Video is not just for YouTubers! Your thoughts, opinions, and perspective can all be perfectly worded, but add the extra aspect of a video and you can take your blog to the next level. At a time when visual content is playing such a massive role in social media influence and marketing, adding video to your site’s content is something that will not only increase your impact but help you move beyond your blog’s URL to an area of influence that gives you further reach with brands and your audience.
Why Go Visual?
After having my blog for a little less than a year, I decided to take a leap. I pitched a small company for a big opportunity – to become their on-hand blogger. My proposal included receiving sample pieces, mentions on their site, and cross-promotion; in return, I offered a full review, fashion writeup, exclusive posts to their site, as well as monthly promotion on my site and across my own social media. I whispered a prayer and hit send. The owner responded! She was willing to take the risk with me as a newer blogger (yay!) but wanted me to include a video review, as well (what … ?). I said yes and then had a mini-panic attack soon after. A video review? Sure, I had a YouTube Channel but used it for nothing more than Band Mom recordings of my son’s performances. What had I just agreed to? How was I going to do this?
The owner responded! She was willing to take the risk with me as a newer blogger (yay!) but wanted me to include a video review, as well (what … ?). I said yes and then had a mini-panic attack soon after. A video review? Sure, I had a YouTube Channel but used it for nothing more than Band Mom recordings of my son’s performances. What had I just agreed to? How was I going to do this? Video was in no way a part of my blog … YET! I didn’t realize it then, but saying yes to that opportunity opened the door to
I didn’t realize it then, but saying yes to that opportunity opened the door to many more. Since then I have had many brands and campaigns that hinged on the fact that I could offer video in addition to what every other blogger offered. Getting visual on my blog helped me become a social media influencer in every sense of the name.
Influence
Influence. It’s what every blogger works toward. Influence means that when you say something, give your opinion, or offer your perspective, people listen, share, react, and respond. Stressing my blog, I thought Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google were enough to gain me the influence I needed. I never even considered video or YouTube.
It wasn’t until this first request to add video to my site that I realized many bloggers were on YouTube but more as a casual side hobby than as a part of their site. Bloggers who are able to offer their consistent presence on both were able to take their blogs to a place where they can offer a brand a bit more than the blogger one site over.
The added influence of hearing and seeing the voice behind the words can be a deal breaker not only for the brand but for potential consumers as well. How many times have you read a review thinking it seemed interesting but once you saw the commercial you simply “had to have it”? I wanted to bring that added influence to the table. I went to work to learn how to make my YouTube channel a seamless extension of my blog – I did everything to take my brand influence beyond my URL and create a YouTube presence with the same influence potential as my site.
Perfect Your Presence
I needed to perfect my presence on both my site and my channel. The same dedication given to design, content, and production of content on my site had to be given to the production of the videos I published on my channel. When I look back at those first videos now, I cringe. I was stiff, programmed, and sounded like I was reading off a script. Why? I was letting my fear take control, and it was showing. I had no personality, and none of who I was came through on that screen.
Who was I? What did I want to say? How did I want to say it? Three questions that need answers to help you take a new approach to what being on camera really means. To take content, reviews, opinions, and brand and make them visual, your personality and perspective need to come through the same way they do through the words and images on your site.
Find Your Presence
I had to stop trying to sound like the talk show host I had seen the other day, the info channel guy, or even the YouTuber I just watched and instead be me. Who could be better at being me than me, right? I’m a bit quirky, a bit nerdy, and at times a bit awkward, but all of that combined makes me who I need to be to give my audience a unique perspective and keep them coming back.
Finding your voice is simply learning to be your authentic you. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. As bloggers, we had to learn how to use words to express who we are, our beliefs, our personalities. Do I want to write grammatically correct … through the voice in my head … as I speak or in a style all my own? Once you find that, you know it’s yours! Finding your voice makes your writing distinct and recognizable. The same applies to your visual presence. On camera, be who you are always. Pretending or trying to take on the personality of someone else will only lead to a struggle. If you’re funny, be funny. If you’re sarcastic, have at it. If you’re a bit nerdy, let it shine! Your personality will draw your audience. Those who are meant to watch you, will. Acting like someone else is hard, but being natural and who you are in truth comes so much easier.
Lose the Fear
Getting visual doesn’t need to be scary. The first time I hit “Publish” on a post for my blog, I was so nervous. I wasn’t sure who would read it, what they would say, or how I would react. BUT, I had to lose the fear and get past it. Don’t see the camera as a live studio audience; see it as a friend you want to share something really awesome with. The same way you would chat about that cool coffee mug you found the other day, the recent changes in your community, or anything else in your life. See your audience as friends, and I promise you will lose the fear and gain a new way to influence.
The post Raise Your Influence with Video appeared first on iBlog magazine.