A Vlog Blog (What We've Learned So Far)

We started video blogging. Or vlogging as they call it. If you haven't seen our vlog, go have a look. We have a lot of fun doing them and hopefully, that comes across...along with some useful information. Hopefully.
But we didn't start our vlog just for fun. We did it for a number of reasons, the primary one being so we can learn the ins and outs of vlogging before encouraging our clients to use it as a marketing tactic. We don't feel comfortable asking our clients to do what we haven't experienced ourselves. So we decided to eat our own cooking.

We're in the process of completing TIVlog #8, so we've done enough to have a little insight to share:

Subtitles can be easy…or hard


You have to have subtitles if you're going to vlog. A substantial percentage of people don't ever turn sound up when watching videos, so if you don't spend the time to add subtitles, you're cutting out a huge number of potential viewers. We decide that, rather than the typical captions quoting exactly what we're saying, we would use the subtitles to add an additional level of information (and jokes) so the folks who do have volume would have the added benefit of reading the subtitles as well as listening. It turns out there are some pretty turnkey ways to do captions...the other way, where you're quoting exactly what's being said. The way we're doing it takes writing a script, adding the subtitles using an editing program (in our case iMovie since it came with our Macs) and then making sure they all line up appropriately. Valuable, but hands down the most time-consuming portion of the process.

Better Audio Requires Better Video

We started off as down and dirty as possible. All of our vlogs have been recorded on my iPhone. I went out and bought a tripod and a small microphone that attaches directly to the iPhone. And this works. Okay. We found that, especially since I'm soft spoken, we had to pump the sound up as high as possible in iMovie and even then it was quite a bit lower than most videos out there. Not a huge deal since many people don't even turn on the sound, but still a bit jarring when you listen to our video and then move to a professionally recorded video. 

So we decided to get a better mic and record the sound separately (thanks to Adrian, our designer who is good at everything and records and produces music on the side). Sounded like a good idea until we learned that iPhones use a variable frame rate. Google it and maybe you'll understand better than I do. Ultimately what it means to us is that our audio doesn't line up with our video. So...next time we'll try recording using our camera rather than the iPhone and for the ones we already recorded, we'll use the audio from the iPhone. Live and learn.

Engagement Is Infinity Better

When I asked Beau about engagement and how our vlog is affecting our social media efforts, he said something along the lines of, "It's infinity better." To which I replied I needed a bit more detail than that. The reach is about four times that of our standard posts. That alone makes it worth our while. And depending on how you define engagement...video views, shares, etc. it truly is infinity better. 

Clients and potential clients watch

The most relevant insight we've gained so far is that clients and potential clients watch our vlogs. We consistently hear from people that they've watched and learned from our videos. And that they appreciate the information. That's a win for sure.

So we'll keep going. Our next task, now that we have enough vlogs out there to gather some good data, is to figure out why some perform better than others...perhaps we'll report our findings in our next vlog blog.

Brandt Hoekenga is the Co-CEO and Creative Director for TIV Branding

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TIV Branding is a boutique branding firm in Sonoma County, California. We specialize in building brands by using traditional, social and digital channels in unison. If you would like to discuss a project or find out more about how we do what we do, please email us at info@TIVbranding.com.

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