How Do I Share Video Content Using Soapbox?

With the current work and teach from home trend, the need for being able to record and share content to clients and students has increased tremendously.  There are many free and paid for services on the market.  This discussion will focus on Wistia’s Soapbox solution.

Soapbox is easy to install, all a user needs to have installed on their computer is the Google Chrome browser.  Once the browser is installed, users can install the Soapbox video recorder extension to their browser, giving the extension access to the user’s webcam and microphone.  Note: This article assumes that the user has a microphone and webcam installed on their computer.

Soapbox allows user to create an account using their existing Google or Microsoft account.  If a user does not have an existing Google or Microsoft account, they can create a new Soapbox account using their e-mail address.

Soapbox allows users to record their computer screen, along with their webcam for video and audio.  Soapbox also allows users to customize their layouts; they can have a split screen layout with their computer content and their video, or they can move to a full screen layout with either their computer content or their video camera.  

Once a user has recorded their content, their video is uploaded and saved to their Soapbox account.  Since Soapbox videos are stored in the cloud, it makes it easy for users to share content via a web link to the recording.  Web links can be posted on blogs, shared through email, tweeted out – virtually any way the user wants to share it!

Soapbox features do vary from their free to paid plans.  Users using the free plan are able to create an unlimited amount of Soapbox videos, have access to all of the transitions and layouts while customizing player colors, and they are able to export videos via URL to share using their Wistia account.  

 Users using the paid plan have access to all of the free features, but they are also able to: download videos, track engagements and statistics, customize their pages with their own logos, and book meetings directly from their videos.  Wistia also offers Team pricing, which is geared to groups creating a substantial amount of content that needs to be tracked and reviewed by others on the same team.  

If having the ability to download your content, track viewing statistics and engagements, branding video pages, and enabling direct meetings in your video are important to you, the paid plan may be something worth considering.  If you work in a group where the content and its statistics need to be shared by all, the Team plan may be your best bet.  If you are using a different platform to share your videos that can mimic some of these features, or if your only purpose is to share content, then the free version will meet your needs.