Video Blogging: Ready to Go Viral?

How to Jump On Board the Next Big Thing in Social Media There couldn’t be a more perfect time to start a video blog. The traditional blogosphere is so congested with start-up blogs that it can be downright impossible to get a traditional text-and-photo blog noticed. In fact, there were 168,984,930 blogs on the Internet as of August 2011, according to Blogpulse statistics. The “vlogosphere,” on the other hand, remains wide open. The online video viewing audience reached 178,477 viewers in the summer 2011 according to comScore. That’s 17,300 more viewers than comScore reported in 2009. Ready to stake your claim in the video blog frontier? Here’s everything you need to know about starting your own video blog. What Makes a Great Video Blog? Before you start vlogging, keep in mind the following elements of a successful video blog:

1. Decent Video Equipment Using laptop webcams and inexpensive cameras for video blogging are fine, but remember that the better your equipment, the more professional and authoritative you seem. Film on a flat surface or invest in a tripod to prevent the infamous amateur “shaky cam” syndrome.
2. Video Editing Software Basic video-editing software is pretty easy to use. In fact, modern computers come with basic software already installed. You’ll be able to learn how to perform basic edits to your video blogs by simply playing around with your software and reading the accompanying program tutorials. Looking for something a little more advanced? Try Lifehacker’s video editing guide.
3. Good Lighting Lighting is even more important than your video equipment. Viewers may forgive a slight graininess in the film quality, but no one wants to watch a poor-lit video. The whole reason we’re watching your vlog is so we can watch you do something. If we can’t see you, what’s the point of video blogging?
4. Clear Audio Nothing annoys a vlog viewer faster than excessive background noise or muffled audio. Always check your video before posting to make sure your audio is clear and easy to understand. Remember audio that is too loud is always preferable to audio that is too-soft in video for blogs; while a viewer can easily turn the sound down to a preferable volume, most computers only “turn up” to a certain point before your viewer may be left with his ear to the speaker.
5. A Strong Opening A typical viewer will give you about ten seconds to decide if she wants to continue watching your video blogs. Treat your opening 10-15 seconds like the title and opening paragraph of a blog post. Start with a strong lead, grab your viewer’s attention and then explain what you’ll be covering or discussing in the video.
6. No Dead Air Vlogging is like doing live radio. Avoid or eliminate any “dead air” (spots of silence or parts of the video where nothing’s happening.) Let’s say you’re making a cooking video. Though chopping an onion may take a full minute, your viewers only need to see about three seconds of this tedious task.
7. A Steady Storytelling Pace If your video hits a boring patch, your viewers will stop watching. Keep the action moving throughout your video blogs. Unfortunately, pacing is one of the most difficult things to master when you’re learning how to video blog. Have a volunteer audience, such as a friend or family member, watch your beginner videos and report whenever they felt bored or disinterested.
8. A Short Running Time Time is precious in the world of vlogging. No matter how spectacular your video content may be, Internet viewers aren’t going to give you more than a few minutes to make your point. Your vlogs should be no more than two to three minutes long.
9. Originality If your video doesn’t say anything new, why are you posting it? Your viewers aren’t interested in content they can get elsewhere. Give them something fresh and creative—something they haven’t seen before.
10. Personality Vlogging gives you a chance to show off what you’re like “in real life.” Don’t shy away from adding your own style, personality or “twist.”

Ideal Uses for Video Blogging Obviously, video blogs are best suited for any topic that would benefit from being presented visually. However, they’re also ideal for any topic you want to make more personal or relatable. Ideal topics for vlogs include:

• How-To Videos
• Tutorial Series
• Interviews
• Announcements (such as contests, giveaways, new policies, etc.)
• Rants
• Opinions
• Anything you want to feel more “personal” than plan text on a page.

Where to Host Your Video Blog While most people instantly think “YouTube” when they hear “Internet video,” the site isn’t the best place to start vlogging. First of all, YouTube brings connotations of cats playing piano and failed motorcycle stunts – it’s not exactly seen as a professional location. Secondly, YouTube’s video quality leaves much to be desired. Lastly, YouTube is video-only. It’s designed to be a video hosting site, not a video blogging site. Just like you wouldn’t use Flickr to host a photo blog, if you want to post more than just video, you’re not going to want to host a vlog on YouTube. If you started your video blog for professional reasons, consider hosting your site on a more professional outlet such as Commonfig, which allows you to post your information, work experience, photos, etc. along with your video blogs. The Final Step: Promoting Your Posts Once you make a video blog, you may think all your work is going to be tied into filming, editing, and posting your content. However, you’ve still got to promote the content on your video blogs – after all, if no one is seeing your work, why bother publishing it? Link to your latest vlog post on all of your social networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn – the works. You may also want to consider using social bookmarking sites like Digg, StumbleUpon and Reddit to promote your video blogging. Professionals, always link back to your website at the end of each video – if your content gets shared, you’ll want your audience to know where it came from. Keep producing quality content and promoting it as much as you can. Vlogging isn’t an overnight sensation; it’s a process that needs momentum to pick up speed. Slowly but surely, your audience will build – and so will your brand.   Further Reading:

1. “10 Simple Video Blog Ideas”
2. “Persuasive Online Video Strategies That Prompt Action”
3. “How to Start a Video Blog – the Definitive Guide”