StoryXpress plan to create a channel. However, it is important to note that users can still record and upload videos on the StoryXpress platform free.
Since it is a premium service, it might not be suitable for small creators. But, it is always free for the viewers.
Limited Discoverability Options
StoryXpress isn’t a public platform, and there isn’t a explore page for new users to discover your channel.
It is important to note, though, StoryXpress channels are optimized for SERP rankings.
For every StoryXpress channel, you can write an optimized description. So the discoverability factor holds when searched via a search engine. Also, you can share your channel the way you want. Tweet it, post on Facebook or embed it in an email - it's definitely possible.
Being an exclusive platform, your StoryXpress channel will retain traffic from your network.
What’s Right for You: YouTube Channel or StoryXpress Channel?
Well, there you have it, all of the points broken down right in front of you. What is the conclusion here? Which one is better for you?
If you are a creator who is just starting and is focused on vlogging, then definitely a YouTube channel is what you need.
As a vlogger, you constantly need the backing of an interactive community that showers its love upon you via donations, comments, subscriptions.
But, bear in mind, that, even then you cannot exist isolated on a YouTube channel, you need to be active on other social media platforms for interactions as well.
Which is something StoryXpress users do as well. Videos from your StoryXpress channel can be shared anywhere, on the platform of your choice, directly. Even on YouTube. The vice versa is not true, however. That’s why with a StoryXpress channel you get the best of both worlds.
Businesses focused on brand identity definitely will find a better deal using StoryXpress.
You can customize everything on your StoryXpress channel, top to bottom. It is almost as good as self-hosting a channel webpage. But with the added ease of use, creation, and access.
Most importantly, it is a premium hosting service with no ads whatsoever. It is really helpful for businesses to have a distraction-free atmosphere where their viewers aren’t bugged by competitors’ content.
It is also important to note that StoryXpress keeps a meticulous record of your channel activity and offers video analytics on each video you put out.
YouTube also offers analytics, but they are too basic. And often users will find little to no use of the analytics available on YouTube.
With StoryXpress, however, users can pinpoint the timestamp on a video where most users decided to bounce using video heatmaps.
StoryXpress can be seamlessly integrated with YouTube. This means that when you create a StoryXpress channel, importing your videos to YouTube is a breeze. The other way round requires re-uploading the video.
Another important thing to note here is, StoryXpress is a video creation tool that lets you record, edit, and publish videos through one platform. If you are an absolute beginner, looking for an end-to-end video solution, StoryXpress has got you covered.
With so many creators fighting for attention on a space like YouTube, an ad-free environment like StoryXpress is like a fresh breeze.
StoryXpress is a more rounded, private, and exclusive platform for creating a channel. And the ad-free environment works well for up-and-coming businesses, artists, and filmmakers. Check out the pricing plans here or book your free trial now.
