Video Blogging: How to Create Consistent YouTube Content. Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show: Vlog Like a Boss What Is Vlogging? In a vlog, you can share anything you might do in a blog post, such as a tutorial or a story from your life. I ask Amy about how using YouTube for vlogging is different from the other ways people use YouTube. She thought the topic was something new that people didn’t know much about, and the video became one of her popular vlog posts. Amy says you develop a presence on camera through practice and by focusing on the camera as if it’s a person. To use her network, Amy would message people saying, “Hey, if you know anyone who would find this tip useful, could you please share this video with them?” When someone from her network shared her video, the share acted as a referral and the video demonstrated that Amy could do the work. Without subscribers, you have to attract viewers to your video by sharing it elsewhere. Starting sessions makes you a powerful channel to YouTube, which in turn makes YouTube want to send more people to your content. Amy says having a product is helpful, but you can create popular vlogs about any topic.
Do you create videos to promote your business?
Have you considered starting a regular video blog?
To explore vlogging, I interview Amy Schmittauer.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.
In this episode, I interview Amy Schmittauer, an online video expert. She founded Vlog Boss Studios and regularly produces awesome content for her YouTube channel, Savvy Sexy Social. She’s also the author of the brand-new book, Vlog Like a Boss: How to Kill It Online with Video Blogging.
Amy explores how video blogging can help your business.
You’ll discover what you need to start your own video blog.
Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
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Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show:
Vlog Like a Boss
What Is Vlogging?
The term vlog builds off the word blog, and a vlog is simply a blog in video form. In a vlog, you can share anything you might do in a blog post, such as a tutorial or a story from your life.
Consistency is best for vlogging. If you post a vlog here and there, you won’t gain much traction. Amy says most vlogs that do well have a regular schedule.
I ask Amy about how using YouTube for vlogging is different from the other ways people use YouTube. Amy says the purpose of a vlog is to help people discover you. Videos that may be suitable for YouTube but that don’t help people discover you, such as a product commercial or an introduction to your company, don’t make great vlog posts. To be discovered, think of the users who are searching for a concern, a specialty, or the answer to a question. Think about what a potential customer or audience member might want to know, create a video about the topic, and upload it to YouTube.
Listen to the show to discover Amy’s thoughts about vlogging on mobile apps like Snapchat and Instagram, which have video and social.
Amy’s Vlog
When Amy launched Savvy Sexy Social, she was just getting started as a social media marketer. She thought teaching people the best way to do things on social media would to attract an audience and potential clients. She wanted her vlog to be informative and fun. She didn’t want social media to feel like a chore.
To juggle her content marketing with her client work, Amy says she scheduled her vlog posts to appear three days a week but she created the week’s videos all in one day. She would pick three topics (which could be an app, a product, or a general social media tip), record the videos sitting in front of her bookshelf, and then edit and schedule them for the rest of the week.
Amy emphasizes that people didn’t have to know who she was to find her videos via search. They just needed to have a question about a topic in her videos. For instance, Amy created a video about a hack to make tweets a little longer. She thought the topic was something new that people didn’t know much about, and the video became one of her popular vlog posts. The video’s headline focused on the Twitter tip but the video also introduced viewers to Amy.
Amy shares the simple vlog format she used for a long time. She introduced her topic, delivered information about the topic that her viewers would value, and gave an actionable item that would give them results right away. Then she wrapped up with, “By the way, I’m Amy. Hope you can subscribe and stay tuned.”
In the last year, Amy says she’s been having fun with her format so her community could get to know her a little more personally. For instance, throughout January, she documented the journey of launching a book. This approach was more of a lifecasting vlog, but her audience was learning through Amy’s experience. Amy says that her approach in January is an example of “show, don’t tell,” which is a powerful formula.
Whatever your format, include your call to action at the end, whether it’s to buy the product, join your email list, or follow you somewhere. However, the majority of the video should deliver value. That’s what makes the video a vlog and also powerful on YouTube.
Listen to the show to hear Amy and I talk about the power of YouTube as a search engine.
What It Takes to Vlog
I ask Amy about her advice for anyone who isn’t sure they’re funny or have what it takes to appear on camera. When you feel that way, Amy says the most important thing you can do is develop a strong message before you begin your video. (Amy thinks this point is true whether you do a video, written, or photo blog.) She stresses that when you know what content you need to deliver, sitting in front of the camera (or a blank page) doesn’t feel as intense.
Amy says you develop a presence on camera through practice and by focusing on the camera as if it’s a person. Amy says the camera is a vehicle delivering your message to people. When you talk to viewers the way you talk to another person, you do much better on camera.
Amy believes people have trouble being on camera for two reasons: They feel silly sitting alone in a room talking to a camera or they feel like they’re talking to thousands of people. Either way, these mindsets can make a person appear unnatural on video. Amy says you should instead think about having coffee with someone.
Next, Amy and I talk about whether you need to be an extrovert to be on camera. Amy believes being on camera is easier for an introvert and she shares that she is an introvert (which totally surprised me). Amy reiterates that you simply need to respect the message you’re delivering. If you can talk to people about what you do and how you can help them, you can absolutely make video.
Listen to the show to discover Amy’s…
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