By
Emily Krings
It’s easy to hear the term “video rental” and think about the failure of Blockbuster, or the evolution of Netflix away from mailed DVDs to an online streaming behemoth. But at its core, video rental is just a way for consumers to pay to watch something.
Regardless, video rental is a fantastic means of monetizing video content – including for enterprise-level businesses. So, in this article, we’re going to talk about transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), why it’s great, and how you can use video rental software to tap into a revenue stream for your business.
Table of Contents
- What is Video Rental Software?
- Benefits of TVOD for Businesses
- Choosing the Right Video Rental Software
- Setting Up Your Videos for Renting
- Putting It All Together
- Why Maestro for Video Rental Software?
What is Video Rental Software?
Video rental software is a specialized digital delivery vehicle for businesses to offer video content to consumers on a rental basis.
This software supports a monetization model known as transactional video-on-demand (TVOD), where viewers can pay a one-time fee to gain access to specific video content for a limited period of time.
Benefits of TVOD for Businesses
There are many reasons why you should consider adopting a TVOD monetization or pricing model for your video content.
- Greater Revenue Potential. Many businesses will monetize their video content through ads alone, which typically pays a lot less per-viewer than an effective TVOD model. At the same time, it requires less of a commitment than an ongoing subscription with the SVOD model.
- Better Audience Experience. If you can monetize your video content without ads using TVOD, you can offer customers a more enjoyable, uninterrupted viewing experience.
- More Brand Equity. Offering your video content for free (with or without ads) has its place, but there’s something to be said for charging for your content. Whether you’re providing entertainment or niche information, customers will value it – and your brand – more if they have to pay for it.
- Higher Adaptability. With TVOD and video rentals, you can start small and grow your offerings slowly based on demand. You also have the ability to monetize your videos more effectively in emerging markets across the globe that may not otherwise be able to afford ongoing subscriptions or other more expensive offerings.
Knowing that your business can benefit from a TVOD video rental solution, why don’t we talk about how to choose one and set it up?
Choosing the Right Video Rental Software
Choosing a video rental software is an important step in monetizing with TVOD. To do it right, you’ll need to consider key features, integration with your existing business, and who the popular providers are.
1) Key Features
When you’re looking at this kind of software, you should ask yourself:
- Is it scalable? - Your business needs to be able to grow with the software, so it must be equipped to handle increased traffic and content over time.
- Is it customizable? - You want a platform that allows you to customize the branding and user interface to match your business identity.
- How is the user experience? - Your users should be able to navigate, pay, and watch their rented video content seamlessly on any device or platform.
- What level of customer support will I get? - You should be able to get immediate help whenever an issue comes up. Video rental is an important business use case, and your brand quality depends on a good customer experience.
And then, of course, you’ll want to consider pricing. As with any purchase, you should aim to get the features you need at the best value for your money.
2) Tech Integration
All of the above features matter, but just as important is how your video rental software integrates into your existing business. You probably have a website, payment options, analytics and tracking tools, software, and a customer service team.
With that in mind, can you embed this software into your website, or do visitors have to go through a redirect to a third-party site?
Do you have to find a payment processor, such as PayPal or Stripe, that’s different from your current offerings?
Can the rental software integrate with software you already use, from CRMs like HubSpot to social media tools like Hootsuite or analytics tools like Google Analytics?
Both on the back-end with your team and the front-end with your customers, you want the experience to be simple and seamless for all users.
3) Popular Video Rental Software Providers
Now, it’s time to choose your video rental software. There are a few popular choices on the market right now:
- Vimeo OTT - Known for its robust video hosting and user-friendly interface. Vimeo OTT is a great choice for creators looking for simplicity and reliability.
- Uscreen - Offers extensive customization options and a strong focus on community-building tools. Uscreen is ideal for businesses wanting to engage with their audience.
- Muvi - Provides a comprehensive solution with integrated billing and marketing tools, perfect for enterprises seeking an all-in-one platform.
We also hope you’ll consider Maestro.io, which has just launched its own video rental feature that will support TVOD monetization of your video content! You can learn all about what’s new and even take it for a test drive by reaching out to us.
→ Contact us to book a demo
Setting Up Your Videos for Renting
Once you have a video rental software solution that you’re happy with, it’s time to use it!
Technical Specs
From a technical standpoint, it’s important that your videos are high-quality – this includes overall production values, sound, and video resolution. Publish your content using a widely accepted format like MP4.
In addition, you should make sure you fill out the metadata on your video content with relevant titles, tags, and descriptions to boost discoverability and SEO. Remember, even if your content is only accessible to people who pay for it, you want it easy for them to find it on your platform (and potentially in Google as well).
Pricing Strategy
The other consideration for video rental setup is more about business. You have a lot of different ways to price your video rentals.
One option is the single rental, which is just a one-time fee to rent a video for a specified time period (usually a few days).
Another option is the bundle, which allows viewers to rent multiple videos at the same time for a discount rate.
Lastly, you may offer the option of a purchase, where customers can buy a video and receive lifetime access to it. This usually costs quite a bit more than just a rental fee.
Or you can offer some combination of these TVOD pricing options for your customer base. Experimentation and optimization is key to see what gets the best results for your business!
Putting It All Together
Once your videos are up and ready to rent, there a few other considerations you shouldn’t neglect:
- Marketing and promotion. If you build it, they won’t come until they hear about it. Tell your customers about your video rentals using all of your owned channels, from social media to email marketing – and don’t be afraid to work with partners like influencers and other businesses to get in front of more potential customers, if it makes sense for your strategy.
- Legal and copyright. Note that there may be different legal rights associated with distributing content for rental compared to others. You should be absolutely sure you have all of the licenses and rights associated with all aspects of your video content, including footage, music, and more.
- Tracking and analytics. The best way to make data-driven decisions about your video rental business is to actually track data. Focus on key data points like revenue, viewer demographic data, and engagement metrics. With this data, you can figure out how to optimize your video content for maximum revenue and customer satisfaction.
Most of all, you should keep an eye on revenue from your TVOD rentals and see how it’s affecting your bottom line. While it’s possible that video rentals will boost your total sales, you may find that it’s more trouble than it’s worth, or even that it detracts from other revenue-generating opportunities.
Video rental software can be a great tool, but you should keep an eye on your strategy over time and make sure it’s working!
Why Maestro for Video Rental Software?
Maestro has long been known for its prominence in the online video platform (OVP) market. Our service isn’t just a way to customize the front-end for your videos, but a fully-featured platform with advanced monetization options, in-depth analytics, robust security features, and interactive tools that cater to enterprise-level businesses.
Now, we’re pleased to announce that we have opened up a whole new opportunity for generating revenue through Maestro, with TVOD through video rentals.
Are you ready to publish and rent out your own high-quality videos on Maestro? Contact us now to book a demo!
→ Contact us to get started
