Video & BloggingIntegrating Video into Blogging Strategies

The social media and blogging landscape has changed in recent years. In the past, blogs were mostly text-based and were more like online journals. As blogging evolved, blogs became more information rich and informative, with images and other types of multimedia embedded into posts. However, video was overlooked and ignored, until high-speed internet access and more powerful mobile devices were vastly available to consumers; this development allowed video content to be widely viewed, and in many cases, preferred over text.

Video content is becoming increasingly more popular, as evidenced by a comScore study, which found that 183 million users watched web-based videos in October (2012) [1]. According to a Mashable article, cited by the Search Engine Journal, YouTube surpassed two billion video views daily [2], [3] in early 2013.

According to Jeff Bullas [4], people are now used to watching a video, reading an e-book, listening to a podcast, and viewing a SlideShare presentation, as opposed to solely reading text

Video is key to blogging successon blogs. By adding video, you’re not only just attracting more readers, but expanding your blog’s audience [5].

Therefore, integrating mixed media, such as video, into your blog posts, is a smart idea for engaging your readers and viewers.

Blogging is a cornerstone of content marketing, and has been proven to be extremely effective in improving search engine rankings, sharing expertise, and becoming recognized as a subject matter expert. Over the roughly fifteen years since blogging first emerged, blogs have primarily focused on the written word (augmented with pictures), but blogs and blogging continue to evolve; it is now more common for a “regular blogger” to add video to their content mix. This BusinessCreator Video Marketing whitepaper introduces how adding video can compliment text-based posts within a larger blogging strategy.

Video and your blogging strategy

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How to use video to engage your blog community There are various ways to integrate video into your blog posts. In order to keep your content engaging, it is a good idea to offer a mixture of different video styles from one post to the next. Here are examples of proven ways to use video in order to keep the content interesting and informative:

Adapted from References [2] and [9].

Video blogging landscape and use of video on a “regular blog”A popular trend emerging for bloggers is to integrate video into their posts, and to offer mixed content in posts during the week. For example, blogger Rod Kirby writes, that he posts text-based content during the week and posts video on Fridays [6]. Video is becoming an “expected” form of content, especially for demonstrating apps or new web-based services. Because this is different than “traditional” video blogging (aka vlogging), bloggers who in the past have posted mainly text, may still feel uncomfortable using video in their posts. Some bloggers still believe that creating video is too technical or too difficult to produce, or that expensive software is required. The reality is, none of these concerns are true with current technologies and video production tools.

According to an Ascend2 survey conducted in February 2013 [7], video and whitepaper content are the most difficult social media marketing tactics to execute (32% of B2B respondents agreed). This concern aside, video is an essential part of effective SEO strategies. For example, in an infographic from Search Metrics, YouTube dominates Universal Search results on Google. [8]

VIDEO TYPE

HOW TO USE IT?

Product Review

Review your concept, product, or idea in a fun and informative way.

Interview Interview a product expert / someone in your blog niche who can share something your viewers would like to know about.

Contest Attract traffic to your blog with a contest or giveaway.

Product Showcase

Describe and demonstrate your product using video.

Case Study Put your case studies into a video format to make them come alive.

FAQs Answer FAQs in a video format to make them more personable.

Live Events Present video from live events to add excitement to your posts.

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USING INFOGRAPHICS IN YOUR VIDEOS

Another interesting way to integrate video into your blog is to create “infographic videos,” such as outlined in [10]. “Video infographics combine animated storytelling, visual text and an engrossing voice-over”

Using a mixture of these video types will keep your viewers coming back to watch your video content.

Best practices and practical tips for video blogging successWhen posting a video to your blog, add accompanying text along with the video link, or along side of the embedded video. The text should introduce the video and explain what it is about, or what your audience will learn, by watching the video [5], [1].

Include a call to action [5], [1], [9]); which will tell the viewer what action they should take after watching the video.

Break up longer videos into short, viewable sections [9], no more than 3 to 5 minutes long. The best videos grab the viewer’s attention within the first two seconds and are able to hold it for the duration of the video with music, text, and images [9].

Here is an example of a video tutorial on how to embed your video into a WordPress blog; this example also offers a video tutorial in addition to the text [3].http://wpdude.com/add-video-wordpress-blog

Planning your video content: using a professional versus doing it yourselfUser generated video content is engaging and fun to watch, and is frequently shared with friends on YouTube and Facebook. However, for businesses the bar is set higher with an expectation of higher production quality and professional polish for business videos [11]. For start-ups, it can be tempting to create video content in-house, but there are pros and cons to doing it yourself, over using a professional, to help you create your video content. Do you have the skills, equipment, and resources to do

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the video yourself and ensure that you portray your company or product in the best light? Do you have the time and energy to do the video right, or will you wind up rushing through and accepting something “good enough”? Professional videographers and producers know how to make you, your company, and your brand stand out and shine. Professionals don’t just have the equipment to do it right, they have the skills to create “the look” you want, to represent you online. [11], [12].

Video blogger success storiesHere are some examples of people who have successfully used social media and video to increase their online popularity.

BUSINESS PEOPLE

Robert Scoble:

• scobleizer.com [19]

• He was a technologyevangelist at Microsoft,and previously workedfor Fast Company, as avideo blogger.

• Scoble remains aprominent and influential technologist

• What is interesting about him, is hisaccessibility – he supplies his email addressand cell phone number, on his blog site

Gary Vaynerchuk:

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Vaynerchuk [20]

• He started a videoblog called WineLibrary TV, a dailyinternet webcaston wine and wine culture. This showbecame the platform for publishing dealsand consulting.

• co-founded VaynerMedia, a social mediabrand consulting agency he co-founded inthe Spring of 2009.

INTERNET PERSONALITIES

Justine Ezarik (aka iJustine) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justine_Ezarik)

• Won Yahoo! Talent Show in 2006 in video

• Part of original Justin.tv “lifecasting”(broadcasting her life live over the Internet)

• Breakout success with her “300 page phone bill” when the first iPhone came out

• Parlayed online video to TV roles andsponsored video channels

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Video production simplified47 North Jefferson Street

First FloorAllentown, PA 18102

855-943-8736marketing@businesscreatorplus.com

Measuring video blogging successUnless you program in tracking calls and timing points, into your posts and pages, measuring video blogging success is often difficult, because you can’t tell when the viewer has clicked on the video, or at what point they stopped watching the video. The following article for Adobe Analytics outlines some best practice tips for incorporating this data into your videos, in order to measure analytics [27].

Clearly document the video requirements

Where is your video playing (website, mobile app, game console)

Send tracking calls at a certain frequency

Video milestones: percentage complete and time elapsed

Every video should send a start call

Determine which data points will best meet your needs (i.e. metadata and context of playback data)

Create a measurement map. (The authors suggest creating something called a “magic decoder ring,” which provides a map between the data sent on each call, and the variable names within Adobe Analytics)

In the next White Paper, you will learn that latest and greatest tips and techniques for embedding video into your email marketing campaigns!

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1. “How to: Use Online Video in your Blog Posts,” The Insights Blog, 20 11 2012. [Online]. Available: http://insightsblog.boston.com/2012/11/how-to-use-online-video-in-your-blog.html.

2. G. Diaz, “5 Smart Ideas On How To Use Video For Your Blog,” Search Engine Journal, 20 07 2011. [Online]. Available: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/5-smart-ideas-on-how-to-use-video-for-your-blog/31168/.

3. B. Parr, “YouTube Surpasses Two Billion Video Views Daily,” Mashable, 16 05 2010. [Online]. Available: http://mashable.com/2010/05/17/youtube-2-billion-views/.

4. J. Bullas, “10 Key Steps to Blogging Success,” 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/01/29/10-key-steps-to-blogging-success/.

5. D. Halpern, “The Thesis Statement,” DIY themes, [Online]. Available: http://diythemes.com/thesis/video-marketing-blogging/.

6. R. Kirby, “7 Keys to Blogging Success,” rodkirby.com, [Online]. Available: http://www.rodkirby.com/5-keys-to-blogging-success/.

7. “Which Social Media Marketing Tactics Work Best?,” eMarketer, 26 03 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Which-Social-Media-Marketing-Tactics-Work-Best/1009756.

8. T. Hussey, “Video leads in universal search, YouTube most prominent,” VidWrx, 05 04 2013. [Online]. Available: http://videomarketing.vidwrx.com/video-leads-in-universal-search-youtube-most-prominent/.

9. C. Grandin, “5 Ways to Use Video to Engage your Audience,” LingoSpot, 12 12 2012. [Online]. Available: http://wordpress.lingospot.com/blog/5-ways-to-use-video-to-engage-your-audience-2/.

10. “10 Creative and Inspiring Video Infographics,” Speckyboy, 10 06 2010. [Online]. Available: http://speckyboy.com/2010/06/10/10-creative-and-inspiring-video-infographics/.

11. L. Hicks, “The Video Factor, Part 2 - Professional Versus DIY,” MatterMax Media, 05 12 2012. [Online]. Available: https://www.mattermaxmedia.com/resources/todays-marketing-blog/item/174-the-video-factor-part-2-professional-versus-diy.html.

12. “Hire a Professional Video Supplier or DIY,” Sound Motive, 15 12 2011. [Online]. Available: http://www.soundmotive.tv/1/post/2011/12/hire-a-professional-video-supplier-or-diy.html.

13. S. Gunelius, “15 Tips to Increase Blog Traffic,” About.com, [Online]. Available: http://weblogs.about.com/od/bloggingtips/tp/TipsIncreaseBlogTraffic.htm.

14. “The Daily SEO Blog,” seomoz.org, 17 01 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic-2012.

15. L. Hoffman, “Ishmael’s Corner,” One Key to Blogging Success That Gets Little Respect , 03 12 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.ishmaelscorner.com/2012/12/03/one-key-to-blogging-success-that-gets-little-respect/.

16. J. Noble, “How To Post Across Multiple Sites At Once,” 2010. [Online]. Available: http://www.jamestnoble.com/how-to-post-across-multiple-sites-at-once/.

17. “Everypost iPhone App,” YouTube, 26 01 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzSMjTOqFAE.

18. E. Ernoult, “How to Triple Your YouTube Video Views With Facebook,” Social Media Examiner, 26 11 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-triple-your-youtube-video-views-with-facebook/.

19. [Online]. Available: http://scobleizer.com/.

20. [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Vaynerchuk.

21. [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Lisitsa.

22. [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomplamoose.

23. [Online]. Available: http://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic.

24. [Online]. Available: http://www.lisaeldridge.com/video/.

25. [Online]. Available: https://janeiredale.com/us/en/our-video-tutorials.htm.

26. [Online]. Available: http://businessboombolton.com/2012/01/10/10-stylefashion-video-bloggers-on-youtube-to-watch/.

27. M. Engel, “Creating The Perfect Plan for Video Measurement,” Adobe Digital Marketing Blog, 16 01 2013. [Online]. Available: http://

blogs.adobe.com/digitalmarketing/analytics/creating-the-perfect-plan-for-video-measurement/.

Appendix

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