INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Vimeo signaled last year its plans to move further into the social video creation and editing space with its acquisition of short-form
Today, the company is unveiling the results of its work in the months following the deal close with the debut of Vimeo Create
The new app includes a set of video creation tools aimed at small businesses and marketers looking to tell their stories using social video,
but who lack the resources, time or budget to invest in video production at the scale they need to compete.
With Vimeo Create, available on
both the desktop and as an app, businesses choose from pre-made, professionally designed video templates that can be customized to meet
More advanced users could opt to start a new video from scratch, as an alternative.
The app includes a library of stock content to add to
videos, including millions of HD video clips, photos and commercially licensed music tracks available for no extra fee, Vimeo says
Businesses also can customize their videos by selecting the colors, fonts, layouts, logos, text captions and calls-to-action they want to
use.
The app then leverages AI-powered technology to turn the clips, photos, music and text into a high-quality social video in
minutes.
Vimeo Create also simplifies the process of designing videos for different social platforms, where aspect ratios (e.g
square, vertical, horizontal) and format requirements vary
After the video is finalized, users are able to publish across the web — including to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn
— as a part of the Vimeo Create workflow.
The move into social video creation is part of Vimeo larger strategy of becoming a one-stop
shop for companies and individuals who publish videos online
The company has long since abandoned its plans to be a YouTube competitor, instead seeing the potential in the other side of the video
Today, Vimeo makes money by offering tools and services to video creators both large and small
It has launched tools for uploading and live streaming across social sites and updated its mobile app to include more features previously
available only to desktop users, among other things.
Vimeo decision to prioritize social video resulted from its own research
The company found that only 22% of small business owners felt they were using enough video
The businesses complained that issues around time, cost and complexity were keeping them from going further
Nearly all (96%) of small business owners said they would create more video if all those friction points were removed.
The service was built
using parts of Magisto backend and its AI, but the overall app, feature set, content, user interface and integration into Vimeo tools were
built from the ground up, the company says.
The company hopes Vimeo Create will help it to grow its subscription revenue, as the service
is offered as a part of Vimeo Pro, Business and Premium membership plans, instead of as a standalone paid or freemium app.
&Video is the
most impactful medium we have today for human expression at scale, and businesses
need an online video strategy to reach their customers
But the research is clear: small business owners
and entrepreneurs don&t have the tools, time or budgets to make videos at the volume and
quality
needed to compete,& said Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud, in a statement about the launch
&Vimeo Create levels the playing field
It a radically simple tool that shortens the distance from idea to execution, so more businesses can have a successful video
strategy.&
Vimeo isn&t alone in addressing the social video needs of small businesses
Last fall, Facetune maker Lightricks launched a full suite of apps for small businesses to use for their social media marketing campaigns
There also are dozens of tools for video editing on the market, including those from incumbents, like Adobe and Apple, as well as from
others like Magisto, Canva, PicsArt and many more that offer features craved by small business owners like templates, easy editing tools,
access to stock content and support for one-click multi-platform publishing, among other things.
Vimeo first launched Vimeo Create into beta
back in January, but today it available to all across web, iOS and Android.
