6 Crucial Rules for Creating Video Content that Engages Blog Readers

By David Hill

Regardless of whether you’re running a personal blog, dabbling in eCommerce or starting to utilize content marketing, video is definitely something that you should consider including. Its impact is undeniable, and it has grown to become the most popular form of content on the internet – bar none.

6 Rules for Creating Engaging Video Content

As you start to record and publish videos on your blog, you may be a bit discouraged by the results. If you think your videos aren’t performing as well as you want and reader engagement is lacking, here are six crucial rules that you should follow to make sure that they do:

1. Find the ‘Goldilocks’ Zone for Video Length

If a video is too short, you won’t be able to thoroughly cover the topic that you’re dealing with. However if the video is too long then viewers are likely to get bored and close the window before it is done. Because of that you need to aim for somewhere in the middle, i.e. the ‘Goldilocks’ zone.

Typically the ideal length for videos is about a minute or so, though it can vary depending on the audience that you’re dealing with. Assuming you aren’t able to cover the topic in that time span, then you may want to consider breaking up your video into several smaller topics that can fit into that frame.

2. Try Different Methods to Find Good Topics

Honestly there isn’t any one single method of finding good topics for a video that is best, so you should try a variety. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who is interested in your niche, scope out what types of videos your competitors are producing (and the response to them), and see what types of videos perform well in other niches that may be loosely related to yours.

As a rule of thumb the videos that tend to perform best as blog content are those that contribute positively to viewers, so guides, tutorials, and demonstrations are a good fit. Other useful discussions, informative video logs, and funny outtakes may also help in certain situations.

3. Experiment with Various Types of Videos

What kinds of videos do you generally produce for your blog, both in terms of style as well as form? Nowadays, you have the luxury of choosing to produce video content in various forms, such as by recording live video, capturing on-screen footage, using animation, or creating a video slideshow.

Within these different forms you can experiment further with various styles. In some cases, certain forms and styles of videos may suit the topic innately, but in others you may find that being creative can let your videos look unique and stand out.

At the same time it should be noted that while experimenting is good, you should be realistic about your ability to produce certain types of videos. Generally, it is better to produce a good but ordinary video, as opposed to trying to reach too far and producing a mediocre result.

4. Plan Your Video and Write a Script

Great videos don’t just happen by accident, but rather are the result of careful planning and decisions on the part of their creator. After you choose a topic, you should outline the structure of your video, including the points you want to make and how you’re going to convey them.

All these things should then be structured in the form of a script that maps out every second of your video and the voice-over that accompanies it. By planning your video thoroughly, you can address any issues before you actually start recording it and deal with them in advance.

5. Pay Attention to the Title and Preview Image

The first two things that any visitor is going to see of your video are its title and preview image. Although strictly speaking these aren’t part of creating the video itself, they are important as they will be the factors that influence whether or not the viewer decides to click play.

As you can imagine, if your video content is getting a lot of hits but those hits aren’t translating into views then this is likely the reason why. Considering the title is linked to the topic and the preview image is going to be a scene from the video, it is worth taking both into consideration while you create your video.

6. Make Full Use of the Data From Analytics

With analytic tools (such as Google Analytics), you will be able to measure numerous metrics related to your videos, including the view count, bounce rates, average duration viewed, and much more. All this data is absolutely crucial for video content creators, as they can help you figure out what types of videos and which topics are performing well.

What differentiates a top video content creator from the rest, is very often how effectively they are able to leverage analytics to incrementally improve their content as time goes by. Because every niche and every blog is unique with its own specific demographic, analytics are the key that will help you unlock what sort of video content appeals to your target market.

While there are many other tips, tricks and techniques that could help you to produce better video content for your blog, these are the six rules that you should live by. If you stick to them, you should notice that your videos are able to attract a wider audience and engage a lot more of those viewers than they did previously.

Just like your blog itself, it will take time for your video content to truly come into its own. Don’t be discouraged if your first few attempts to produce videos for your blog don’t quite live up to your expectations. Just keep producing more content and trying to better yourself with each attempt. You’ll get there sooner rather than later and be able to reap the rewards when you do.

Author bio:
David Hill is an avid blogger who often produces videos for his blog. Among his best ways to produce quick videos are by using Movavi Slideshow Maker to create video slideshows in no time flat.

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Digital Business & Marketing Manager at Online Business Canada | Website | + posts

Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.

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sammyjo

I don’t like being on the video but I’m looking into ways to make them without being in the picture so to speak. I’m leaning towards slides with me narrating.

Neel Proctor

Common mistake, creating content without making it engaging!

Ron Stephens

Good rules to follow! Thanks for sharing!

Taylor Lund

I’ve seen some pretty sad start images on videos. Even the professionals do it. It will have someone with their mouth open and eyes closed or whatever. It doesn’t take long to cue up a better image and it can make a huge difference in views.