Business Blogging

Profitable Video Blogging

Written by Jay Shapiro for Gaebler Ventures

Do you have a young, short attention spanned, hyped up on pixie sticks audience? Do the members keep drifting off trying to read what you want to say? Maybe it's time for a video blog so you can command their attention.

Video blogging, sometimes known as Vlogging is a way of communicating on the web using video as a medium to blog in place of written entries. This makes the info the Vlogger publishes highly accessible to web users.

It's often easier to absorb information through visual mediums than to take in the same message via text. And there is too, the consideration to be made, that not everyone is an accomplished reader.

Reasons people may favour viewing video blogs over written ones:

Some people struggle to read due to educational failings.
Others are unable to maintain concentration levels because of medical reason or other conditions like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
A lot of people find they suffer eyestrain from reading text online.
And don't forget, some internet users are still infants who have yet to master literacy arts.

Sitting back to view a short film will, naturally, be the preference of all of the above 4 groups. And add to that, a 5th demographic – 'busy people' and you've a fairly broad target. Consider, if you're in a hurry and someone sends you a link to a blog, you are much more likely to view it if it's a movie than if it is a piece of text, right?

The value with vlogging lies in its ability to impart information to an audience without asking for a lot of their time and/or energy.

If you're shooting your first video blog you'll need to think about the following: How much are you budgeting – it needn't cost a fortune to film your first blog and you can get hold of pretty good cameras from Exilim and Cybershot, for example, in the $150-300 mark.

Sites like YouTube have been largely responsible for the upsurge in the popularity of video media. Hence vlogging is now being used as a means of conveying messages and ultimately, bringing in profits. Corporations have are caught on to this highly appealing means to reach out their prospective clients. However, shooting a really good quality vlog, one that will bring the desired results, needs thought.

Here are some tips:

Remember:

Online information should be accessible, easy on the eye and easy to absorb.
There's no need to use over the top special effects when shooting an informative vlog. Use clear but uncomplicated lighting
Focus on the key speaker, aiming for a friendly, informative feel.

With so much technology today being equated with impersonal programs and auto-functions, the really personal element of video blogging is something that makes online users warm to it.

Jay Shapiro is a freelance writer based in the UK. Jay has a particular interest in the emotive aspects of the entrepreneur's character. "Alongside the nuts and bolts of business, the character of the person is often the ingredient responsible for success."