How to Create the Best Video Content for Your Business

Learn From Trends in the Beauty Vlogging Industry

Are you new to producing online video blogs (“vlogs”)? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Why not learn from the masters of online marketing content? Beauty vloggers are often in a far away corner of the world but reach millions of followers by being strategic about the content they create and deliver. No one does it better than the beauty industry – so let’s see what you can learn from their success to apply to your business marketing video content.

1. Connect with your audience.
Let them in:
The most successful online beauty experts have honed their ability to draw in viewers by being candid and authentic. Incorporate personal stories—lessons, challenges, intentions—to create a feeling of closeness that transcends from the screen to your audience. For example, the top beauty vloggers often do “follow me around” videos, where they film their entire day to bring viewers further into their world. Others do “get to know me” videos where they answer questions from their fans about their life.

Connect in new ways; surprise them!
If you’re an insurance company, those exact examples may not apply to you, but the point is to broaden your ideas about what is interesting to your audience and to become interesting as a person or entity itself. Come up with creative ways to give people a sense of who you are and what your company’s mission is. Even if you’re the smartest guy in the room, keeping a sense of humility will go a long way to making viewers relate to you and receive your message.

Be candid.
Some vloggers do products reviews and openly discuss what they like or dislike about the product – don’t be afraid to be candid on camera.

Be comfortable.
You will excel at vlogging by finding a happy medium between being professional and friendly. There’s no need to be nervous or stiff! Pretend that you know every one of your followers and are eager to share your new information with them, like a good friend catching up with another.

Share your passion.
It’s great to be enthusiastic and show that you actually like your work!

Use feedback to drive your content choices.
This furthers engagement and does the market research for you, telling you what your followers want to see/hear! For example, Michelle Phan arguably THE top beauty vlogger based on viewings (1.1 billion lifetime viewings) produced a Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen look after high request from her followers. How can you get this feedback and input? End your videos by asking your followers to comment below or email you to tell you what they thought or questions it raised for them.

2. Perfection will come – later.
Don’t strive for perfection on the first go. Get started. Produce content while your ideas are flowing. Your blog does not need to be flawless to hit your goals and produce a strong following! Australia’s top beauty vlogger, Lauren Curtis, who has 2.8 M followers, began her video beauty blog as a shy 18-year old. She started with home-lit videos where she dabbled around with makeup and talked with the camera genuinely. She built her beauty empire from the ground up and did not wait for the perfect opportunity.

At 23-years old, she now supports herself with her beauty vlog business, and has successfully created her own branded, online image as a woman who produces innovative content not only about top drugstore makeup, or how to get the perfect winged eyeliner, but also about being bullied in high school and learning her personal worth.

Use your first months of vlogging to learn what works for you.
Lauren would have missed out on many opportunities had she hesitated to begin her content. She now has a significant advantage over her competitors who are new to the scene and lack her experience. Don’t worry about having a smaller following in the beginning, being camera shy, or running out of topics. Focus your energy on becoming comfortable in front of the camera and developing your online image..

Be consistent.
Commit to your content schedule, whether it’s monthly, weekly, or daily. Quality has just as much importance as quantity when it comes to content delivery.

3. Let your personality shine through.
What will your twist be? As you film your content, find out what will make them uniquely you. The way you approach your audience could be your biggest asset for retaining a large following. People will remember your personality and how you made them feel during the video. Will you make them laugh, feel secured, or understood? They won’t remember every word you say but will remember what it was like to listen to you. Let your followers see a glimpse into your life and they will feel like they are getting to know you better and better through each video. Don’t try to be an anchorman or woman – talk how you normally would to make it relatable!

4. Make your content a habit and craving for people!
Form a bond between your blog and their daily routine.
Posting on social media with captions like “Check out the new blog post today!” gets your followers excited for each new post and counting down to the next one. This repeated pattern creates a routine for them to check your site and will also likely gather more people’s attention from family/friends if your follower likes your posts.
For my favorite blogs, I check them almost as often as I do facebook and instagram because their meaning is central to my day-to-day life.

Drive interest to check out the vlog.
Use sneak peeks of upcoming content, contests/giveaways, and newsletter reminders as temptations to get people coming back to your blog!

Learn from others.
Next time you find a blog that really draws you in, stop ask yourself what techniques they are using. Implement what you find and, most importantly – have fun with it!

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Introducing Christine Buckley, Lucky 13 Strategies’ summer intern! Christine studies Economics and Scandinavian literature at UCLA. A San Diego native, she enjoys exploring funky cafes to write and satisfy her coffee addiction. She now happily blogs for Lucky 13 Strategies as a summer marketing intern, combining her two loves, business and writing.