Expand your reach with new tools from Vimeo Streaming
Don’t build your own app, let Vimeo do it for you
Creating an app for your content might sound complicated, but it doesn't have to be! In today's media landscape, reaching your audience where they are is crucial, and that increasingly means providing access through mobile and TV apps. Expanding beyond a web-only presence can significantly enhance brand visibility, help grow your subscriber base, and foster a deeper connection with your viewers.
Think about how your audience consumes content. They're on their phones, tablets, and, increasingly, streaming through their smart TVs. By offering branded apps, you’re placing your content directly within their preferred viewing environments, making it easier for them to discover and engage with your videos.
With solutions like Vimeo Streaming, building your own custom video apps across a wide range of platforms is now within reach. The best part? This process rarely requires any coding! Imagine your brand alongside other familiar apps on the app stores of major streaming platforms, increasing your discoverability to potential subscribers actively seeking content like yours.
Vimeo Streaming empowers you to build apps for a comprehensive list of devices, ensuring you can connect with your audience no matter their preferred screen.
Deliver content on web, mobile, TV apps, and tablets
Vimeo supports streaming on the following: Apple iOS and Android, Apple TV, AndroidTV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Tizen, LG TV, Vizio TV, gaming consoles like Xbox1, and Amazon Fire Tablet. Psst: that’s more than Uscreen, as they don’t support LG or Vizio at the time of publishing.
What is a streaming app?
Streaming apps are over-the-top (OTT) applications that allow viewers to stream video content natively from any given device, like a phone, tablet, TV, or gaming console. All one needs to do is download the app to their preferred device and choose their content.
Apps act as their own “space” within a larger operating system, enabling subscribers to browse your entire library of video-on-demand content, much like someone might flip through different TV channels. The key difference? The only content on this streaming “channel” is yours!
The benefits of investing in branded apps
Increase visibility and brand awareness
Having your brand featured in various app stores exposes you to a wider audience actively searching for specific types of content. If people are searching for content within your niche — whether it's original programming, fitness programs, instructional material, or any other type of content — being present in these app stores can provide a valuable avenue for new audience discovery.
Grow subscribers
Did you know that people are significantly more likely to sign up for a free trial through an app compared to the web? These app-based sign-ups also boast impressive conversion rates to paying customers.
Reduce churn
Users who sign up for your service through an app platform tend to be less likely to churn due to issues like expired payment information, as they often have payment methods linked to their app store accounts for other purchases.
Improve customer lifetime value
Viewers who initially sign up on the web often expand their viewing habits to include mobile and connected TV devices, which highlights the value of offering apps across multiple platforms.
Directly connect with your audience
Branded apps customized with your logos, colors, fonts, and domain names provide a dedicated space for your content. This consistent branding across different platforms reinforces your brand identity and provides a more professional, integrated, and engaging experience for your audience. Building your own apps can expand your brand presence and discoverability across various devices.
Offer various monetization models
You can offer various video monetization models, including subscription video on demand (SVOD), transactional video on demand (TVOD) for purchases or rentals, and even explore options like advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) and sponsorships, all within your branded apps.
How to create an app
Extending the reach of your streaming service by making your video-on-demand content more accessible and convenient for subscribers may sound exciting, but building and maintaining apps (and supporting end-users when things go wrong) introduces a new level of complexity to managing your video subscription business.
If you’re wondering which path to take to create an app for TV, phones, tablets, or gaming consoles, here are three viable options worth considering.
Partner with Vimeo to create an app
Using Vimeo Streaming to build your app is arguably the most cost and time-effective option for a video subscription business — and we’re not just saying that! (Seriously, just ask our friends at Dropout (CollegeHumor!) With Vimeo, there’s no need to worry about coding, sourcing developers, or ongoing app maintenance. We’ll handle everything tech so you can focus on what you do best: creating great new content. That includes building beautifully branded apps, app development and submission, and 24/7 support for you and your subscribers. If that’s not enough, free migration services ensure all your video content is available across apps and devices. Most critically, working with Vimeo means you’ll gain access to in-depth, real-time analytics that help your team optimize video content performance.
Though it might feel a little daunting to build your own app, there are a few simple steps you can take to make the process run more smoothly:
- Make developer accounts on all platforms you are looking to launch branded apps. If you would like to host on Roku, you will also need to purchase a Roku device.
- Get a D-U-N-S number if you would like to host on iOS (Apple) or Android (Google) platforms. This is required to set up a developer account and can take a few weeks, so we recommend getting started ASAP.
- Gather or create brand graphics and logo variations created on software that supports layers, like Adobe, with variations in color (like dark and light) and size (like wide, tall, and square).
Pay a developer to create an app from scratch
In some cases, out-of-the-box apps won’t cut it. If you’re looking for more advanced personalization than an OTT platform typically provides, you may want to consider hiring a developer to custom build your app from scratch. Going this route will likely be costly, and apps aren’t interchangeable between platforms, as each streaming device uses its own unique operating system and will require developers fluent in their respective coding schemas and languages. In other words, if you start with an Apple TV app and decide you want to build an Android TV app later, that’ll cost you another round of app development services. This also goes for development across devices: building an Apple TV app is a different process than building an iPhone app. Even if you go this route, you can still use Vimeo to host and manage all your videos.
Develop it yourself
Are you a developer fluent in Javascript and Swift? Depending on your skill level and app needs, you may be able to build an app on your own. The advantage here is clear — save money — but the downside is the inevitable time investment. In addition to the initial setup and launch, you’ll need to stay vigilant about fixing bugs and resolving issues within the app. In this case, you can still rely on Vimeo as your video streaming backbone to host all your videos and distribute them onto your custom apps.
Improve your video strategy with mobile and tv apps
Whether you are a niche media and entertainment business, an educational content creator, or any content provider looking to distribute and potentially monetize video content with a specific audience, having a presence on mobile and TV apps is a powerful strategy. Apps bring about increased visibility in app stores, opportunities for audience growth through free trials and improved conversion rates, enhanced user engagement and retention, and a stronger, more consistent brand experience across multiple devices.
Vimeo Streaming offers an all-in-one no-code platform to help you achieve this, providing the tools to manage, distribute, and monetize content across all these devices with ease.
Don't let the technical aspects hold you back! Explore the possibilities of Vimeo Streaming and start building your branded presence on Apple iOS, Android, Apple TV, AndroidTV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Fire Tablet, Samsung Tizen, Xbox, LG TV, and Vizio TV today to connect with your audience wherever they are watching.
