Avoid Censorship When Building Your Video Business

You’ve done it.  After weeks of planning, you’ve finally launched a strategic video product stretching across all your company’s digital and social media platforms.  It begins to pay dividends immediately as views, impressions, reach, likes, follows, etc., begin soaring upwards.  After several months of continued success, you’re now able to monetize your videos and the boost in website traffic has created a new, reliable revenue stream.  Things have never been better and you’re finally thinking about expanding.

Suddenly the growth stops.  Views, reach, revenue and web traffic start declining significantly.  After some investigative work, you discover that your larger social media aggregators you’ve been relying on have made changes that have negatively impacted your business.

→ Facebook changed an algorithm deeply cutting the traffic to your site.

→ YouTube changed its monetization policy cutting revenue and placing restrictions on your videos.

→ Vimeo removed several videos from your account because they were considered ‘offensive’ according to their guidelines.

How are you supposed to successfully grow a business when you have limited control over monetization and zero control over potential censorship?

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The short answer is…you can’t.

While this specific scenario is fictional, each of these instances has occurred to video content publishers and should be considered a threat to any business.  In a lot of these cases, major video platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) are obliged to regulate controversial or questionable content produced by smaller publishers, as to best serve their big brand customers.  In other cases, these platforms have even been accused of censoring voices with conflicting ideological views.  Either way, building the foundation of your video business on one of these platforms is just too risky.  All you have to do is take a look at some of the headlines from recent industry news:

YouTube will no longer allow creators to make money until they reach 10,000 views

Why Critics Say YouTube Is Censoring Conservative Videos

Twitter’s Censorship May Be Unconstitutional

So, what should you look for in a technology partner when building a video business?

A company that will put your individual video business first. The larger consumer platforms do not prioritize the individual publisher.

Software and tools that scale and can easily adapt as your business evolves.  Set your own rules. Don’t be boxed into big corporate policies that are designed for big brands.

Find a partner that is agnostic when it comes to content. The best partners are ones that support your vision no matter what it is (illegal activity excluded).

Focus on security.  Protecting your assets and your customers' information is essential and cannot be overlooked.

To be clear, large consumer platforms and social media should play a large role in your business.  They are invaluable when it comes to audience discovery, brand awareness, and marketing.  Facebook is arguably the best marketing tool since the invention of the television. You just may want to think twice before building your entire business’ foundation within their platform.

About the author : Eric Pearce is a digital media consultant with over thirteen years of experience in digital and broadcast media. Previously the SVP of Programming & Operations for Newsmax TV, SVP of TV at TheBlaze and a producer at CNN, Eric has a unique perspective on production, editorial, and distribution.

Have questions or comments? Shoot Eric a note or connect with him on LinkedIn!

Zype is dedicated to putting your video business first. You have complete control over your content and revenue, we empower you with the tools you need to launch and expand your audience and business. Request a demo to learn more.