So far, throughout human history there have basically been three forms of content.
Written word, video and audio.
I guess going back further you have face-to-face communication. And that remains important.
But for the sake of online marketing, we’ll focus on the main three that impact our lives today.
If you’re a marketer or business owner or business manager, you’re probably wondering what is better: blog vs. vlog vs. podcast.
Let’s get into some detail on how to decide which one (or mix) is best for you and your situation.
Blogging
Blogging has been around since the early days of the Internet. It seems to have started as a bit of an online journal. So instead of writing your thoughts down in a traditional journal, you typed them and published them on your own website.
Some things have changed over the years, but that’s basically what blogging remains. It’s a way to share your thoughts and knowledge consistently over time. It’s the written word. Not really that different than words drawn on pages from centuries ago. For as long as people have been reading, it’s been a way to communicate in the present and in the future. What you write today, even on a blog, can be consumed for the foreseeable future.
That’s a big key with blogging that makes it different than journaling. Most people that blog want their content to be seen. That kind of led into the formation of social media. Social media created a platform or platforms within the Internet that allowed people to discover certain content. For a long time and still today, that has been text content. The medium or platform may have changed a bit from having your own website or blog to a social platform, but it’s still creating textual content for readers.
Should you dive into blogging as a way to market your business?
There are two basic determining factors.
First, is typing or writing your preferred method of creating content? You may have a feeling on the answer already. From school. From the way you create content in your professional life. If you prefer writing email. If you journal. If you write other content for your business, blogging is a likely choice for content marketing. You want to lean into the medium where your interests and actions have proven ability.
Second, what are the preferences of your audience? Just as we all seemingly have a preference for creating content we also have a preference for consuming content. Some people prefer reading. If you have evidence that your customers prefer reading then you want to lean into that area of focus.
Of those two, I would say that your preferred method is where you want to lean the most. Odds are good that there is an even mix of your target audience that prefers reading to viewing to listening. By leaning into your preference, you’re giving yourself the best odds of creating the most content and on the most consistent schedule.
That’s the key with content marketing – what will you do the most…
Vlogging
Vlogging is blogging, but in video form. That’s how many of the popular video channels are created. They are documented in the same way that journaling or blogging is. They’re edited. Maybe they’re a bit scripted. But it’s just about the same process for creating any type of content.
That’s another side of all types of content. The most successful are creating either educational content or entertainment content. And usually the best are doing a mix of both at the same time. You might be documenting what you’re doing everyday and editing it into snippets. Or you might be brainstorming ideas and hashing out those ideas into content at a later date. Either way, you’re educating or entertaining over time. That’s “logging content”. That’s where the term comes from whether it’s text, video or audio.
If you decide to vlog, you want to make sure that you have a preference for creating video. Have you created video in the past? If you’re not sure, try creating some video whether on your own or with someone else. See if you do it well. See if you enjoy doing it. See if it’s challenging to you in a way that makes you want to keep doing it consistently. If those signs are there then you’re probably looking at a vlogging-first strategy for your marketing.
Podcasting
Podcasting has come into the spotlight in the last decade. But really it’s been around for a long time. Radio was huge in the early 20th Century. It was the first way for many to get content in another form than face-to-face or written text. Video still wasn’t really possible so once audio came along, lots of people flocked to it.
Podcasting follows the same logging format of content as blogging and vlogging. You’re creating educational or entertainment content on a consistent schedule. Maybe you’re documenting what you’re doing. Maybe you’re coming up with ideas based on research and fleshing out those ideas when you create your podcasts.
The key, again, is that you’re looking for your preference. If you have a knack for podcasting. If you have an interest in doing it consistent, then it’s probably the area where you want to focus your efforts.
Conclusion
The key takeaway from this discussion is that for content marketing, you want to focus on where your preferences are for creating content. The channel or medium that encourages you to create the most and the most consistent content is your best bet. Generally, there is a pretty even mix or people in all audiences that want text, video and audio.
Some niches will have higher percentages in certain mediums. If that is the case, it’s worth looking at doing your preferred channel yourself and then outsourcing into other mediums. In fact, that’s a good option if you’re looking at really diving into content marketing as a strategy. Do the one you prefer the most on your own. See if someone internally on your team can do another or the other two. Then outsource for the other opportunity.
Blogging, vlogging and podcasting all have opportunity. The platforms may change, but text, video and audio seem to be here for the long-term. The key to it all is where you have the tendency to create the most content over time.