Ladies and gentlemen, let us consider the contenders in tonight’s match. In the red corner – blogging, communicating with your customers using the written word on your website (or a few other places – but that’s for another blog post). In the blue corner – YouTube, letting you talk to your customers face to face. Which will win? Or, more to the point, which should you choose? Because when it comes to blogging vs YouTube, the thing that really matters is knowing what will work for your audience.
Who are you talking to?
As with everything else in marketing, the first question you need to ask is – who am I talking to? It’s all very well saying that you only want to blog because you hate being on video, but what if your customers love YouTube? I confess that my YouTube viewing is fairly limited because my kids love it. If I try and watch anything while they’re still awake I end up with demands for videos about Lego and slime. Reading a blog is far easier.
Even if you’re able to choose, some of your customers might just prefer reading. Deciding what content to create ultimately comes down to what your ideal customer wants to see. (For more on that, read this.)
What do you want to say?
Sometimes the message you want to send is short and snappy – a quick tip or reminder that your event bookings are closing, for example. You might just want to ask a question for your audience to ponder. These are perfect for short social media posts or videos. Video is also amazing if you’re interviewing someone or having a discussion as it makes the audience feel part of the conversation.
On the other hand, maybe you want to offer something a bit more in depth. If you’re writing a step by step guide or a range of questions to ask, it’s far easier for your audience to follow if everything’s written down. For me, reading a blog often feels more like a one to one chat too.
Do you need to be on YouTube?
Have a gold star if you’ve already asked the obvious question. You can post video almost anywhere you like, why would you need YouTube? Good point. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter all allow you to upload video (obviously it’s not just them either – I’m ignoring the others for now). I’m glad you asked.
Firstly, Google owns YouTube. That means that having a YouTube channel could boost your search engine ranking. You can also embed YouTube videos on your website. There’s also less competition from other businesses giving you the chance to find your niche audience.
Of course, if your audience never use YouTube (or only watch it for cat videos), it could be a pointless exercise. It all comes back to knowing your audience.
Blogging vs YouTube: which will win?
Honest answer? They both will if you use them properly. Even though Google owns YouTube, when it comes to your website, words still win. Regularly updated and useful content will push you up the search engine rankings and help your customers find you in a way that video won’t.
Video is still a massive growth area and a great way to attract attention on social media. Plus, if you’ve gone to the effort of creating a video, why not share it wherever you can? You can even cover the same topics across your blog and videos as the audience is unlikely to be the same. Just don’t read your blog out on video. That would be like watching paint dry.
Further reading
For more on repurposing your blog, read this.
Ready to get started on YouTube? Here’s an in depth guide from Hubspot.
I’m generally not a fan of stating the bleeding obvious. I don’t like it when people talk down to me so there’s no way I’m going to do it to anyone. The trouble is, sometimes it leads me to credit people with knowledge that they don’t already have. This is not a criticism. When you’re a small business owner there’s a massive amount of stuff to learn. Even if marketing is towards the top of your list of things to get to grips with, the benefits of writing a blog could still be a long way down. If that’s the case for you, here’s why a blog could do wonders for your business.
When you want to learn something new there are usually a range of options available. Blogging is no exception (and if you want to know more about the ways you can learn about blogging, read this). Actually choosing the right method for you can be tricky. Do you opt for a workshop where you don’t know anyone and could be out of your depth? Would you rather get some 1:1 help? To be honest, you could find a way to talk yourself out of any of the options. If you’d prefer to learn in an environment you know will be friendly, you might want to consider training with a friend. There are all kinds of benefits. Here are my top 4.
I know, you’ve heard people like me bang on endlessly about using storytelling in your marketing. It’s a great way to get personality into your content and set yourself apart from the crowd. The thing is, how do you do it? It won’t surprise you to hear that it’s not just a case of telling everyone your life story. It’s all about balance. Your customers will love the fact that you’re relatable but they mainly want to hear about how your business can benefit them. Here’s how you can start using storytelling in your marketing.
Whenever you create a new piece of content for your business you need to think about what you want it to do. I know that might feel as if I’m asking you to analyse every single little thing that you put out there (and I am) but it doesn’t have to be a pain. Your marketing has one really simple job to do. It needs to tell customers that you exist and convince them that you have something they need. I know it’s not that easy in practice but it gives you a good starting point. There are loads of ways that your content can achieve your aims. It could explain the benefits of what you offer, educate your audience or just raise awareness of your brand. Whatever you want each post to do, you need to follow it up with a good call to action. Here’s how it works.
I know that some of you roll your eyes when I start talking about technical stuff. Others rub their hands in glee. Whichever one of those you are, you need to know about A/B testing. This recent blog talked about getting to grips with your data by looking back and analysing what worked in the past. A/B testing allows you to do that in a much more dynamic way. Those quarterly or half yearly reviews are still important as they let you see the bigger picture. So what is A/B testing and why should you be putting it to work in your marketing? Read on…
I had a fabulous meeting with a lovely lady recently and it got me thinking (again) about all the different skills you need in business. She was talking about all of the different elements that she was bringing together to make sure that the message she was sending reflected her values and the work that she does. Talking to me about getting the words right was the next stage in the process. She’d written a few things herself but hadn’t been happy with them. It’s a common theme when I speak to small business owners. There seems to be this feeling that they should be able to do it themselves. Writing is easy, right? If you’re holding back from working with a writer because you feel you shouldn’t have to, here’s why you might want to reconsider.
Yawn. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve gone from creating mildly entertaining blogs about writing and marketing to suddenly deciding to bore you all to death. Unless you’re someone who loves numbers and digging into an analysis of the figures. If you are, thank you. I love you for understanding figures and data because that may mean you’re an accountant and people like me need people like you. However, this blog isn’t really for you. It’s for the people whose eyes glaze over when you mention analytics. If you don’t know why you need to track your marketing data, read on. I may never teach you to love analytics but hopefully you’ll see the benefits.