Lately, video blogging has gained plenty of traction in the past 10 years.
You’ll be amazed to know that 85% of people in the U.S alone watch videos daily. Last year, Cisco predicted around 82% of online traffic would be compromised by video in 2021.
This forecast turned out correct.
For this reason, we highly believe if you still have not jumped on this bandwagon, it’s high time you should.
The answer to this dilemma is video blogging, also known as vlogging. It is well-known that blog postings have long been the most popular sort of online content, but things have changed. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at making creative videos but haven’t gotten around to it, now might be the perfect moment.
Video content is currently the most popular form of content, according to HubSpot. Combining video and blogging is an excellent strategy for attracting and retaining your audience.
To help you out, we decided to write a conclusive guide on creating your video blog. This step-by-step guide will help you to start vlogging and become pro at it in a flash.
But before we jump to that, let’s first learn why video blogging is the right move.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
Video Blogging – The Significance
Video blogging is an exceptionally effective method of establishing meaningful connections with your audience, and it does so more effectively than any other type of blogging.
This alone, we believe, is reason enough to give vlogging a try. It is, however, far from the only one!
As briefly discussed above, the popularity of video content is exploding. Whether you’re a corporation trying to expand or communicate with your audience, or an independent content creator looking for their ideal content niche, video blogging is worth exploring.
After all, videos are considered as a captivating and enticing type of content available. Nearly half of adults aged 18–34 would immediately abandon whatever they were doing to watch a new video from a favorite content provider! Therefore, why not leverage this strength to your advantage?
However, the best thing is that video’s benefits do not end there! Apart from the engagement benefits discussed previously, videos are a fantastic way to help your SEO efforts.
Google adores videos, which means that if you already have a website and want to improve your search engine optimization efforts and content, vlogging is ideal for you! Oh, and let’s not forget that blog posting that includes videos generate three times a greater number of links than those that do not!
With the preceding in mind, we believe it would be imprudent not to leverage the power of vlogging!
Let’s begin by demonstrating to you how to make a video blog properly!
How To Start A Video Blog In 4 Simple Steps
Before you start working, you must know about the primary details of vlogging. There are four main steps on your journey to becoming a vlogger.
The following are four major steps involved in the process of becoming a vlogger:
- Use adequate gear(s) for recording
- Choose the right platform
- Invest time in post-production
- Create and share your unique content
Let’s go through each step in-depth!
#1) Use adequate gear(s) for recording
To begin, how can you consider establishing a video blog without proper recording equipment? That is correct — you cannot! Thus, these are the prerequisites for getting started.
· Good quality microphone for audio recording
You must be wondering why we mentioned the microphone on top when we’re talking about video blogging.
The answer is straightforward – audio quality is more important than video quality. Why? Because the entire purpose of a video blog is for your audience to hear what you’re saying.
Video is merely a supporting media in this case!
With this in mind, avoid attempting to save money on your mic! If you have to make a compromise, make it on video quality rather than audio.
Oh, and did we mention that the audio can be used elsewhere even if the video is inadequate? That is accurate! You can submit it as an audio recording to your website or even convert your performance into a podcast.
· Perfect lighting
Lighting is also one of the essential components when it comes to making a video blog. You must know it could make or break your video.
Therefore, it’s important to take it into consideration when planning.
In an ideal world, you’ll have plenty of natural light and won’t need anything else. However, once the dreary seasons arrive, sunshine will be scarce. That is when artificial illumination proves to be advantageous!
Plenty of options are available at your disposal, but here we are just mentioning a few of them:
Backlights – the name suggests the purpose of this light. It’s placed on the behind to light up the background.
Key lights – this is the light you’ll often be using. It’s placed just above the lens of the camera.
Fill lights – the fill light is used to overcome the shadow cast by primary (key) lights.
Depending on the quality of these products and the quantity purchased, the overall quality of your lighting can vary greatly.
However, keep in mind that nobody expects to watch a Hollywood-quality production on your video blog, so don’t sweat it, as long as the room is well-illuminated.
· High-tech camera
Naturally, if you’re going to create a video blog, you’re going to need a high-quality camera to film yourself.
You could record your vlog with a phone, but we would not encourage it. The higher the video quality, the more professional your vlog will appear.
This will affect how your audience perceives you and can help you swiftly become their favorite vlogger.
Don’t splurge your money. Just look for something decent.
#2) Choose the right platform
Now coming to the second step of this journey, choosing the right video host. Well, you’ve two options:
- Choose an existing platform
- Make your own website to post your video blogs
In today’s increasingly digital environment, there are numerous social video platforms with large followings. Get your video blog on one of them to start creating a following.
The most popular platform, YouTube, has nearly 2 billion active users. With so much exposure potential, it’s easy to see why someone would select one of these platforms over finding a web host and creating a website.
Other alternatives include TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, to name a few.
All these social platforms have large audiences. Overall, depending on your needs, any of these could be an ideal platform, to begin with.
Or, if you want to create your very own platform, go with the second option and get yourself a website. Even though attracting the audience to a new site calls for a lot of effort, it’s a good option in the long run.
The more traffic you bring to your site, the more you make.
But for this purpose, you’ll need a video hosting service. You can explore your options on the internet.
The ball is in your court; whichever option you find suitable go with it.
#3) Invest time in post-production
After choosing the best platform for your purposes, you must deal with post-production. To be clear, recording and publishing a video is not all you need to accomplish.
Choosing the finest video editor for your needs is critical. Depending on your goals, you can choose a video editor. Fortunately, you have plenty of video editing options available.
If you want to go out of the box and add some more sparkles, create an animated video. If you don’t know how to do it and looking for a reputable animation company, read out the best video animation companies for your business out there!
#4) Create and share your unique content
Finally, yet importantly, it’s time to create quality content for your blog and share it with your audience.
Let’s start by throwing in a handful of helpful content tips for a video blog.
Before you begin, keep the following things in your mind:
Add subtitles – According to a survey conducted in the United States, 92% of mobile users and 83% of all video viewers want their videos muted. When it comes to catering to this demographic, captions are a must-have.
Be entertaining and genuine – The fact is that if you’re not having fun with what you’re doing, no one will like watching you.
As a result, don’t sulk when you’re in front of the camera. You’ll have difficulty gaining a following and making money from a video blog if you do so.
Encourage viewers to engage – This tip applies to any content development, including video blogs. User engagement is a powerful technique to improve social shares and visibility. So, utilize it!
Be open to feedback – User feedback can be pretty valuable if you know how to interpret it. Make sure to use constructive criticism wisely.
Stay persistent – It’s impossible to begin your video blogging career with a large audience. Despite the difficulties, the most important thing is not to give up.
Keep going, and you’ll get there in the end!
We hope you’ll find these tips on video content creation helpful. But that’s not it. Below we have listed a few helpful tips on content distribution, so keep on reading!
Distribution is just as critical to your success as creation, if not more so! How are you going to get people to discover your video blog if you aren’t promoting it?
So, what are your options? To begin, you should publicize any fresh content via social media!
Social platforms exist for a purpose – they facilitate the distribution of content by independent and professional authors. Therefore, utilize this to your advantage!
The second option is to experiment with video content syndication. This would require re-uploading your video blogs on a different platform to increase your reach.
This takes little time but can immediately expose your material to a large number of fresh eyeballs.
YouTube is not the only platform to share your video blog on. Fortunately, you have a variety of video syndication networks to select from, including Reddit, Facebook, and even LinkedIn.
To explore more platforms to promote your content, check out The 18 Best Video Websites Like YouTube.
Start Your Video Blogging Career Today!
If you have any fantastic YouTube video ideas in your mind, this guide will be a head start for you.
Just follow all the above steps religiously and be patient. Eventually, everything will fall into place.
If you’re looking for video production or video animation services, consider BuzzFlick – a video animation agency that offers 2D animation services, 3D animation services, and post-production services without burning a hole in your pocket.
So, talk to us today and avail our exceptional video production services!
Video blog – FAQs
- What is video blogging?
Video blogging is creating a blog using videos instead of static images and text.
- How to create video blogs?
You can create video blogs with these 7 simple steps:
- Choose your topic or niche
- Identify your target audience
- Buy adequate gears for recording
- Choose a location
- Select the right platform
- Record and edit your platform
- Distribute your content
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An animation enthusiast who enjoys explaining complex animation techniques, mediums, and videos. Her love for animated films drives her. In her spare time, she enjoys watching animated films from Pixar, Disney, and Illumination productions.
