Blogging versus vlogging: building brand awareness

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Apr 8, 2016 / by
Blogging versus vlogging: building brand awareness

In 2016, the best way to establish a positive brand reputation is to generate high quality content for the masses on a regular basis. Once an audience has been built and trust has been earned, this results in increased revenue (so long as your products are marketed correctly and are contextually relevant to your audience). It’s a long-term strategy, but it’s definitely rewarding if you’re prepared to stick at it.


However, there are certain considerations to be made when generating content. Most specifically, which medium is the most effective for driving traffic and boosting brand awareness? Blogging and vlogging (video blogging) are the two most highly utilised content mediums, both of which have their advantages and drawbacks.

Blogging

With easy-to-use platforms such as WordPress, setting up a blog for your business has never been easier. Getting started with blogging simply requires a reasonable proficiency in writing and a desire to share knowledge. In order to have a great blog, you will need to learn about blog structures, headlines, basic SEO and common mistakes to avoid, but just getting started is relatively easy.

Researching your article, linking to other articles, editing and proofreading is a lengthy process, but for those who feel they’re able to express themselves best through written prose, blogging can be an incredibly powerful tool. Particularly for those with an introverted disposition, blogging allows for a constant stream of communication with your audience without giving away too much of your personality.

Additionally, for many subjects (particularly those of a technical nature), written prose effective for conveying dense information with no room for ambiguity. When people are looking for definitive articles on a subject, a high quality blog posts provides them with an abundance of information which they can use and reference however they choose. This would be far more difficult if the information was conveyed as a video.

Vlogging

Sharing videos of yourself imparting knowledge is an excellent way to build a personal brand. For better or worse, people feel a higher level of trust if they get to see you in action, unrehearsed, just talking off the cuff about a subject within your knowledge base. Video is a sensory-rich medium, so people will immediately feel like they know you after watching several vlogs, which builds trust and eventually generates sales. Due to the intimate nature of the medium, vlogging is also incredibly effective for showing the intricate details of a physical product which would be hard to convey via text or static images. Many thought leaders use their Periscope stream for this purpose.

Vlogging is also performed in a conversational tone – which is a great match for some people, but not so good for others. Although good writing takes years of practice, most people are already proficient at speaking (however, speaking on camera comes with its own list of required skills). For those who can’t tell the difference between a noun and verb, and who feel more comfortable having a conversation about their favourite subject rather than writing an essay about it, vlogging may be the right tool for you. Video editing does have a learning curve, and a good camera will be an initial expense. Unknown to those that don’t vlog, lighting is also an incredibly important factor.

Professional speaker and business expert, Dino Dogan writes:

“If you’re going to spend money, this is the area where most of your budget should go. If there’s one thing video experts agree on, it’s the paramount importance of proper lighting in shooting a video. In fact, proper lighting is more important than the type of camera you use.”

Choose what’s right for you

Choose what’s right for you: blogs or videos...

Choose what’s right for you: blogs or videos…

Although he’s a highly regarded, best-selling author, it’s difficult to see how Gary Vaynerchuk’s amazing charisma and infectious positivity would come across if he decided to do a weekly blog instead of a weekly video. Likewise, Neil Patel’s insanely high value, actionable blog posts simply wouldn’t have the same impact if they were conveyed as vlogs – despite the fact that Neil is a very good public speaker.

Depending on your personality and the niche you’re operating within, you might be more drawn to vlogging or blogging. Although it’s always wise to play to your strengths, you may also find it beneficial to to try new things. If you post a blog every week but decide to try a video as a one-off and your audience loves it, then it’s probably worth moving outside your comfort zone and exploring that medium further. After all, a business is nothing without it’s audience, so pleasing them by delivering awesome content is paramount!

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