Do you hate being in front of a video camera? Does the phrase “video blogging” instantly bring on the nerves and anxiety.
I’ll admit – I used to hate being in front of the camera. Thankfully, I’m much more comfortable with it now. While I’ve dabbled with video blogging in the past, both in front of (check out that short ‘do and old school Twitter handle!) and behind the camera, I definitely don’t take advantage of it as much as I could/should.
I’m guessing many of you don’t, either. That’s why I wanted to share some stellar vlogging tips from Meredith Sinclair, the guest speaker at the recent Girls Lunch Out Chicago event (I attended on behalf of client Verizon Wireless, who sponsored the event). Vlogging can be a powerful form of communication and can really help mix things up for your blog readers.
If you want to get started (or get smarter) with vlogging, follow these tips from Meredith (with some additional commentary from me for an extra kick):
- Use content you’ve already created as inspiration. If you already blog, dig through your archives and find content you can turn into a vlog. Take your most popular posts and build off of them, or add new insights.
- Have great lighting and sound. Don’t record a vlog with dim lighting, and don’t stand in front of a window. Make sure you have good lighting so your video doesn’t look grainy. If you’re going to sit at your computer and record yourself, you shouldn’t have any problems with sound. But if you start to experiment with how far you stand from your computer, or if you want to ensure you sound loud and clear all the time, invest in a microphone.
- Give yourself a two-minute warning. If it’s just you talking in front of the camera, try to keep it short and sweet. People will tune out after two minutes if you drone on and on. If you start doing more complicated videos with edits, you can go longer than two minutes.
- Imagine your best friend is on the other side of the camera. This trick should help if you get really nervous. Imagine your best friend is on the other side of the camera recording you and you’re having a casual conversation with him/her.
- Learn basic editing skills. iMovie and Final Cut are two good editing programs to use if you want to learn how to edit video. I know how to use iMovie, and I promise it’s relatively simple if all you want to do is slice together different shots and add in some music and text.
Those are some tips on what you should be doing when vlogging. Here’s what you should avoid:
- Writing down what you want to say word-for-word and/or memorizing a script. Don’t do this. It’s going to be obvious that you memorized it, and you’re going to sound robotic. Practice having a casual conversation with your viewers. If you drop a few “umms”, “likes” or pauses, it’s not the end of the world. But keep those to a minimum, too!
- Recording too many times. Sometimes, it’s just not your day. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to perfect a vlog. Take a break for a few hours, or pick a different topic if you’re struggling.
- Talking continuously with no pauses. Don’t talk in one continuous stream of consciousness without pausing. It’s going to come across as babbling, and your viewers will quickly lose interest.
- Forgetting you have a delete button. If all else fails and you absolutely hate your vlog, pitch it and start from scratch.
Let’s say you get all awesome with vlogging and you want to take things to the next level. Thanks to Meredith’s experience with vlogging, local and national media frequently call on her to do interviews on various topics. Here’s what you need to do if you want to become a media resource (aka, PR 101 knowledge):
- Know the show. Do your research. Figure out which media outlets would make the most sense for your specific topic and area(s) of expertise. Don’t blindly reach out to a reporter or producer without doing some research upfront.
- Know your niche. What do you bring to the table that’s unique and different from others who have been interviewed on the show? How can you make the segment/topic more interesting and relevant to viewers? Make sure you communicate that clearly after you’ve identified the best person to reach out to.
- Know the need. This is very much related to the above. How can you help the show fill a void? If they recently interviewed someone on an area of your expertise and you have more insight to add, find the right person to contact and say you’d love to be considered as a source for the next segment related to that topic because you would add (fill in the blank).
Hopefully this advice helps if you’re ready to tackle vlogging.
If you’re already an avid vlogger, I’d love to hear your tips! Leave them in the comments.