Now that we’re fully engaged in a digital marketing era and the uprise of social platforms like YouTube continues, it can be difficult to keep up with the times. But, not anymore, vlogging is the new trend and it is a great way to help you keep up-to-date and can provide your target audience with rich, in-depth information without them having to read a 2,000-word blog.

A vlog simply stands for video log and describes the basic visual process of video blogging. You create your own content that is visually engaging, and can be published within a written blog post to create incredibly rich content. Vlogging is the new way forward and the easiest way to get a step ahead of your competitors, particularly when it comes to SEO and social media.

Videos are the new darling of content marketing, with many platforms favouring content in video form, and actively penalising accounts that aren’t getting in on the video action. Facebook engagement and reach is currently at an all time low for any account not using video, and a vlog really makes a difference to your marketing strategy. You will find more people are likely to click on your content if its a video from then text or images, because they are intrigued to know what is included, and it’s a format they can very easily absorb with minimal effort. The best part about vlogging is you can embed videos on websites, share them on social media, and repurpose them for multiple other markting uses (like the creation of eCourses and other paid offers), which can extend your reach further.

Video is the future of marketing. You need to start now to keep ahead of your competitors.

Be a trendsetter, not a traditionalist.

YouTube is the second largest social platform with the most active users, and the largest search engine next to Google, but that’s only the start of why you should be vlogging. Here are six benefits of of starting a vlog for your business…

6 Big Benefits Of Starting A Vlog For Your Business

#1 Adding That Personal Touch…

One benefit of vlogging is that it adds a personal touch to your business content. You are not only putting a literal face on your brand, you’re also allowing people to get a real insight into things like your business environment, the personal background and interests of yourself and your team, and the processes at work in your company. Blog posts are fabulous (seriously, we love them), but they are inherently impersonal, due to the black and white nature of reading text without context. There’s no face, no physical voice to the words, and this can leave your audience feeling slightly disconnected.

In the days before the rise of video marketing, that wasn’t really an issue. Blogging was still shiny and new. We hadn’t been spoiled by the dominating force of YouTube, and we were still getting used to the idea of such great content being so freely available. As video has become increasingly prevalent, we’ve found there’s a whole other way of doing things, and that we connect far more powerfully with brands that show us who they truly are.

Video is the easiest way to both provide high-value content, and send an informal message about your business. It gives you the ability to share your story visually, and helps clients and your audience (all of whom are potentially future clients) to trust you, follow you, and keep up to date with what your company is doing.

It’s like Chester Zoo and their Channel 4 TV Programme. Audiences watch this and gain entertainment and educational gratifications from the programme. The video format allows a wider audience to get a behind the scenes look, and gain insight into one of the UK’s biggest zoos. They recently had a fire at the zoo, and due to the trust and care that the keepers showed on the programme and how the animals are protected, over £100,000 was raised in hours.

The power of video content can be astonishing, so if you’ve got something to share about your business, get it in video form and share it!

Having that extra added element on your social media allows for an instant connection with your audience that can help you to build relationships. It creates brand loyalty and will help you to retain clients, as well as showing casing your authenticity.

People tend to connect with and trust they should work with business far more easily if they know what you’re like, and have a clear sense you are provided true insight into your work.

It’s all about allowing your audience to trust you, the your work you’re capable of doing, and the fact that you are available to support and add value to their lives.

#2 Budget-Friendly Content Marketing…

If you’re up for boosting your business in the right way, then vlogging is for you. A massive benefit is that you can start a business vlog with minimal costs. If you have the budget to go all out, great, but if you don’t – or you’re gun shy about making the investment before you’ve seen the results – you can start small. You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment right away. So while you can absolutely kit yourself out with every gadget available, or a hire a professional video marketing expert to handle everything (and provide the kit!), you can start a vlog on a shoestring.

The majority of vloggers started on their smartphones and built their way up from there.

You can start vlogging simply as long as you have two things: a phone that enables you to record sound and video and a big window. As long as you have plenty of light beaming in, you have the perfect set up to begin your vlogging venture.

The best way is to start from the bottom and build your way up, and as you go along you can continue to upgrade and purchase more equipment that suits your needs. Eventually, as you’re convinced of the massive potential vlogging has and you’re able to justify investing a higher budget in the project, you can purchase extras such as lighting and audio equipment, a more professional camera, and potentially a better editing software.

(Or you can just hire us, and we’ll handle all that for you.)

6 Big Benefits Of Starting A Vlog For Your Business

#3 SEO Loves A Bit Of Video…

Vlogging is also super beneficial for your website and climbing up the ranks on the search engines. Embedding video on your website is currently the single most powerful move you can make to improve your site’s SEO. Video content gives you a greater chance of ranking highly on search engines for a few key reasons:

  1. You have a video on the mega powerful search engine that is YouTube, linking to your page and boosting its credibility.
  2. SERPs prioritise content that offers multiple formats, meaning if they have a choice between a written post, and a video post, they will show the video post. Embedding a video version of your written content in your site supercharges its SEO value.
  3. Video is far more easily optimised for search effectively than written content. You don’t have to worry about stuffing keywords into everything you say on your video (which, incidentally, you shouldn’t do on your posts either!). Instead, your video can be easily optimised for a cluster of keywords and terms when you upload it.

If you complete video SEO correctly, you can be indexed perfectly to rank high for relevant keywords. One way to help your SEO is to pair your video with a transcript, which makes it much more accessible for a wider audience. A video transcript also helps make your videos much more searchable, because there is additional text on the page that will help your SEO. It takes the pressure of the need to write content, particularly if you’re comfortable recording off the cuff. Rather than painstakingly penning every post, just get it on camera and have it transcribed.

Setting a good thumbnail can help too, as people tend to choose the video that appears most appealing to them. If people see a video with a thumbnail that looks interesting and clearly indicates what it’s about, and why it’s of value, they will click it instantly. Usually, thumbnails that have the title of the video, images with quality lighting, and/or people in work best.

#4 Show Off Your Skills…

Another benefit of vlogging is that it is an easy way to showcase your skills. Whilst providing a personal touch, you can also share your knowledge of topics you’re interested in. Giving away tips and valuable information makes audiences feel more respected, and they are more likely to continue to watch your videos if they know you’re knowledgeable.

Let them know about your business, what you can do for them and ultimately again build their trust.

As most industries are very competitive, it is a good way to step up your game and uplevel your brand to overtake your competitors. Your industry may currently have few or no vloggers and it’s one of the best ways to sell the USP of your product or service.

Get into the gap in the market early before your competition does, and really hit the ball out of the park.

You really need to think to yourself, are you going to sink or swim?

Where marketing is concerned, the only way to keep swimming is to start using video.

6 Big Benefits Of Starting A Vlog For Your Business

#5 Get Your Visual On…

Content is always better when it’s visual. This is another major benefit to vlogging and can work wonders for your business. It is much easier for audiences to watch a video than read a long blog. This is because people can watch it whilst carrying out their daily activities, and because of the accessibility of the YouTube app they aren’t restricted. They can watch it on the go.

It’s also the easiest way for the brain to absorb information, and since audiences are increasingly lazy, making things as simple as possible for them is always a bonus.

More than that, the retention rate is far higher when people watch a video than it is if they read exactly the same information in written form. If you’re providing how-to or tutorial videos, your information will be processed a lot better by your audience and they will retain more of that information for a longer time. This can also cause a word-of-mouth effect too if they recite that information back to someone else and suggest your channel.

#6 Supercharge Your Social Media…

There is an unlimited aspect of sharing vlogs, due to the fact they can be repurposed easily across multiple platforms. Sharing them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can be a great way to extend your audience further, especially if you’re struggling on Facebook. You won’t get anywhere without video content on Facebook anymore. as Zuckerberg changed up the algorithms and the results people are now getting on business pages is shocking compared to what it used to be.

Facebook in particular favours profiles that are rich in video content, but it’s true for all the social platforms, with Instagram and Twitter both pouring a lot of resources into new video streaming platforms, and other sites like Snapchat already well ahead of the video curve.

Unless you are frequently posting video content your social content will flop, and so will your engagement. 

Top Tips For Effective Vlogging…

A little tip is to make sure that when you are editing your videos, all clips are smoothly cut and the lighting is perfect. Nobody wants to watch a choppy video to watch whilst they’re cooking their tea. So just try to make sure that everything is cut and edited to the best of your ability.

Working out who your ideal client is, is vital so when you’re doing your own marketing including vlogs, you can use the correct tone of voice, providing interesting content and guaranteeing your audience is gaining good value. Also, being able to understand your niche and USP to its full extent can really help you explore topics and discussion relating to areas your audience are genuinely searching for and care about. Your niche becomes the differential factor in separating you from the competition.

Plan, Plan And Plan Some More…

You need to plan what you’re going to do, as far in advance as possible. Without this, your content quality will be poor and/or inconsistent, and will start to disengage audiences, having the entirely opposite effect to what you wanted!

You have to plan, plan, plan.

Be precise and clear with every vlog you create and make sure that you have a strategy surrounding your content marketing so that you can push your brand wider.

Your vlogs should naturally discuss your product or service without making the audience feel like you’re being pushy or constantly trying to sell. Your expertise, knowledge, and the value you’re freely offering will sell you – there’s no need to be ‘salesy’ about it. A good way to do this is to offer freebies or a content upgrade so that people who are engaged in your videos can get hold of even more great content and value in exchange for their email address – giving you a chance to market to them directly.  

Try to batch as many vlogs as you can in advance. At least try to film two videos every time you film so you can always be at least one step ahead. Keep going as long as you can in this pattern and if you feel like you can do more in one day of filming then, go for it!

6 Big Benefits Of Starting A Vlog For Your Business

Build Your Confidence…

A massive worry that people often have with vlogging is having to be in front of a camera. Don’t get me wrong, at first it can be challenging to pluck up the courage and talk to an audience behind a camera. This is perfectly normal! That being said, you’ll soon get into the swing on things and in no time you’ll be smashing them out every week!

The key to confidence is to find practical solutions to your fears. If you’re worried about whether your vlog is going to be successful or not, unsure what you’re supposed to say, or how productive you’re going to be, there are all easy solutions to be resolved.

Remember that it’s perfectly natural to feel nervous and anxious about filming vlogs – everyone is in the same boat. Just go for it, you can edit your way around pauses and any blanks you may have. Simply not worrying about what people think can get you a long way and it can definitely get your business out there a lot faster if you’re putting a face to a business.

No matter what you choose to do, your content will always be appreciated and it’ll always be worthwhile in enabling you to get your business out there in the digital world.

One thing to note is to be realistic about your time. If you can dedicate some time to vlog, then these videos will be effective. If not, then you may not get the results you want. Stick to a schedule as much as you can and set aside as much time as possible to film and edit your videos, whether that’s daily, monthly or every couple of months. Remember, it always ends up taking a lot longer than you’re expecting – the finished video you create may only be two or five or ten minutes long, but the time you take to create it is (realistically) going to be about four times as long.

Get Help From The Pros…

You also have the option to outsource your video creation. If you’re struggling with the concept of vlogging and you need an extra pair of hands, we can help. Vlogging can be a difficult process, especially when it comes writing the content, organising filming, finding and effectively using the best equipment, and editing. At Acrylic, we can support you with any marketing needs you have and can advise you on what’s best for your business.

Not sure how you can edit your vlogs effectively so that they’re short and sweet but still interesting? We can help you out, get in touch for your free consultation…

Author Profile

Hazel Butler
Our Head of Marketing, Hazel Butler, is an award-winning author, copywriter, and editor. Part ghostwriter, part blogger, part videographer, and part strategist, when she’s not endlessly penning content for our clients Hazel’s happily concocting the perfect marketing plans to propel their businesses forward.
Get to know her...

Book Your FREE Consultation Now…

    Author Profile

    Hazel Butler
    Our Head of Marketing, Hazel Butler, is an award-winning author, copywriter, and editor. Part ghostwriter, part blogger, part videographer, and part strategist, when she’s not endlessly penning content for our clients Hazel’s happily concocting the perfect marketing plans to propel their businesses forward.
    Get to know her...