I recently came across an inspirational speaker online, and her comment on content marketing caught my attention. She said, “if content writing is King, then video is King Kong,” reminding me of the long-standing debate about Blogging vs. Vlogging.
Here are important facts you should know before we differentiate these terms.
- Blogging and vlogging are ideal ways of making money online.
- Blogging and vlogging are valuable ways of creating content to improve your brand marketing.
- You can combine vlogging and blogging to reach a wider audience
- The type of content or mix you choose determines the outcome of your marketing strategy.
This article is for you if you know whether to settle for blogging or vlogging. We will discuss who suits each content creation method and their pros and cons.
If you are wondering whether blogging is worth it or not, I wrote a whole article that I encourage you to read.
What Is Blogging?
Blogs, the short form of weblogs, are written content pieces that cover various topics. These topics often answer questions or provide helpful information demanded by different people.
If you love words and want to share your knowledge on various subjects, you can opt for blogging. Does it still work in 2022?
Statistics show that approximately 77% of people on the internet read blogs. Today, the internet has over 600 million blogs but around 409 million monthly readers, showing that blogs are still people’s choice online. No wonder 92% of marketers include blogging in their content marketing strategy.
You can write and publish on a specific or diverse topic, such as politics, entertainment, health, workout, construction, sports, diet, travel, etc.
You can also start a personal blog and build your brand. If you are interested in exploring how to make money with a personal blog, I encourage you to check out this article.
Types Of Blogs
Blogs are often divided into two major types: personal and authoritative blogs.
- Personal blogs: As the name suggests, they are written by people who want to share their stories, experiences, and advice with their audience on social media or websites.
- Authoritative blogs: These are blogs written by experts who write about subjects in their field of specialization. They often focus on giving advice, valuable industry information, and recommendations to help their readers make wise choices.
Blogging is a subtle way to market your products without making your audience feel that they are aggressively marketed. This is good for your brand, considering that around 70% of potential buyers prefer blogs to ads.
Pros Of Blogging
Blogging has several pros to your brand; consider a few of these pros
1- A Blog Is Easy To Create
Blogging is an easy way to market your products and services. You do not need to shoot a video, edit it, and upload it to your site. You only need a laptop and the internet to start writing and uploading your website content.
2- A Blog Is a Cheap Way To Promote Your Business
Unlike vlogs that need you to invest in high-quality cameras, good sound equipment, and editing software, a blog only needs a writer and website. Even those tight on a budget can create blogs and release them via free blogging sites.
Your company may have talented writers that can help create content to help generate leads. Nevertheless, you can still hire a professional writer with SEO skills and storytelling techniques to generate traffic to your site.
3- A Blog Is Suitable For SEO Strategy
Blogging can help you grow your brand to greater heights since it is one of the best ways to implement your SEO strategy. You can easily optimize blog posts provided you have the relevant keywords and use them appropriately.
An optimized and engaging blog will please your readers while catering to search engine visibility and ranking. Increased visibility because of the right keywords enhances the chances of internet surfers clicking your site.
4- A Blog Can Help You Build An Email List
Blogging will give your company excellent service if you want to create and grow an email list. It is easier for your audience to leave their email addresses after reading a captivating blog than watching a video.
5- A Blog Helps Build Trust With Readers
Since blogs are engaging content, they can help readers build trust with the brand when they find valuable and actionable advice on your website.
You might also enjoy reading: 14 Free Blogging Tools for Beginners (And how to use them.
Cons Of Blogging
Blogging also has drawbacks you should e aware of before you include it in your content marketing strategy.
6- A Blog Is Time-Consuming
Blogging requires patience because it takes time to build an audience base. You cannot expect great success by posting a few articles on your site.
Furthermore, blogging requires consistency and discipline in creating regular quality content that benefits your readers before you can start seeing results.
7- You Need More Than Passion
Some bloggers get it wrong by relying on their passion for a particular niche. You are writing for readers, not you.
So, you want to write from the reader’s mind. You also need a solid strategy and vision to succeed as a blogger.
8- You Can Experience Creativity Block
If you have written for a while, you know that there are days when your creative mind will not be optimal. Sometimes you can find it challenging to communicate your ideas engagingly.
What Is Vlogging?
Vlogging is the art of creating short videos and sharing them with your audience. Its popularity has soared recently, with over 44% of internet users watching vlogs monthly.
Many marketers include videos as content marketing tools to remain memorable to their target market.
Did you know that viewers will retain 52% of the information they watch, higher than they would with blogs?
However, vlogs and blogging share much in common regarding thoughts and opinions; they only differ in form.
Vlogging includes filming and publishing regular videos where one person speaks to their target audience. You will see these vlogs on YouTube and other social media sites like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.
Both blogging and vlogging focus on creating brand awareness and monetizing your audience
Vlogs vary depending on what you want to convey to your audience and industry.
Pros Of Vlogging
Let’s consider why you should include vlogging in your content strategy.
1- Vlogging Is Fun
Vlogging is fun if you love the camera and speaking face-to-face with your audience. With vlogging, you can meet new people and grow your network. You have fun as you grow your brand awareness.
2- Visuals Appeal More Than Written Words
YouTube has become very popular, becoming the second largest search engine after Google. Generally, people are more attracted to video than text content. Therefore, if you want to capture visual-based audiences, vlogging should be your obvious choice.
Hubspot reports that around 87% of video marketers have reported a positive return on investment (ROI).
3- You Can Create a Base Of Loyal Audiences
Since video content will likely generate high engagement, your audience will get hooked to your content.
With quality vlogs, you can easily influence your audience’s decision-making process.
4- Vlogs Are Adaptable
You can create videos in different ways and formats. For instance, you can film a Q&A session, walkthrough videos, and “how-to” videos.
Vlogs can easily be customized to meet your brand needs since you can repurpose them.
See also: What is an Instagram Brand Ambassador? And How to Be One.
Cons Of Vlogging
All is not rosy for vlogging; you will need to deal with some setbacks. Consider a few of these.
5- Vlogging Is Time-Consuming
Creating high-quality videos is time-consuming. You will first create a script, which may take hours or days, shoot the video, and run it on editing software to create the final piece.
The final product will then be posted on various social media platforms before it is promoted to create customer engagement. You could take more time than anticipated to complete one vlog, so exercise patience with your video content.
6- It Can Be Challenging To Find Your Voice
The problem with vlogging is that finding an unmistakable voice can be challenging. How do you want your audience to know you? Will your topic resonate with them? Research could help you answer these questions and define your brand voice.
7- You Will Need To Deal With Haters
You will not be everyone’s cup of tea when you venture into vlogging. You will deal with harsh comments from haters, do not allow them to derail you.
Learn to look past negative comments and focus on your goals.
See also: Can You Make Money by Making Instagram Filters?
Blogging Vs. Vlogging: Which One Is Better?
If you can allocate the extra time and effort needed to produce high-quality videos, then vlogging could be your more profitable option. However, blogging is the better choice if you want a way to make a passive income that will continue to generate revenue over time.
And, if I weigh in on the debate between blogging and vlogging, it is hard to say which is the best. Blogging has its strengths and weaknesses, as does vlogging, so it is up to your preference to choose what works best for you.
You can do well with videos if you have a personality that naturally fits videos. We have seen bloggers who have jumped ship to vlogging and vice versa. However, others love to work in the shadows, behind the scenes and do well with writing.
The internet is rich in hungry audiences waiting for a quality blog or vlog. Alternatively, you can combine vlogs and blogs to spread your presence and reach wider. The thing is, you can make money either way.
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