Enhancing your blog by adding video is a smart strategy to use. Now that online video is a ubiquitous media form found on almost all web and social media sites your users will expect this on your blog. By embracing the opportunity to speak in a format different than writing should be seen as an interesting challenge. Choosing to write a blog most likely means you have an affinity for reading and writing and video content might seem an intimidating idea. While you can decide to market yourself in a video there are other ways that can help make a great impression on your readers giving them a fresh perspective on your blog.
People are producing more personal video content every day. The growth of video sharing sites is a result of this. Technology to make a video has become fairly easy and affordable to the average consumer. While some view videos a result of standalone cameras, microphones, etc. other have embraced the simplicity of just make a video on their higher end smartphone. Using affordable or free video editing apps people have found they can produce short watchable videos to present their ideas. By uploading to streaming platforms they can reach a potentially large number of viewers for little cost. Videos that resonate have a chance of being shared socially reaching diverse groups of people. So in this day and age, it doesn’t necessarily take many thousands of dollars and hours of preparation to make a video seen by potentially millions of people.
As a blogger, you will need to lay out a strategy ahead of time to list the pros and cons of using video content. You don’t use video just to do it instead view each blog post and as a multimedia event weaving together words and video to create compelling narratives. Now that it is easy to embed videos using streaming platforms you have many different marketing angles to explore. If you don’t feel comfortable developing your own personal video content then you should set time aside on a regular basis to search for other people who have chosen to make shareable content that would be of interest to your visitors. Due to the huge diversity of people uploading content, it is extremely likely you can find something that can help strengthen your blog post idea.
1. Guest Interview
Producing watchable content is your main goal. Having guest interviews is a good way to catch people’s interest. This also will give you a valid reason to reach out to others in your field. Find people readers might find interesting and have something to do with your blog topic. The interview can be done online or in person. You don’t have to over-think the setup. The ideas presented are much more important. Try to get answers to questions most pertinent to your visitors. Most of your time will be spent pre-interview with contacting people, scheduling a time, and question writing. The actual interview could be fairly quick like thirty minutes or less. Using affordable editing software you can cut out the unnecessary parts and pauses and have a tight five-minute interview left. Now you have a great piece of unique content, made a new contact, and your visitors will get a new perspective all at once.
2. Product Examples
Videos that explain products are almost mandatory at this point. The more expensive the product the more a consumer will expect to see a video. A company might hire professional videographers but for an independent blogger to save cost it should be a self-directed project. This gives the consumer another way to visualize using the product. Put yourself in the mindset of a potential customer and highlight features that they might find important. A variety of videos should feature each product in action. Taking time to get these videos right will be worth your time and effort hopefully leading to increased sales.
Companies like CarVeto use video as product examples. In this post about UK mot’s there is a great YouTube presentation of the product and its benefits. The video also drives its own source of traffic to the article that will help with brand awareness and finding more customers.
3. How To Series
If you find that you have a knack for making videos and enjoy it think about producing a series. Find a project idea appropriate for your blogs theme and create a group of videos that explain different steps to accomplish something. By dripping out your video content over a set period you can really give visitors a reason to keep coming back.
4. Branding
The idea of commercials has classically been the purview of larger companies but now you too can create a mini commercial. The key is to make content that would very shareable in the social media realm. Research what kind of content has a greater chance of being shared on a site such as Facebook. Brainstorm an idea that you think would catch people’s attention and make them want to share on their personal social media accounts. Have your blog name or address as a clickable link at the beginning or end of the video. These videos should be short and elicit some type of emotion for the watcher. If you work by yourself find friends or family to help make your video. There is usually someone in your life that would enjoy being on camera. This can be an interesting way to spread the word about your blog to people who haven’t visited it yet.
5. Self Introduction
People who enjoy your writing might want to know more about the person behind the scenes. Take this opportunity to introduce yourself or your team in a video. You can give as much or as little information as you want but it is still a nice way for your readers to more fully connect you to your blog.
Video content can play an important part in engaging your audience. As discussed above there are various ways to add video content. Whether you choose to make the content yourself or work with others, make an effort to include it in any strategy for improving your blog.
