65% of people are visual learners, making video blogs an effective and powerful tool for providing valuable and informative content to your audience.
What's the point of a blog?
Maybe that's an odd question for a blog post to ask of itself, but it's worth clarifying.
Blogs evolved from an online form of journaling to become a respected platform for businesses and individuals to provide audiences with valuable and relevant information. Blogs have great secondary benefits, such as enhancing your on-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and driving repeat traffic to your site, but these are secondary to the main purpose. If you consistently provide content that answers the important questions your audience is asking, then your blog can be successful.
According to Social Media Today, 82% of consumer internet traffic is expected to be video by 2020.
When you consider that the majority of people are visual learners, and that the super-majority of web content is video, it only makes sense to explore how your blog could function as video - a video blog is also known as a vlog.
Below are three main reasons a vlog could prove valuable for your business.
Immediacy
The bare minimum required to start vlogging is a smartphone, and maybe a quiet place to film. There are myriad bells and whistles you can add for production elements, but the more equipment you require, the less nimble you will be. A simple approach to vlogging gives you a tool to immediately respond - to customer concerns, to business emergencies, to relevant current events that effect your industry.
Since most vlogs will be shared on a social platform, or on YouTube, which has many social characteristics, it's important to not overlook the engagement aspect of vlog immediacy. Make sure that you don't just start the engagement process by posting content, but that you also respond to each and every comment to promote additional engagement and move customers further through the sales funnel.
Authenticity
Gary Vaynerchuck, the internet personality and entrepreneur known to his fans as Gary Vee, has a piece of advice, "I'll give you the biggest tip when it comes to content creation: Document. Don't create." A from-the-hip vlog, shot live on Facebook, or directly uploaded to YouTube gives your viewers an unvarnished view into the world of your business and the people who lead it.
Showing your process in a warts-and-all video can also enhance the sense of trust between your potential customers and your business. They know you have nothing to hide.
This insider's view can be very helpful for demonstrating products as well. What's more powerful, telling people your product is amazing, or showing them?
Another great tool for building trust and displaying authenticity is to incorporate testimonials in your vlog content. Not only do potential customers love to see how past customers have interacted with a company, but any time outside voices are featured in your content, an opportunity arises for expanding your network and reach throughcross-promotion.
Expertise
Given enough time, most companies can write an effective piece of copy that communicates their brand values, the necessity of their products, and communicates some level of domain expertise. And if they can't write it, they can always hire a freelance writer to help them out.
But the written word can never compare with seeing a CEO/manager/business leader sit down in front of a camera and speak spontaneously about the industry they propose to lead. If a vlog is hosted live on a social platform, the speaker can really prove their expertise by taking questions from viewers. If you are brave enough to navigate these uncharted waters, viewers will respond with enhanced loyalty, safe in knowing they are working with an expert who has a treasure trove of valuable knowledge.
Blogging, vlogging, and more - are you looking to dive into the world of content marketing, but aren't quite sure where to start? The marketers and media team at Informatics have been experts in All Things Internet for over twenty years. Contact us today to and learn about the creative solutions we can invent for all of your business obstacles.
