7 Video Enhancement Tools for Teachable & Thinkific Online Courses

The market for online learning is growing by leaps and bounds. 

Online Courses is a growing market with online courses content creators creating exceptional courses. A video hosting solution allows online courses to make the most out of videos

Turning your knowledge into an online course is a popular way to make money and help other people.

Fortunately, there are various online course platforms that make creating an online course easy today, even for non-tech-savvy entrepreneurs. 

The value of video in online courses is very apparent and using the right tools to enhance your videos can increase engagement and your revenue.

Platforms for online courses do not offer video enhancement tools, therefore it may be necessary to combine it with a private video hosting platform to get the most out online courses videos.

Create online courses with Teachable or Thinkific

Online course platform allow content creators to build their courses without having to struggle with coding & website hosting

Both Teachable and Thinkific are platforms that help you create online courses and sell them.

These online course platforms handle every aspect of the process on an all-in-one platform giving course creators the convenience of not having to worry about design, hosting, or payment processing.

A basic infrastructure is available to help you get started easily and deliver course content in a professional way, even if you have no coding knowledge. 

The online course platforms support the files you need for your  courses, such as images, videos, PDFs, and text. You can upload content from different sources, bulk upload content if necessary and organize it as you wish.

Viewers can see your course content on all devices and all browsers in the right dimensions and you have the use of sales page templates to promote your courses. Maintenance and updates of the online courses is also taken care of for you by the platform, like Teachable and Thinkific, so you can focus on creating and selling courses. 

Using these platforms helps you to easily manage your courses and benefit from some basic customization.

There are some disadvantages to the online course platforms as they cater to many different forms of content, including videos but were not made especially for handling videos.

The variety of on-video features is limited, video players aren’t customizable, and users only have access to basic video analytics on the above mentioned platforms.

This is why content creators using such platforms for video courses should also make use of a private video hosting platform that addresses all the issues mentioned above. 

How you can leverage your video on Teachable and Thinkific with Cincopa Video Enhancement Tools

Host your internal communication videos with Cincopa VideoTube

Today videos are one of the best tools to help engage students doing online courses

Research shows that people remember content more when it’s delivered in video format. Delivering your online content through video also makes it accessible to all types of students, eliminates any barriers created by physical location, and bridges gaps between students from all over the world.

Videos for online courses simulate face-to-face instruction with the added benefit that students can revisit content, pause, and rewind as they wish. They have more control over the learning process, which can increase their motivation to learn. 

Instructors can explain a concept, show an experiment, demonstrate a process, and more to facilitate the learning process and make information visible and accessible.

The more interactive a video, the more engaging it becomes and this is where Cincopa’s video enhancement tools can make a difference. 

Cincopa offers a capturing solution called RecTrace that allows you to create talking heads and presentation videos. You can then easily enhance these videos and embed them directly from Cincopa onto other platforms. 

Cincopa supports JSON-LD, which means Video SEO features are automatically included in the embed code. Embedding Cincopa hosted videos with Video SEO, therefore, drives more traffic to your website and generates more demand for your online courses. 

Using the Cincopa mobile app allows you to enjoy the advantages of the platform directly from your mobile device. You have total control over your content and its distribution.

Your audience has access from anywhere and at any time on any device to your customized video courses.

Why you should champion your online course videos with video hosting

Using a video hosting platform for your videos offers you many advantages.

Your video course content is always organized, accessible and secure so this offers your audience a seamless viewing experience.

Hosting videos on free video hosting sites like YouTube doesn’t offer what you experience with private video hosting.

Here is how you can champion videos for online courses with video hosting – 

Customizable video player: You can customize your video player and brand it with your own logo, colors etc. Template-style designs give you various options and various interactive elements can increase engagement.

Robust content delivery: The quality of your video content can make or break your students’ experience. You need to consider how to enhance video quality

Viewers should experience the best video quality no matter where they live or which devices or browsers they use.

A CDN (content delivery network) with a geographically distributed network of servers provides fast delivery of video content. Videos stream from whichever server is closest to the device of a viewer.

Adaptive bitrate streaming supports optimized bandwidth consumption and no freezing or buffering while viewing.

Easy access: If you want to make money from your online courses, you must keep videos safe from unauthorized viewers.

At the same time, authorized viewers must find them easy to access without having to jump through all kinds of hoops. 

A video hosting platform with video portals makes it easy to create playlists offering access to viewers in a few clicks but with password protection so no unauthorized viewers can gain access.

Integrations: When comparing video hosting platforms, check for integration with all your favorite tools and software you use for marketing, communication etc.

For example, Zoom integration means you can livestream your online classes. You can also market your courses effectively when you can collect email addresses and use them in email marketing campaigns. 

7 Video enhancement tools for your Teachable and Thinkific online course

Build a customizable video tube for your enterprise for a sleek private video channel on your website

Video enhancement tools can significantly influence the success of your online courses because they offer more interactivity with your video content.

They give you all the tools you need to host, publish, distribute, share and track your online course videos and to see how your audience interacts with them.

Top 7 Video Enhancement Tools for Online Course Platform – Thinkific and Teachable:

  1. Video Chaptering
  2. Video Loop
  3. Video Subtitles and Closed Captions
  4. The Video Template Way
  5. Video Replacement
  6. Call-To-Action and Annotations
  7. Custom Email Lead Generation Forms

1. Video Chaptering

Video chaptering allows you to split a video into sections. Each section has a title that’s visible across the timeline. Users can easily select the material they’re interested in rather than having to watch the whole video to find it. 

Users can navigate the timeline and select from the chapters’ playlist or see preview thumbnails that include a title and description.

You can even insert additional information at the start of each new chapter, such as a relevant quote or a summary of what’s to come. 

Chaptering can help to reduce bounce rate, increase total playtime, and ensure more meaningful engagement with content. Users can enjoy their favorite part of a meeting, speech or event because you take the trouble to do the initial filtering for them and make it easy to find exactly what they want. 

Advanced video analytics measure engagement across chapters so you can understand which ones perform best. See if videos are opened by students, how much time they spend watching and whether they skip certain parts with real-time video analytics.

Heatmaps identify sections they find most engaging. All of these insights can help you to optimize future content creation.

2. Video Loop 

Video loops are continuously repeating videos with multiple replays. You can set up a loop so that when a player reaches the last video in a playlist, it automatically goes back to the first video.

A perfect, seamless video loop can keep viewers watching and engaged. The longer they watch, the more information they retain. 

3. Video Subtitles and Closed Captions

Search engines are not able to watch videos and can only crawl the text associated with them like titles, descriptions, keywords, annotations, and calls-to-action.

Video subtitles and closed captions provide a way to help search engines “read” videos and rank them. Transcriptions of videos have the same benefit.

Adding subtitles allows people to watch the videos at times when they can’t play sound, such as when using public transport or sitting in a coffee shop. It gives them more options to view content anywhere and at any time.

Students can listen to course content on the go to add variety to their learning experience. 

Using subtitles also means you can translate your videos into many languages and allow viewers to choose the one they’re most comfortable with. People who are hard of hearing can also understand them better.

4. The Video Template way

Using video templates means you can take control and design a video course without spending the time it takes to start from scratch.

Video templates can enhance the professional look of your online courses and make the user experience better. Viewers can consume video content in a linear way rather than having no idea where to begin or go next. Using templates will also give all your courses a standard look and feel.

Templates also provide a natural way to organize information which can help to prevent content overload.

With Cincopa, you can combine multiple videos into galleries so your online course has a systemic structure. Online course creators can customize a video course template by adding a course title, choosing text and colors, and you can also include a lead generation form and password protection.

All you have to do is select a template and customize it to suit your course. Instead of relying on a whole team of designers, you can easily create your own course. 

5. Video Replacement

Every video has a shelf-life and you may find you need to update a video. This is no problem when using Cincopa, as you can update a video without needing to change the embed code.

Video replacement feature is useful if you have an edited version of a video and you want to update the original with minimal disruption.

All you need to do is select the video that you want to update, select Replace and upload the new video. It keeps everything you’ve added to your video and all that changes is that the new video replaces the old version.

This changes apply whether your video appears in a gallery or is embedded as a standalone file on your site.

6. Call-to-actions (CTAs) and Annotations

By adding calls-to-action in your videos, you can get viewers to perform any action that fits with your marketing goals, such as signing up for your newsletter.

Online courses need to highlight in your calls-to-action why students need your online course and how they can benefit from it.

Customized thumbnails give viewers a quick look at what a video contains and can increase click through rate. An animated video thumbnail can increase engagement and play rate even more.

Annotation links appear at the top of the video without interrupting play. With timeline annotations, you can mark specific points in the video with text and links.

Annotations are very convenient as you don’t have to post text links under a video. Embedding them directly into the video timeline allows viewers to click on them while watching.

There are various other types of annotation, such as title annotation and spotlight annotation. 

You can also use annotations as messages such as making an additional note or quick comment when viewers are watching a particular part of the video to help them understand the content better. 

Clickable links, highlights, and messages can all further engage viewers and increase the time they spend watching videos.

Video annotations are indexed by search engines so they can also help to get your videos discovered online. 

7. Custom Email Lead Generation Forms

You can add custom lead generation forms to your videos, choosing where you want them to appear. Following your selection, the lead generation forms can appear before or after the first or last video or at an exact time you choose.

You can allow viewers to skip email collection forms or gate your video content by making them non-skippable.

When you collect the lead generation forms, you can send them to your email marketing automation software, such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. This means you can deliver marketing content to your new subscribers.

Email marketing is still one of the most successful ways to market your online courses. You can also add them to your CRM for use in other marketing campaigns. 

You also have access to video analytics that are extremely useful in helping you to create effective personalized email messages.

Advanced video analytics include email addresses, first and last names, unique IDs, video viewing summary, average engagement, location, IP addresses, browser versions and operating systems. 

Enhance your online courses with a private video hosting platform

Watching a video from an online course platform

A private video hosting platform offers numerous ways to enhance your online courses and get the most revenue from them.

Video hosting allows you to market your online courses effectively with the use of CTAs, lead generation forms, integrations with sales and marketing tools.

With video hosting platform you can manage your videos effectively with a video CMS, measure your results using advanced analytics and protect your course content from unauthorized viewers.

Promote your video online courses effectively 

Using a private video hosting platform helps you to promote your online courses. For instance, you can create a course promotion video that is interesting and informative for prospects.

The video can be short enough to pique interest but contain enough information to convince prospects to act. Adding a good title and a keyword-focused description helps your video to rank well in the search results with video SEO features offered by video hosting solutions.

Use a call-to-action and promote it on social media using integration with your social media marketing solution to reach a wide audience.

Benefit of a video CMS

A video CMS (content management system) allows you to easily create, store, organize and share videos in your online courses.

Whether you have 100 videos or 1000, a video content management system is essential if you want to effectively manage your video content. 

Students don’t want to waste time searching for videos and various in-search features can help them to easily find the right video at the right time. Automatic closed captioning and auto-tagging enhance accessibility and search.

Experience multi-layered Video security

Without the right video security features, your valuable online content will be subject to illegal downloads, piracy, and unauthorized access.

Online course creators need access to video security features that will prevent this from happening. Encryption, domain control, password protection, and watermarks are just some of the video security measures you have access to when using a private video hosting solution.

Get good customer support 

It is also important to choose a platform with 24/7 customer support in case you encounter streaming difficulties.

A private video hosting platform offers the type of support you need when you offer online courses using video-on-demand and/or live streaming.

Conclusion

Until fairly recently, the technology to create and monetize online video courses was unavailable to many people.

Now just about anyone can make and sell online courses with easy-to-use platforms like Teachable and Thinkific. 

Using a video hosting platform in addition to such platforms offers you all the tools you need to enhance your videos before uploading them so you can increase engagement.

With video hosting solution can customize your video player, use the most advanced video management tools, enjoy great security and have access to advanced video analytics that can help you to stand out from competitors and increase your revenue.

Originally published on January 11th, 2022, updated on November 21st, 2023
The Blog

7 Video Enhancement Tools for Teachable & Thinkific Online Courses

by Simi time to read: 11 min
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