According to recent statistics, over 44% of Internet users watch vlogs every single month. The age group that is making vlogs today includes everyone from toddlers to fifty-sixty years old. Many think that vlogs are made just on a formal basis but let us tell you, it is a great means of digital marketing.
In this present time where content and the internet are kings, video is becoming the main source of information, entertainment, and education. Vlogs for video marketing are as they say the new cool in the internet world. You want to hop on the bandwagon and start vlogs too, here is your time, and here is this article just meant for you.
In this article other than just answering the questions about what are vlogs and the benefits of vlogging, we will explain how to vlog. So, let’s get started!
This article will explore the following:
- What are vlogs?
- Benefits of vlogging.
- How to vlog?
What are Vlogs?
The word ‘vlog’ is a portmanteau of ‘video’ and ‘blog.’ A vlog is a piece of video that documents a person’s life or expertise, with an average length of around five minutes. In essence, it’s just a motion picture version of the type of content you could expect to find on a traditional blog.
Vlogs are created to connect with an audience through shared ideas and experiences. The core difference between vlogs and other types of video content is that the vlogger is the main subject of its content. For example, a travel vlog revolves around the creator’s experiences and thoughts, whether they are shown in the frame or through a voice-over. On the contrary, a travel video focuses primarily on the destination, usually from an objective point of view.
Types of Vlogs
- Review vlogs and unboxing product vlogs
- Pranks and comedy vlogs
- Beauty vlogs
- Fashion vlogs
- Fitness vlogs
- How-to vlogs
- Lifestyle vlog
- Gamer vlogs
- TV vlogs
- Movie vlogs
- Travel vlogs
Benefits of Vlogging
Let us look at the benefits of vlogging:
Helps Build Trust
In any business, the most important factor in winning the trust of your customers. You want to sell more products, get more customers or clients, and stay in business, grow your business. If nobody knows who you are or has any confidence in your business, what makes you think they’ll actually buy from you? What if we told you Vlogs help you do exactly that. Vlogs help you show your consumers exactly who you are.
A Memory of a Lifetime
Vlogging enables you to capture moments right in time, talk to the camera, and upload it to whichever platform you wish to and you can always look back at it years from when the video was updated. Unlike the professional videos that go up on platforms like YouTube, Vlogging is majorly like keeping things raw, real, and as it is. Years later you can watch that vlog and go down the memory lane.
Enables You to be Creative Most of Your Life
Considering vlogs are as real as they can be, it helps you drive more creativity every minute of your life to share with your viewers. Every minute you are looking for something new to share with your viewers. You always look for a new voice inside of you to share with your viewers. This as a result helps you remain creative. However, on the other edge, if you put a long pause on vlogging, you might end up losing hold of your creativity and ultimately it will become a creative block.
Build Relationships
As you vlog, you actually start to build relationships with people online because they feel like they know you. It also improves your ability to share your life with friends and family who aren’t near you.
Moreover, in a world where everyone is busy thinking about who thinks what about a person, a vlog helps you overcome that. You not only become confident about what you do and how you do, you worry less and lead a happy life.
Sharing Expertise
Finally, one of the greatest advantages of having a vlog is the ability to share what you know. When you put your work out into the world and demonstrate you know what you’re talking about, you’re going to attract attention.
Now let’s crack the answer to, how to vlog?
How to Vlog?
Lets look at the steps to take to get started with a vlog:
Pick Your Niche
The first step to becoming a vlogger is defining the type of content you want to create. Having a clear niche will allow viewers to easily understand what to expect from your videos, which will make it more likely for the relevant audience to subscribe to your channel. You don’t want your audience to think that you don’t have a plan for them or you are lost in your own had.
Some of the most popular vlogging categories include fitness, food, make-up, travel, unboxing, and gaming. While you don’t need to stick to one of these fields, it’s important to ensure the type of content you want to create is in demand.
Take Inspiration
While we believe you can do wonders on your own on your first go, it is always better to take inspiration from other creators. Take the time to look at content similar to what you want to create.
Browse vlogs by popularity as well as by publishing date to see how the field has evolved over time. Look up the most popular vloggers in your space and find out what makes them different from the competition.
Learning how to vlog, much like any other skill, comes primarily from paying attention to what people with experience in the field are doing.
Find “The Voice”
Developing a unique voice is crucial if you want to become a successful vlogger. As you enter the competitive world of vlogging, it’s important that you start seeing yourself as a brand and your content as a product.
Not only do you need to create interesting videos, but they also need to be aesthetically appealing and generally entice the audience into watching more. Think about what it is that you can offer your audience that no other vlogging channels can.
Invest in the Right Gears
The equipment you need will largely depend on the type of vlog you want to create. There are a few basic gears that you must have as a vlogger:
Generally, there are six main pieces of vlogging equipment you’ll need to keep in mind:
Camera
The best camera for vlogging varies significantly depending on the type of content you create. While nowadays mirror less cameras seem to be an industry-favorite, some may benefit from investing in DSLRs or action cameras. Start by taking a look at the different types of cameras available and then see which model better fits your needs.
Lens
If you choose to use an interchangeable lens camera, you need to understand that the lens you use will have a huge impact on the quality of your work. Of all types of camera lenses, vloggers tend to choose wider angles that require less maneuvering space and enable you to fit more elements in the frame. However, make sure to check other options within your price range before settling for a specific glass.
Tripod
The star of all camera accessories across the majority of genres, having a tripod or stabilizer is an absolute must as you learn how to vlog. No one will spend their precious time watching shaky footage, no matter how great your content actually is.
Microphone
Up there with an unstabilized image, the bad sound is one of the biggest turnoffs for vlogging audiences. Even if you plan to use free music for videos on most of your content, you’ll need to have a microphone to record high-quality audio whenever needed.
Lighting
If you plan to record indoors, artificial lighting is an absolute must. If you plan to record strictly outdoors, artificial lighting would be a great addition to your gear. It will help you avoid camera noise and ensure your footage is always clear, as well as soften shadows for a more even look.
Editing software
Last, but most certainly not least, you’ll need the right tools to convert your footage into an actual vlog. While professional editors can be quite expensive, there are several free video editing software programs you can use with great results.
Define your Work
In order to give your channel a homogeneous look, it’s important to establish a set of guidelines from the get-go. This will allow viewers to have a clear idea of what to expect when subscribing to your channel, not only in terms of content but also style and regularity.
Start by defining whether your content will be improvised or scripted. Some vloggers prefer to set up the camera and talk away, simply following a brief sketch of the ideas they want to discuss, while others create a detailed shot list beforehand.
Edit Videos
If you want to become a vlogger, you’ll need to master the art of video editing. Get familiar with the software you’ll be using and don’t start sharing your videos until you feel the result is good enough. While it’s common to look back at the beginning of your career and be shocked at how much better your work is now, the starting level should already meet the industry standards.
Stay Active on Social Media
Your vlogging career should not exist on a single platform. In order to maximize your audience reach, you’ll need to create a strong online presence that expands through several networks. In addition to having a profile on all major and relevant social media platforms, you’ll need to create a video website to serve as the umbrella that brings all your accounts together.
Optimize Your Content
Once your content is live on the internet, the next step in your career as a vlogger is to ensure that people actually reach said content. In order to do so, you’ll need to learn how to do proper SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which roughly translates to the process of improving web page content to increase its visibility on search engines.
Keep Track of Your Performance
Only because your vlogs are finally out there for the world to enjoy, doesn’t mean your job is over. Keep an eye on how they perform over time to identify areas that could be improved. Pay attention to viewers’ comments and use your other platforms to explicitly ask for constructive criticism.
Collaborate
Once you have published a few vlogs and built the foundations of your brand, start establishing relationships with other creators. Don’t be shy to reach out to other vloggers in your field, but put genuine connections above partnership offerings.
How Can Deskera Assist You?
Whether you are a sales manager or running your own business, there are tons of duties and responsibilities that you have to fulfill. Using the Deskera CRM system, you can manage your contacts, leads, and sales deals. You can use the CRM system to manage all customer data and manage your leads, sales negotiations, and deals.
Doing so will help you to save the time taken in transferring customer data between the different systems. Having a good CRM system will help you manage your financial and sales reports and be prepared to kick off your meetings.
Deskera can also assist you with real-time updates about your business like cash flow status, customer satisfaction, inventory management, sales, purchases, purchase orders, customer tickets, customer satisfaction, managing leads, revenues, profit, and loss statements, and balance sheets.
Moreover, it would also help in integrating sales methodology across different platforms onto one system so that you have a consolidated list for email campaigns, leads management, and sales pipeline to mention a few.
It will also help you to sync between your orders, payments, taxes, refunds, product variants, sending out invoices and reminders, facilitating invoice management, and even undertaking follow-ups and advertisement campaigns.
Key Takeaways
- A vlog is a piece of video that documents a person’s life or expertise, with an average length of around five minutes.
- Vlogging enables you to capture moments right in time, talk to the camera, and upload it to whichever platform you wish to and you can always look back at it years from when the video was updated.
- Vlogs help you drive more creativity every minute of your life to share with your viewers.
- Vlogs help you start building relationships with people online because they feel like they know you.
- One of the greatest advantages of having a vlog is the ability to share what you know.
- The first step to becoming a vlogger is defining the type of content you want to create.
- While we believe you can do wonders on your own on your first go, it is always better to take inspiration from other creators.
- As you enter the competitive world of vlogging, it’s important that you start seeing yourself as a brand and your content as a product.
- Use the right gears. The equipment you need will largely depend on the type of vlog you want to create.
- In order to give your channel a homogeneous look, it’s important to establish a set of guidelines from the get-go.
- Once you have published a few vlogs and built the foundations of your brand, start establishing relationships with other creators.