If you look around on the channels of well-known YouTubers, you’ll spot the word vlog soon enough. Vlogs are videos in which the “vlogger” talks to their audience and shares thoughts or private insights with them – sometimes on topics that don’t directly relate to the channel. This mixture of video and blog is known as a vlog and plays an important role in the personal branding of a channel or account. If you use this format skillfully, you can use it to strengthen your profile in the long term.
The word vlog is short for video-blog, which refers to blog posts in video format. In a vlog, the person speaking addresses their viewers directly and talks openly about a specific topic, personal experiences, or updates their followers on their life (e.g., by filming themselves traveling, giving a tour of their home, or during a shopping trip). This gives followers the feeling of really getting to know the person behind the account and builds a personal bond – turning casual viewers into a loyal following.
The increasing popularity of vlogs is closely linked to YouTube's success story. While the first YouTubers still focused strictly on their core topic, the possibility of monetizing YouTube channels triggered the frenzy for view-numbers and subscribers, and the pressure rose to regularly produce new, varied content to retain subscribers over the long term. A vlog offers the perfect opportunity to address followers (seemingly) at a personal level. The more authentic this appears, the more the YouTubers became idols whose lifestyles simply had to be emulated – and so the first influencers were born.
The first vlogs were still total amateur videos – often recorded in poorly lit living rooms or with shaky cell phone cameras. A lot has changed since then. The vlogs of today’s YouTube stars are elaborately planned and professionally produced videos that often take a full day or even several days to create. Nevertheless, authenticity is still the top priority. The videos still look as if they were shot on a whim. And that's entirely desirable, so that followers can continue to identify with the account and the person behind it.
Apart from that, a good vlog is characterized by the following features:
The more views and subscribers an account has, the more interesting it becomes from a marketing point of view, because the large reach is important for promoting a company’s products and raising awareness of who they are. At this point, every successful vlogger has to ask themselves where the line is between occasional product recommendations and intrusive advertising.
A completely different way to earn money with your own content are supporter platforms like Patreon. There, followers who value your content can sign up and promote your work with a regular monthly contribution. In return, they get access to premium content created specifically for Patreon or other individual benefits.
Many followers usually don’t have a problem with PR samples being presented on an account from time to time, as long as the focus and style of the posts don’t change, and the sponsored posts don’t take over. Calling yourself a brand ambassador can be a double-edged sword – on the one hand, it’ll help boost your income, but followers can also react negatively to this. If you promote one brand tirelessly, it can quickly cost you the hard-earned trust of the community.
The key here is to communicate honestly and transparently with the community. If you clearly label promotional posts and explain the reasons why you decided to work with a brand, you involve followers in this important step.
Among the best-known vloggers who have managed this balancing act in the USA are:
The video portal YouTube connects people the world over. Operators of these video channels entertain and influence millions of subscribers with their innovative ideas; in some cases, this can fund their entire lifestyle. So how do professional YouTubers actually make money on the platform? Could uploading videos and earning income from YouTube also be something for you?
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Greater reach, higher traffic, better visibility. YouTube has huge marketing potential not only for individuals, but also for artists and brands globally. Creating and setting up your own YouTube channel takes just a few minutes. Find out how to make a YouTube channel that suits your brand and lets you reach your target audience more effectively.
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