Something I’ve written about a few times now is the idea of embedding videos onto your own website and sharing that link instead of the link to YouTube or Vimeo. That way, you get the traffic (and control over visitors’ next steps) while clickers get the same content.

One piece that was missing from that perspective was customer preference. At least, until now. A company called Software Advice published a really interesting set of survey results based on this premise:

“Producing travel videos may seem like a daunting task to some, but it can be a relatively inexpensive way for hotels to create content that grabs the attention of potential guests and, ultimately, drives direct bookings. To find out more, we surveyed consumers on their preferences for online videos, including on content and style. Below are the results.”

The survey was completed by 2,345 random travel consumers from across the United States.

Website vs YouTube vs Other
Let’s start with the part that caught my eye.

“We started by asking travelers, if they were researching accommodations for an upcoming trip, on which website they would prefer to view a hotel’s videos.”

And the results?

The question assumes the same content just different locations. And, under that assumption, 50% chose the hotel’s website. That’s 32% more (16 percentage points) than those who chose YouTube.

Looking at the breakdown of answers by age:

Shows a good spread through each group and better illustrates the Instagram group.

The Three Wins
So, here are my motives for embedding videos (whether your own or someone else’s) on my own site and sharing a link to that post.

1. Clickers get the same content. I get the traffic.
2. I have control over what the viewer sees around the video.
3. Travelers prefer to watch videos on a hotel’s website.

Can you still driving channel subscribers? Absolutely.
Is the original intent and value of the video itself preserved? Yes.
Can you switch back if you don’t like it? Of course.

The difference?

You get the traffic. All traffic sources have a conversion rate. And all conversion rates can be optimized. And all of the above turn traffic from videos into sales down the road.

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Also, if you have a minute, I’d highly recommend reading the rest of their research. The one thing I’ll say about the “Preferred Type of Online Hotel Video” is to remember that while it may illustrate preference, stories, humor, quality, and information are not mutually exclusive.
Full research results »