Some companies make the video hosting mistake of putting their media on either external sites or their own pages, when both is better.

You produce a video, but then how does that help your business at large? What is your team doing to make sure you get the maximum return on the asset? Companies creating videos report the best approach is to host videos on your own site in addition to publishing them on YouTube.

2 ways to host is better than 1

In the 2014 Video Content Metrics Benchmark Report, 46 percent of surveyed marketers said they were using a combination hosting strategy, rather than one or the other. More importantly, the companies using the combined approach are seeing better returns.

Around 55 percent said their video marketing ROI is improving, compared with brands that only host on their own sites – of which only 27 percent say the results are getting better. It’s better for companies hosting on external sites like YouTube or Vimeo – 49 percent said they’re seeing more success, but the dual approach is still the winner.

It’s the best of both worlds – Branding and social reach

Hosting solely on YouTube is a common mistake marketers make when producing videos. It’s a free solution that already has a huge audience, but it IS a mistake because it can cost branding and conversion opportunities. If you host on an external site alone, your video will rank as a YouTube clip rather than a link from your website.The clicks to that video will also direct viewers back to the hosting network rather than your site, and you’ll then have to get those prospects back to your page to convert.

46 percent of surveyed marketers said they were using a combination hosting strategy, rather than one or the other

Conversely, if you only host a video on your website, you may not get as much engagement or traffic as you would on YouTube. Audiences on YouTube are there looking for videos, and if they stumble across your video, they might share the clips, comment and watch other resources from your channel.

By and large, companies agree that video marketing is successful and drives more conversions than other forms of content creation. However, there are ways to gain a competitive advantage. Businesses that produce video content consistently see better results, as do brands that host on multiple platforms. The bottom line: The better the strategy, the better the results. What’s your strategy?

Now that we’ve cleared up questions about hosting, here are 6 other mistakes marketers make with video.

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.