4 Reasons Vlogging Isn’t Better Than Blogging For B2B
Fri, Dec 11, 2009
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I have talked about the value of video blogging before on Social Media B2B and while I think it is important, heck I even have a video blog, I don’t think they are better than text-based blogging for B2B marketing and communications. I recently read a blog post about Cisco advocating that video blogging is better than blogging. They provide valid reasons like credibility and authenticity, however, they are wrong…for now.
Here is the head blogger for Cisco discussing their take on video blogging:
He has many good points, but the problem is that video blogging still has many issues that stop it from being the best way to blog:
1. Video Doesn’t Work With Most Mobile Devices – It can’t be denied that smart phones are becoming an increasingly growing platform to consume information from the web. The problem is that most web-based video players don’t work on mobile devices. When I click on the Cisco post above and view it on my iPhone half of the content is gone because I can’t see it on my phone. The majority of B2B users have BlackBerry’s and video is the same way on those devices. Because of this issue video blogs reduce possible exposure and reach to target audiences.
2. Video Search Is a Work In Progress – Most search platforms like Google and Bing are still heavily rooted in text and do a poor job integrating video. While uploading video to multiple sharing sites can be used for search engine optimization, a video-only blog would have difficulty ranking well for a diverse set a keywords, unless the content was so compelling that it could drive an abundance of back links. Transcripts of video can also help solve the search problem, but this in not an ideal or quick solution.
3. Video Takes Longer To Consume – The Internet has shortened attention spans and business-to-business users have more information than ever fighting for their attention. To solve this, most people try to get through information faster by skimming or reading only the first few paragraphs of an article. The issue with video is that it takes longer to consume it then to read text, so for many users, it doesn’t fit into their tight schedules. Sure, you can fast forward web video, but it is still a different experience trying to watch a 5 minute video in 30 seconds than quickly skimming an article.
4. Connection/Quality – In addition to taking longer to consume for users who have slow Internet connections, watching video can be an even slower experience. Also, the quality of most online video is still much lower than many people are used to on their TVs and other video devices. The overall experience of online video still needs improvement. If users have to wait for your video to load, they aren’t going to watch it. It doesn’t matter that the speed of their connection is out of your control.
Am I suggesting that you don’t video blog? No. I am suggesting that a video only blog TODAY is not the best idea for a B2B marketing tactic. I believe that the best opportunity when publishing on the web is to have a mix of all forms of media: text, audio, images and video. Different forms of media bring different types of engagement and bring out different emotions.
Do you use video blogging in your B2B blog?
Kipp Bodnar is publisher of SocialMediaB2B.com. Follow Kipp on Twitter @kippbodnar or Google+.
Tags: B2B, blog, Blogging, Cisco, social media, Video, vlogging
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I agree with all of the points listed above.
But there is one point in favor of vlogging over blogging that I feel is missed.
Saturation of market.
There simply isn’t a whole lot of vlogs in the B2B space right now. In contrast, there are hundreds of thousands of blogs. If you do it well and lead the movement, by the time the rest of the world catches up, you will already have cemented your place as a leader.
The market for consuming video regularly is not there yet. But when it comes, wouldn’t you want to be sitting on years of experience and videos for your viewers to consume?
I agree with Greg but will also add this. When it comes to people learning/recalling information, 10% of what we read is remembered where 20% of what we hear and 30% of what we see is recalled. 50% of what we hear AND see is recalled and then the numbers go up with actual experience, discussions and teaching others.
From a technical standpoint I feel you are correct about Vlogging but IMO from a “remember my brand, message etc” standpoint, Vlogging takes the cake.
I don’t see one as better than the other, I see the combination of both as being best. With both, you get to the audience that reads and the audience that views. With one or the other, you only get to the audiences that either read or view. Why capture just one audience when you can have both for virtually the same price and effort.