As our lives become increasingly tied to the online world, we’ve seen a rise in VOD, or video on-demand content. VOD content encompasses a wide variety of online video content that includes everything from live shows, filmed podcasts, online video gaming streams, and everything in between. With a growing wealth of VOD material, many new creators are coming out of the woodwork. When first starting out as a VOD creator, it can be difficult to know how to host your online content. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with some of the top tips on how to host excellent VOD content.

What Does VOD Stand For?

VOD stands for video on-demand. This means video content that is stored online on a website or via an online streaming platform that can be watched at any time. With streaming, viewers watch content as it's downloaded to their device in real time. VOD content can be anything from short video blogs, to makeup tutorials, to full fledged tv shows and movies. The possibilities are practically endless for what kind of content you can create for VOD, making it incredibly appealing to creators.

Popular Types of VOD Content

As mentioned above, there is an incredibly wide variety of current VOD content available to consume. If you’re a VOD content creator that’s just starting out, it’s important to consider what kind of content you want to create, and what kind of programming it will be coexisting with that’s currently out there. Below are some of the most common uses of VOD content:

• Entertainment: Perhaps the most popular form of VOD content is that made for entertainment purposes. This includes TV shows, movies, documentaries, filmed podcasts, lifestyle vlogs, DIY tutorials, cooking tutorials, sporting events, and concert live streams.
• Business: Businesses utilizes a variety of VOD content including promotional marketing videos to entice customers new and old, training videos to help onboard staff, as well as product demonstration videos to showcase how new items they’re releasing work.
• Educational: There are a variety of educational programs available on VOD platforms that are helpful to teach audience members about specific subjects. Often, educational VOD material is split up by subject and the target audience skill level or age group: for instance, a brand could have a series of educational videos that teach viewers a language, and they’d separate them by “beginner,” “intermediate,” and “advanced” skill level.
• Health & Wellness: Another incredibly popular form of VOD content are video exercise classes that viewers can follow along with at home. In addition to cardio and strength training videos, there’s also a variety of guided meditation VOD content, so you can relax after your workout.

How to Host VOD Content

Once you’ve filmed and edited your VOD content, you need to find a streaming platform to host it on so users can find and watch your work. There are a number of ways to do this, each of which come with their own pros and cons.

• Unpaid VOD Platforms: There are a number of streaming platforms, like YouTube, that don’t require you to pay for the VOD content that you upload to them.
• Pros: Great for new content creators looking to develop their online brand without having to put capital into it.
• Cons: Free platforms make up for not requiring a fee by airing paid promotional content before, and occasionally during, VOD content uploaded to the site. These ads can distract viewers from your content. Additionally, free streaming platforms often retain the rights to any VOD material uploaded to their sites. 
• Paid VOD Platforms: Paid VOD platforms require content creators to pay a fee in order to upload their material to their sites, though typically allow for greater control over the content you post.
• Pros: Paid VOD platforms give content creators a number of tools that help to boost their brand: like ownership over their material, and flexible monetization options, so you can make money for the content you invest your money in making and posting. Paid platforms also avoid placing promotional material that isn’t yours within your content or on your content page, as your subscription fee covers the cost of external advertisers.
• Cons: These types of platforms do require a monthly or yearly fee to use and upload material to. However, it’s a small investment to make in order to retain ownership of your material and have more control over the way your viewers can access your content.

When creating your own VOD content, there are a number of factors to consider. First, you’ll need to consider what kind of content you want to make, and how it will compete with other existing content within the same VOD genre. On top of this, you’ll have to decide where to host your content, whether it be on an unpaid VOD streaming platform that may include distracting ads, or a paid VOD streaming platform that allows more control over your content for a monthly fee. What features do you look for when deciding what streaming platform to host your VOD content on?