10 Reasons to Use Video On Your Blog

You may have noticed that I occasionally incorporate video into my blog posts here. I really enjoy using video as an added media element to my space and I want to give you ten reasons why you should too!

Danielle
Danielle Smith doing a video interview

1. Video blogging is a game changer. It totally sets you apart, above and beyond the other 156 million blogs. I heard a stat recently that only 5% of all sites incorporate video.

2. Video allows your audience to get to know you better. You can read someone’s emails, tweets, blog posts, FB updates and texts all day every day but if you’ve never met them, video adds a huge new dimension. The more your readers feel like they know you personally, the more invested they become in what you have to say.

3. Video makes you more believable. It can help you build trust capital which in turn makes it more likely that your audience will respond to whatever call to action you might present, whether it’s getting involved with a cause, sharing a story, or buying something you recommend.

4. It makes complicated information more entertaining and more likely to be shared virally. Add a bit of humor to your tutorial and it’ll go a long way.

5. It’s awesome for SEO (search engine optimization). Did you know YouTube is the second most popular search engine after Google? The right tagging and titling of your YouTube video can make your search traffic skyrocket. (Check out my YouTube channel here!)

6. Video can convey your passion about a topic much better than just text. Passion is compelling, it translates into charisma and people are drawn to it.

7. Creating and uploading videos is super easy. Anyone can do it. Most people have some simple digital video recorder, even if it’s just an iPhone. YouTube makes video publishing and embedding on a blog a piece of cake.

8. Creating video blogs is also great for your presentation skills. Sure you may only be talking to a camera, but it requires many of the same skills as speaking before a live audience.

9. Another by-product of creating video blogs is that you become more comfortable on camera and more willing to jump at opportunities when they come up. This happened to me at Mom 2.0 with three separate opportunities to be interviewed on camera and promote my blog. One was a chance to talk about my heart for orphans on Johnson and Johnson’s platform. Had I not been creating video blogs over the past year I might have turned down a great chance to talk about my mission.

10. Because it’s FUN! I promise you, making videos for your blog is lots of fun.

So have you tried creating some video blog posts?

This post is linked up over at OhAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesdays. Hop over and check it out!

Fashion Friday: How To Wear Sheer

Being fashionable and trendy does not always have to mean seeing something on a runway and then busting out the credit card to shop for it. We all know that fashion trends come and go in cycles, and sometimes if you wait long enough they reappear when you are least expecting it. See case in point…platform shoes. Never in a million years did I guess that those crazy high shoes my mom loaned me for 70’s day in high school would be once again worn by every celeb and supermodel…and myself more than a decade later. Right?!

Ok back to the point. This month’s In Style magazine has a feature on silky sheer blouses. Now these are specifically button down blouses but sheer fabrics in general are definitely on trend right now. Have you ever wondered if you could pull off a look like that? For real women like me with a limited budget, sometimes you just need to take the idea of a trend and put your own twist on it with what you’ve got.

So check out how I shopped my own closet to see what sheer tops I had and how I wear them.