Vlogging has taken the world by storm in recent years. It's just a way of blogging, using videos instead of text to reach out, create an audience, and share information.
Many companies today are creating a video blog to reach new customers and build deeper relationships with them.
Vlogging is growing rapidly and has been shown to generate better interaction than text or photos.
The bottom line is that your future customers are watching videos, and maintaining a video blog is a great way to reach out to them and keep your brand in front of them on a regular basis. Below are 6 vlogging tips.
It all starts with your content. You don't have to be a perfectionist or anything, that will probably make you hesitate and postpone the posting of new videos.
But quality is important. With affordable DSLRs, digital camcorders, and even incredibly sharp lens smartphones, not to mention high-clarity wireless and desktop microphones, there's really no excuse for not having HD video with clear audio, even if you're just learning to record.
But quality is not just about having HD videos. Quality also means creating content that brings some value to others.
Your videos must educate, persuade, inspire, or entertain. Knowing your customer will help you focus on the types of content you should create.
You will improve it as you go, so the more you practice the better, but don't keep releasing mediocre content on YouTube without making any effort to improve.
One of the most common vlogging tips you'll see is to post often, daily, if possible. That's great advice for some vloggers, but it's not always necessary, especially if you're just getting started.
If you have the resources and time to create daily vlogs, then of course do it. But you don't necessarily need to post a new video every day to get good results.
Consistency is the priority, so try to keep a regular schedule for the good of your audience.
A good place to start is posting one video per week. If you are making vlogs with your phone, that should be highly doable, and your audience is more likely to stick with you when they see you're active.
While you must follow a regular posting schedule, that doesn't mean you should create those videos at a consistent rate.
In fact, it will probably be much more efficient if you batch record your videos.
Recording videos in batches can save you a lot of time by reducing the downtime that often occurs before, during and after recording each piece.
But creating the videos is not the only time to use a batch process. It's also usually easier to edit and even pre-program all those videos in batches.
Don't be a company that just creates a few videos and then goes back to business as usual.
Creating and posting videos is just the beginning. You'll also want to promote them on various social media channels and on your website.
Short video clips can work well on Instagram and Twitter. Live mini-vlogs can be fun on Snapchat.
And some longer videos may work well on Facebook. However, don't just share links to the videos.
Upload the videos directly to each platform, along with text and hashtags in the description.
Your social media efforts must also include a social listening strategy to help you connect with your customer base and keep your finger on the pulse of your industry.
If you post on YouTube, be sure to include keywords in the title, description, and tags to attract more internal traffic, as well as from search engines like Google and Bing.
Another great way to get traffic is by connecting with other vloggers and influencers on social media.
Find influencers in a related niche, an audience whose audience would enjoy your content and products but who are not a direct competitor, and make friends. Try to help them in some way. Build a relationship with them.
If you have a marketing budget for social media influencers, go ahead and contact them with an offer.
Many influencers will have email contact information right there on their social profile page.
And who knows, as you spend time studying and contacting these influencers, you can get some vlog tips from them along the way.
As with any business, it is important that you try to understand your audience and target customers so that you can really connect with them.
Marketing to Generation Z, or GenX, baby boomers, or any other demographic, requires a unique approach.
The best way to meet the needs of your customer base is to meet and interact with them as honestly as possible.
Your video content shouldn't just be a series of big-media ads meant to be passively digested by the masses.
Don't do commercials. Use the power of vlogs to offer more transparency between your company and your customers.
Let them know you and your team through your vlogs. Don't just sell them things. Reach out and make friends and let them into your world.