Vlogging – Is it Profitable?
What is a Vlog?
Vlog is short for a video blog. It is a content format which uses video as the medium. Even though vlogging started in the early 2000s, it was not until the introduction of YouTube that vlogs became increasingly popular.
In addition to YT (YouTube), there are a lot of CMS (Content Management System) are now able to show videos.
This has created a new space for Vloggers to showcase their skills to create videos about their blogs which was earlier written on blogging sites / websites
Vlogging and Blogging are similar in lot of ways and hence you will notice that many Vloggers are bloggers and vice versa and both have blogs, apart from vlogs
Blogging and Vlogging are just one letter apart, but the distinction is highly a marked one as the former is limited to only writing, while the latter has the significant element of visual impact
It has been observed also that the impact that it can have on your customers is also quite significant as it is said that ONE FRAME = 1000 WORDS
The mechanism of Vlogging also aids the other side – i.e. the creator to express his/her ideas in a much better way as the solutions are much more palatable
There are two ways in which a Vlogger can present his/her information: Recorded or Live. The former can be done with lot of new elements, while the latter is an actual representation
Recorded videos
There are two ways in which a recorded video is made viz. when the set is ready i.e. it is made conducive for recording and whenever there could be an event that is being recorded.
In the latter case, it could be a chance that the recorded video has come from a live event. The videos can be made on different topics / domains
This leads to an interesting situation, as the output can have various options due the variety that is possible. The biggest reason, that this kind of videos is preferred is its flexibility.
When a video is recorded, the Vlogger has the chance to do various edits so that the video that goes in the market is as per the Vlogger’s requirement
In this editing process, one more advantage is that the Vlogger, if has enough resources can add animations and other required details as deemed needed.
Live broadcasting
There are some pros and cons between this and the recorded versions. The key features that causes the distinction are
- Immediate relay as it’s a live event – could be a speech or performance
- A live interaction is possible, if you either have a chat bot or a resource to do a live chat
- No editing is possible
Why is Vlogging popular?
There are many reasons to the massive growth of these directions in the last few years and some of them are highlighted below:
Highly flexible platform as it is easy to make the videos
Since the types of information can be quite varied, the videos can be easily made as the options available are quite a bit.
As a Vlogger, one can create videos easily as even Smart phones are good enough for creating proper videos and you don’t need a fully functional studio
Some Vloggers use a little more sophisticated tools than the normal ones, where they employ high level systems to record and edit the videos
If any of the systems are used for recording videos, then an editing software is needed to ensure that the video produced is of a viewable quality
Because of this reason, the popularity and the number of vloggers who are involved is increasing at a very fast pace.
Vlogging is Inexpensive
As a Vlogger, all you need is a good phone and an access to YouTube and one of the big benefits is that you can reach out to your target market in your vernacular language
The critical distinction between Vlogging and Blogging is that both might look similar as a strategy, but in the former case making a video in French is much easier and faster than writing in it
Implementing Vlogs in business
Just like other business models in Digital Marketing, Vloggers started off on this journey from a non-commercial perspective. However, with the influence changing, it has moved in a different trajectory.
Today brands are looking at Vloggers in a different angle as the number of LIKES is probably a determining factor. You might not get a Jay Shetty to endorse you – but you get the point
As a business you might want to consider a few strategies that can aid you in either lead generation or brand awareness
Vlog as your company
One way to use this format is to take up vlogging yourself. A couple of things you will have to think about are the following:
- Let the Vlogger be one of the members in the leadership team who understands the mission and vision of your firm as it defines your brand personality
- If the founder is able to take out time and do this, it will be a great ‘icing on the cake’
- Since Vlogs are the representative of your brand, you need to have a proper idea of how you will be creating those as it will create the brand personality
- You need to look at the immediate, next few years and over the next 5 to 7 years so that there is a method of applying a consistent principle
- Just like any endeavor, remember that there is nothing called Overnight Success – Champions are not made in the ring!!
- Being regular is the key to being successful in this industry. Coming out with a proper video every few days is going to be a great value-addition
Vlogs are seen as better way of connecting with your Target Audience than any other forms on online marketing methods like social media posts or emails
In these strategies, your potential customers can interact with you directly through messages or comments that can have viral reach
Creating a greater confidence in your brand can only be achieved through an organized way of having your prospects having spread the good word about you and it is possible through Vlogs
Personal Branding or Business Branding – Both can be achieved through creation of proper vlogs and it can greatly aid in showcasing what your or your organization stand for
Vlogging ideas for a business
- Vlogs that highlight some key actions during the day (Day-in-the-life)
- Videos that showcase activities of an individual or animal (Follow-me-around)
- Opening of your business or conducting an online / offline meeting or any hosting of conference can be streamed LIVE
- Vlogs that show people a way of for doing things or a procedure (Instructional)
- Videos where you interview a celebrity or personality in your industry
- Vlogs which are a part of the Questions & Answers segment
- Behind the scene videos
The other approach is Outsourcing. In this strategy, you as the business owner do not need to do an of the above methods. The Vlogger whom you employ will be engaged do undertake the strategies that you decide.
The Vlogger who is part of this work has an existing fan following and can tap into this base to aid you in enhancing your brand.
You need to ensure that the business that you are into should match the Vlogger that you intend to employ so that there is synergy between you
If you are Service-based business, then sharing your business details is what the Vlogger needs to showcase the details
If you are a Product-based enterprise, then you need to provide samples so that the Vlogger understand the value before talking about it.
So, it will not be just Advertising, but Endorsing your brand as he /she has become a brand ambassador and your potential customers will trust more
Under a service-based model, there is a definite requirement of payment – either as a retainer model or salary (if the person is on your firm’s rolls). However, if it’s the latter case, it might not be needed as you are providing FREE SAMPLES
The most evident advantage of this kind of vlogging is that you can work with popular vloggers and instantly get noticed by their followers.
When starting on your own, you will have to work hard to get that many views. Being promoted by the vloggers can help you a lot with expanding your reach and establishing your brand on the market.
Nothing beats a product or service with a high quality and hence, even if you are just starting out, you can tap into the Vlogger’s network and make your presence felt faster
That is one of major reasons that brands can choose to integrate their solutions with Vloggers as most of them promote based on what is being offered and just not payment.
The other side is the strategy where you will have to plan your marketing, if you decide to use Vloggers from a paid promotion model
Ensuring that your firm gets all the benefits of marketing using the online space, Vlogging can definitely be part of the mix so that the engagement levels are much better
Also, this strategy ensures that you can reach other customers that are not part of your mix, initially. The options in this are galore as you can make the Vloggers as part of your marketing mix
OTT Platform Ads (Video Ads)
The Global Over the Top (OTT) Services Market size is expected to reach $179.9 billion by 2025, rising at a market growth of 14.3% CAGR
OTT services are provided through the channel of the Internet service provider, but they have no involvement at all in the planning or delivery of the service. Since these services are offered directly to consumers ’over the top’ of the network of internet service providers, they are termed as over the top (OTT) services.
A research shows that almost 80% of smartphone users have some activity on OTT platforms currently; while 31% of this percentage have subscribed to premium content on OTT platforms which has resulted in direct drop in TV watch time
Video on Demand (OTT Platform) is a Market-dominant video sharing website, on which users can view, follow and share videos (in some cases)
OTT platforms are now changing the landscape of how viewers are now watching the videos and consuming content that is of importance to them
It’s a great platform for all advertisers as the new generation which is in the ideal age group of 25 to 35 are on this and are willing to engage in a much better way
A platform which has integration with Social Media websites, a luxury which other video content marketing platforms miss
OTT Marketing – Behavior Segmentation
There are four types of customers who are on the OTT platform and as a marketer your messaging should be targeted accordingly
- Efficiency Experts: This set of people are like Early Adopters who adopt the latest digital devices and services as a way to make life easier- 41% of people are here
- Content Kings: These include passionate gamers, newshounds, movie buffs, music lovers and TV fans -9%
- Social Butterflies: These people cannot imagine not being able to instantly access any of their friends and make up 15% of global sample.
- Connected Maestros: They combines the behaviors common to Content Kings and Social Butterflies with even more sophisticated behaviors – 35% of people make this group
Why use Video Ads?
One staggering statistic comes from Cisco: By 2020, there will be almost a million minutes of video per second crossing the internet. Cisco adds that, by then, 82% of all consumer web traffic will be video
51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI. Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users. Sixty-four percent of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos
These types of ads are seen as one of the best forms of advertising as it combines the best of both worlds – video and text. Most of the time, there is also audio in the mix.
Video Ads if backed with a very strong story or an out-of-the-box concept, can fetch you more conversions than traditional ads.
Lot of organizations are starting to realize that having video ads as part of their marketing mix will aid them enhance their value of products /service
They are one of the better options when advertising on Social Media platforms and can enhance your credibility at a much faster pace
There are several types of Ads / Videos that can be done on the YouTube (YT) platform. Some key ones are
- Show Stopper Ads
- In-Stream Ads
- Bumper Ads
Show Stopper Ad (Hero Ad)
Showstopper Video Ads are the Home Page Ads which come on YT. These Ads can’t be created by Advertisers through Ads, but can only be advertised through prior reservation on YouTube.
Instream Ads
These are the Ads shown to the user in video format, while consuming other video content on YT
Types of In Stream Ads
- In-stream Ads- These Ads can be shown to a user before the Video (pre-roll), between the video (mid-roll) & after the Video (post-roll)
- Skippable Ads – They give viewers the option to skip the ad after 5 seconds- Min Video length – 12 Secs, Max video length – 120 Secs
- Bumper Ads – Short Video ads which are played before the intended video – Max Video length – 6 Secs, User does NOT have an Option to Skip the ad
- Non-Skippable Instream Ads– Video Ads which are non-Skippable and are more than 6 seconds in duration – Min Video length – 7 Secs, Max video length – 30 Secs
- User cannot skip the ad and have to watch the complete ad before the intended video starts
- Cannot be created/auctioned on Ads, can only be created directly by contacting YouTube on reservation basis
- In Order to create Video Ads, we will need to create our own YouTube Channel, upload videos which we want to advertise as in-stream ads on the channel and then create video ads.
Creating Video Ads – 3 Ways
There are 3 ways in which a brand/advertiser can create video ads which run on YouTube
- Advertiser can create Video ads in the normal process just like he creates other forms of ads on Ads. The Ads will be created on Affinity, Demographics and Intent based targeting.
- The advertiser has to visit his channel, select the Video he wants to promote and select promotion option – In-Steam Ad or In-Display Ad. Select targeting and budget, and then the advertiser will be redirected to Google Ads for campaign finalization and Payment.
- YouTube Pack Based Targeting – Only Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads can be created on the basis of YouTube Pack based targeting. These Ads can only be created by contacting YouTube directly and rolling out the ads on reservation basis.
- The Advertiser has to mention directly to YouTube the Packs he intends to target along with age and location targeting. YouTube creates, optimizes and runs the ad as per the budget and timelines.
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