The Trending Opportunity of Vlogging

Vlogging, a video blog, is used to let viewers know what is trending in the world, community, and the vlogger’s life. Approximately 42% of internet users watched a video blog in the past month. Popular YouTube personalities can have millions of subscribers and blog about a range of topics including product reviews, entertainment and how-to. With all of these eyeballs, there’s no surprise that there are brands looking to partner with these YouTube “stars.” Some of the more popular partnerships include sending products for review or product placement.

Before embarking on a partnership, a few items to keep in mind include:

• Companies have to be trusting of the vloggers with their products. Vloggers are known for being raw and openly honest. If they happen to hate an item they received, expect to hear them express this. It’s a risk/reward proposition that Brands should approach with caution.
• Vloggers need to make it well known if what they are doing is part of a promotion. In 2014, British bloggers from the AmazingPhil channel failed to state that their “Oreo Lick Race” was part of a paid promotion. This caused this Oreo YouTube campaign to be banned due to it being misleading to consumers. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has since ordered all vloggers to mention whether the vlog is a promotion or not by simply adding “ad” or “promo” in the vlog title to clarify.

To make these partnerships a win-win for all involved, all paid promotions will need to be made clear. Also, the vlogger needs to maintain their organic relationship with their audience by avoiding oversaturation of promotions and keeping their content relevant. For brands, this simply means that they need to focus on partnering with vloggers that have similar interests or content.

So why partner with a vlogger?

• A large and relevant audience combined with a comparatively modest investment is appealing to marketers.
• Influence. If subscribers share a connection with the vlogger, and they like the product, chances are that the subscriber will want to try the product too. 

What if you can’t afford the amount famous vloggers would charge to promote your brand? Here are tips to starting your own vlog and gain the appropriate audience in-house.

• Utilize Facebook videos on your business page. Consumers look to social media for ideas and pointers on what products to purchase. One way to build a relationship with potential customers is to make your own video of your product being used, what your business is about or reviewing the product. Then just post it directly to where your followers can like, comment and share it.
• Allow your audience to see into the life of your business. Whether you’re going to a trade show or conference, take a camera and vlog your surroundings. This builds trust and creates a connection with the brand and viewers.
• Don’t make everything scripted. One reason vloggers become so famous is because they are themselves. They don’t sound like a recording. They give life to what they’re talking about by being honest and raw. One way to show this side of you/your business is to show unedited interviews of employees, yourself or a typical day in your business. When consumers can see that someone is just like them, it makes the brand/organization more personable. 

With video becoming more popular in the online marketing world, how can you take advantage of this trending opportunity for your product or service?