As a content creator, you are always looking for the best ways to communicate with your audience. With so many different choices it can be difficult to narrow down. Does your audience prefer written content, or do they enjoy consuming visuals? Are they more likely to listen to what you have to say or read it? In this week’s blog we hope to help you figure it out, we will cover the difference between blogs and vlogs as well as the pros and cons of each.
What is a Blog?
Believe it or not, blogging has been around since the 90s but really became mainstream in the early 2000s. Blogs allow people to share content in a written format, such as this blog post you’re reading right now.
What is unique about blogs is that they are typically aimed at specific niche markets or groups of people that share common interests. We update our blog regularly with content relating to marketing, social media, and sales. We share our blogs on social media that will guide traffic back to this post and other blog posts on our website.
So What is a Vlog?
Vlogging isn’t a relatively new concept either. Simply put, vlogs (aka video logs) share content via video. Similar to blogs, most vlogs target specific audiences who share common interests and needs. Vlogging is becoming more accessible due to smartphone video capabilities which allows anyone to record high-quality videos from just about anywhere.
Which Path is Right for You?
The key differences between vlogging and blogging are where the content is hosted and how you want to communicate with your audience. If you’re someone who is comfortable talking to people and can work a camera then vlogging may be the path for you. However, if you are someone who is comfortable writing then blogging may be what is best for you. Many content creators try to enjoy the best of both worlds by developing both text-based and video content in order to reach a wider audience.
There are some notable differences between blogging and vlogging that you may want to consider before fully diving in.
Hosting
One of the key differences between blogging and vlogging is where the content will be hosted. For blogs, you will need a website or blogging platform to post your articles. On the other hand, for vlogs you don’t really need a private website and can use video platforms such as YouTube to post your vlogs. One perk of vlogging is that YouTube is free whereas you will most likely have to pay for a personal website domain to host your blog. There are free blogging sites like Blogger, but they tend to limit how much content you can deploy per account. However, by purchasing your own website domain you will have 100% control of what is posted on the site, its layout and overall design.
Creation Process
The creation process for both blogs and vlogs is pretty laborious but in different ways. When it comes to blogging, you will spend time researching, writing, proofreading and editing your content. The time spent producing a blog can vary but sometimes same day results are doable. Writing has its unique set of challenges but video is its own beast. Recording your content can take multiple takes and finding copyright-free images or soundtracks to accompany the video can take time as well. The editing process of a vlog and blog are drastically different. While proofreading text can be challenging, the time that goes into editing a video can typically take a day or more depending on your level of expertise. The creation process is something you will definitely want to take into account before getting into either format.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If you’re new to SEO, it stands for search engine optimization. SEO is the strategy to ensure that when someone uses Google to research products and services in your industry, they’ll find you. SEO is way easier for blogs than it is for vlogs. This is because with blogs you are able to employ various techniques that will optimize your content to boost your posts to the top of search engine result pages. SEO is harder to achieve with video because there is not much text to work with. You can optimize your vlogs by writing summaries or transcribing your video so that Google can index it to show in the result pages.
Popularity and Traffic
When it comes to determining the audience, popularity, and traffic of each medium, it often depends on your niche. Some people may be more responsive to visual while others might be more inclined toward reading. For example, if your audience is composed of teenagers then vlogging is a much more viable solution since they often prefer watching videos over reading content. Take your audience’s demographics into consideration when making your decision.
The Choice is Yours
So, which is better, a blog or a vlog? The answer truly depends on you and what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re a business and your goal is to drive traffic and increase engagement, then a blog may be the better choice for you. For individuals, either choice is fine as long as you are passionate about what you’re doing. A combination of the two is a great way to figure out what works best for you as well.
