Heather Allen
The Benefits of Video Blogging
You may be trying to decide whether or now video blogging is a worthwhile way for you to reach your client base. A recent article by TechCrunch pointed out that in October 2011 the total U.S. audience viewed 42.6 billion videos online, an all-time high. If you aren’t using online video to provide insight, you need to be.
There are so many benefits to using videos on your blog, some that we hope will help you to overcome your hesitations and get that cameras rolling.
- Videos allow you to easily express your personality and build rapport with blog readers.
- Once you’ve developed a rhythm, video blogging can become quicker than writing a blog post (although we’ve prove that even that doesn’t have to drain your time)
- You have an opportunity to bring your readers on the road with you… put them in a scene.
- By using video blogging you are demonstrating that you are technically savvy.
- Videos are 57% more likely to be ranked on the first page of Google versus text.
Getting Started
Depending on the resources available to you, you could your video blog started overnight. If you have a smart phone, or a computer with a built in webcam, you have all that you need.
Once you’ve made a commitment to video blogging on a regular basis you may want to invest in a flip cam or digital camera to make the viewing experience a bit more polished.
Experienced video bloggers will tell you that the best way to get started is to overcome your fear and jump right in.
- Come up with a topic and a few speaking points
- Practice in front of the camera, but don’t rehearse word for word
- Film yourself and post your first take
Allowing yourself to film take after take, will just stress you out, and it will make your video seem too rehearsed. No one is expecting you to put out an Emmy-worthy video on your blog… they are just expecting you to provide some sort of value to your customers and prospects.
This method you will force yourself to improve each time your post a new video blog, and after a while you’ll find it will come easily.
If you are hesitant about getting started with video blogging, my advice to you is to jump right on in and take advantage of all the benefits it has to offer.
