9 Highly Effective Tips to Create Video Content that Viewers Love Watching on Blogs

Video content can be catnip when it comes to attracting traffic to your blog as well as boosting engagement levels. But neither of those things happens by magic, and if you want to create the kind of video content that viewers love to watch then you need to know how to go about it.

While there are many factors that are at play in determining how ‘effective’ a video is, there are several ways in which you can improve the video content that you’re able to create and publish on your blog:

• Figure out what works and emulate it

It is a safe bet that your blog isn’t the only blog out there in your niche, so a good place to start is by scoping out the competition. In particular, you should pay attention to the type of video content they’re publishing and the sort of response they’re getting.

By carrying out this kind of research you’ll be able to gain some knowledge about what seems to be working in your niche, and you can then emulate it. It should be noted that this does not mean you should ‘copy’ your competition’s videos outright, but rather learn from them.

• Be original, but don’t get caught up trying to be completely unique

One of the mistakes many new video content creators make is trying to create content that is completely unique and has never been seen before. While in theory that sounds great, in reality, it is extremely difficult to pull off and you’ll probably end up tying yourself in knots if you try it.

Instead of trying to make videos that are completely unique, focus instead on providing an original slant in your videos. Even if the topic has been covered before, try to do so from a different angle, or by presenting it in a new way. Even something as simple as using an original setting when you film your video could help your video to stand out.

Also Read: Thinking About Becoming A YouTuber? Here’s What You Need To Know

• Plan out your video and write a detailed script

While there are some types of videos that benefit from the spontaneity of being recorded on the spot, as a rule of thumb you should always plan out your video in advance and write a script. Not only will this help give your video some structure, but it will also help you to refine and iron out any issues before actually recording the video.

It helps to be as detailed as possible when you are writing a script. Don’t just focus on what the voiceover is saying, but rather hone in on what the video is going to be showing at the same time. Once you’re done your script can act as a guideline that you use when recording the video.

• Take advantage of the visual nature of videos

When you are planning your video, always keep in mind that a big part of what makes videos so effective is the fact that they are a highly visual medium. That is why the one tip that you’ll often encounter is to ‘show, not tell’ – and that certainly holds true.

Insofar as possible, you should try to figure out ways to visually display the points that you’re trying to get across, instead of simply narrating them. Not only can this help to make your video look more attractive, but it will also increase how effectively your videos are able to get their points across.

• Understand the value of being concise

Attention spans nowadays are shorter than ever before, and the average viewer is probably not going to sit through a 5 or 10-minute video – no matter how great it may be. Instead, the rule of thumb is to try to create videos that are 60 seconds long (i.e. 1 minute) – or at least somewhere close to that region.

Considering that it should be a little bit easier for you to appreciate why being concise is so important. In your videos, you won’t have time to beat around the bush or wax poetical – and should get directly to the point right from the get-go. If you aren’t able to keep your videos short despite being concise, you may even want to think about splitting the topic up into two (or more) shorter and more focused topics instead.

• Remember that every video is a story

As you are structuring your video, try to make sure that it unfolds like a story. That doesn’t mean that you need to spin a tall tale, but rather that your video should have an introduction, middle, and conclusion.

In most videos, the introduction is used to grab the attention and attract interest from the viewer. As such it normally consists of a brief explanation of why the viewer should watch the video. From there the video will move on to the middle that delivers the content and fulfils any promises made in the introduction, before finally ending with the conclusion – that contains the call to action that tells the viewer what to do next. That formula is one that has been proven to work time and time again, so be sure to use it in your videos.

• Try to provoke an emotional response with your videos

Have you ever wondered why people seem to share funny videos more than any other type of video? The reason is simple: It provokes an emotional response. More often than not videos are shared because they trigger a particular emotion in viewers, whether it is the need to share something funny, inspirational, or controversial.

That is something that you can certainly learn from and use to your advantage when you are creating a video. While it is impossible to predict whether a video will ‘go viral’ or not, using humour, inspiration, controversy, or other elements that can provoke emotional responses are a good way to ensure that they are more likely to be shared more frequently. Who knows, you may even strike gold and end up with a video that actually does go viral and attracts millions of views.

• Don’t worry too much about the ‘quality’ of your video

When it comes to video quality, there is quite a bit of leeway in terms of how much it actually matters. Generally, you should try to create a video that can be understood easily and gets its points across effectively – and quality certainly comes second to that.

Sometimes ‘shaky’ videos or videos recorded using smartphones cameras can even provide a certain ‘authenticity’. At the end of the day it all boils down to the type of video that you want to create and the overall feel that you’re trying to put across – but suffice to say a video that doesn’t have ‘perfect’ quality isn’t necessarily a dud.

• Track the performance of your videos and learn from them

Analytics is one of the most important tools for any blogger, and it is crucial that you use them to track how your videos are performing. By evaluating various metrics such as total viewers, average duration viewed, conversion rates, and so on – you can learn to figure out which videos are performing better.

Once you do notice that some videos are outperforming others in certain areas, the next step is to try to analyze why. Perhaps it is the type of video, choice of topic, style, call to action, or something else entirely. It may take some trial and error, but by experimenting, tracking the performance of your videos and learning from them, you’ll be able to create videos that are much more effective in the long run.

Hopefully, these tips will help to get you on the right track and enable you to create the kind of video content that viewers love to watch on blogs. Don’t be discouraged initially if your results are below expectations, as your first few videos will likely be hit and miss in many cases.

So long as you persevere, follow these tips, and always look at ways in which you can improve your videos – sooner or later you’ll begin to see results. Once you do it will certainly be worth the time that you invest in creating video content for your blog.