Vlogging Vs Blogging: Which Is Better For Your Business?

Don’t know whether vlogging is better than blogging or vice versa? Find out which marketing strategies work best and start gaining traffic to your website.

Vlogging or blogging? You might be torn apart on which digital marketing strategy you’ll be adopting for your business. Although, there are plenty of creative ways to market your brand. There are options like a podcast, social media marketing, email marketing, and more.

Maybe you have tried some of them or maybe not. Either way, we know that marketing is a broad concept. So, you can have plenty of options to build your business online.

Vlogging and blogging are two of the most popular forms of content marketing nowadays. It’s often the go-to form of creating content.

There are more than 500 million blogs online, with over 409 million people viewing more than 20 billion pages in a month. That’s a lot of numbers.

Even in vlogging, the numbers are surprisingly high. Every week, 78% of people watch a video online, and 55% view it every day. In fact, 54% would prefer to watch a video from a brand or business.

With that, there is no doubt why businesses or marketing professionals are eager to create vlogs and blogs. Aside from the numbers being extremely high, these forms of content marketing can build brand awareness. They can establish a relationship between a business and a customer.

But vlogging and blogging are not simple. It requires consistency, effort, research, and careful planning to create one. On top of that, you’ll need to keep up with it when consumers find your content valuable.

So which is better for your business? Or, should you aim to create both, which would be time and money-consuming?

Let’s find out.

Vlogging Vs. Blogging: History And Meaning

Before diving into which content strategy works best for your business, let’s look at what vlogging and blogging meant and their history.

Blog: Meaning:

A blog is a form of a website hosted online. Anyone who has the ability or skill to write can start a blog. Most blogs vary in topics – sometimes, it can be a journal where writers express themselves. However, nowadays, blogs are becoming more of a marketing strategy than a personal one.

Marketing professionals use blogs to create content about a product. Sometimes, they write topics where they can mention their brand. Although there are plenty of personal blogs, blogs are more of an essential marketing tool than personal use.

The person who runs the blog is called a blogger, and blogging is the activity of posting written content on a website.

Blog: History:

The first blog was recognized in 1994 at Links.net by Justin Hall. However, during those times, it wasn’t considered or called a blog.

In 1997, the term “weblog” was coined for Jorn Barger’s Robot Wisdom blog. But, it was shortened to “blog” in 1999 by Peter Merholz.

Most of the blogs in the past are of personal content or even news.

Vlog: Meaning:

A vlog is a short term for a video blog. Similar to blogs, vlogs can cover various topics, only instead of written content, it’s in a video form.

Vlogs can either be in short or long-form videos. Either way, it takes hours to create such content.

With vlogs, you’ll need equipment to shoot the desired video. It may include a high-quality camera, microphone, and video editing software like Pinnacle Studio or Adobe Premiere Elements. Furthermore, you’ll require someone who can record the content that you need. Of course, an alternative to a great camera is a high-quality phone.

Vlog: History:

The first-ever vlog was created in 2000 by Adam Kontras. It was a 15-second video of himself sneaking a cat into his apartment. Since then, he continued to post videos in his blog to document his journey.

The first time the word vlog was coined was in 2002 by Luuk Bouwman when he uploaded videos of his travel after college life.

Now we have an idea of what those two are, and have a brief history, let’s see which content can work best for your business.

Why Blogging?

It is Easier to Make and Less Expensive:

Unlike creating vlogs, in which you have to invest in equipment like a camera and microphone, blogging costs less. In fact, the only thing you need when starting a blog is a website and a writer.

Investing in a website is cheaper than a camera, and you only have to renew your subscription yearly. There is even the option to create a free website.

For a writer, businesses can ask someone in their team to create the content. If they have a budget, they can hire an expert who knows writing, SEO, and can create content that drives traffic to the site.

Writing content that is similar to your industry can help build authority. In return, customers will trust your ideas, suggestions, and your products and services. People will rely on the information you provide on your blog.

Drives Direct Traffic To Your Website:

If you have a website with your products, blogging can help you gain direct traffic. In fact, it’s the easiest and cheapest way to gain traffic to your website. There is no need to spend on ads or even do illegal stuff like buying email lists.

If you know how to optimize your website, you can appear on the Search Engine Result Page. Being on the first page or top of the search results can drive more organic traffic to your website.

Furthermore, having a blog shows that your website is active. Bots for search engines will frequently check on your site for new content to push on top of the search engine.

Creates Long-Term Results:

Even after publishing your content, blogs can still generate traffic. So as long as it is optimized and adds value to readers.

If your blogs answer common questions, have value and authority in your industry, people will keep relying on your content. It will establish a long-term relationship with your audience.

Knowing your field is one reason your business can enable sales. When people trust what you say, they’ll want to purchase your product or service because you know what you are saying.

That’s why blogs matter, as it builds an excellent relationship with the readers and potential customers.

Can Be Repurposed For Social Media:

When you run out of content for your social media posting, blogs can be an alternative source. Better yet, you don’t have to spend much time creating content separately for your social media and blog.

Also, high-quality written blogs can prompt social media followers to share your content with others. Which in return, you get more traffic to your website that can be potential customers.

If you create evergreen blogs, you can post them time and time on your social media channels.

So, blogs both help organic traffic of your website and your social media accounts.

Why Vlogging?

Attracts More Customers:

More consumers prefer to watch a video of a brand to learn about a product. This means, creating vlogs has the potential to attract viewers.

People like watching videos because of the popularity of this form of content. People also find it easier to digest video content than reading a blog.

But vlogs should be of quality and have an impactful message. By carefully planning your content and setting goals, you can easily reach your target audience, which will eventually aid in gaining an interested audience.

Adds A Human Touch:

People like to connect with people, not with data. Vlogs give that opportunity for businesses to show their human side. Companies can share stories or experiences that the audience can relate to.

The more your brand shows or adds a personal touch to your vlogs, the more it stands out.

Videos show the people behind the business, which creates a personal and face-to-face connection with the viewer.

Can Go Viral Faster:

Videos are the most consumed form of media in the digital world as compared to written content. People can spend hours watching videos in their spare time or even when taking a commute home. Furthermore, people like taking videos, no matter how long or short, and sharing them online. So, such content has a higher chance of going viral.

If your vlog goes viral (hoping in a good way), you can gain more audience to your site or social media platform. People will follow you, and they might even purchase or support your business.

Freedom To Be Creative:

It doesn’t mean writing isn’t creative, but when it comes to creating vlogs, you need to go 100%. You can’t produce consistent vlogs as it may sound monotonous. Just like in writing, you can’t write about the same topic over and over again.

You need to bring your A-game when thinking of vlog ideas regularly. You can try new challenges or even ways to communicate your business. If you run out of video ideas, here is an article that may help you.

Build Relationships With Customers:

Whether you post your vlogs on your social media platforms, YouTube, or website, people who relate to your content will reach out. They can leave comments or messages, and that’s where you build relationships.

Building relationships with your audience is valuable. It not only turns them into your customers, but they become loyal to your brand. Furthermore, loyal customers have a large impact on driving new traffic to your website too.

Vlogging Vs. Blogging: Which Should I Choose?

Both vlogging and blogging are highly effective in driving traffic to your website. But both are done in different ways. We see the similarities of both wherein they build relationships and trust with consumers.

But if you still can’t decide what to choose, consider this.

Research What Content Strategy Works Best:

You can start posting a video, but it doesn’t drive traffic. That can be a waste of time and effort. Or, you might be writing blogs that are not converting. So, it is crucial to do thorough research.

Finding out who your target audiences are can help you decide what content strategy can work best. If you cater to a younger audience, vlogs are recommended.

Furthermore, you also need to consider the message or information you are about to share. Do you need to show how to use your product? Create videos, so people can easily understand them.

Budget And Time:

Budget and time are crucial in creating marketing content. You won’t want to post a low-quality video as people will not respond to that. Furthermore, it may give your brand a bad reputation.

We know that blogging is the easiest and cheapest way to communicate your expertise and products. So, if you don’t have much time and money, you can write inspiring and valuable content.

Although not all vlogs require expensive gadgets as you can create using your phone. There are even affordable video editing software programs in the market. But of course, you’ll need time to work on your editing.

Always choose the medium that fits your budget and time.

Target Market:

As mentioned, you should consider what content to make depending on your target audience. You can experiment or ask questions about what your followers like to see more from you.

Learning what demographics you need to target helps you in developing your content, such as younger audiences prefer videos. You’ll also know which platform they prefer to consume your content.

Conclusion:

Both vlogs and blogs are essential content strategies that require thorough research, planning, and execution. They can drive quality leads to your website if done well. So, whether you want to write blogs or create vlogs, take the time to decide how you can get traffic to your website. Make sure that the traffic can be turned into your paying customers.

About the Author:Vanessa Venugopal is a passionate content writer. With four years of experience, she mastered the art of writing in various styles and topics. She is currently writing for Softvire Australia – the leading software eCommerce company in Australia and Softvire New Zealand.

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