To Vlog or to blog ’tis the question, but did you ever wonder if there was something more?

You’re scrolling through Facebook, what do you do first? Do you stop to watch the videos or do you read through a status update that is a paragraph?

The attention span of a modern internet user has diminished severely since the days of Thomas Paine. This is why video has emerged as a favorite among a majority of consumers. A viewer sees the content of your video, gets the info quickly, then can proceed at the pace they like. If you are promoting an educational aspect, your video can direct and teach the viewer (possibly) faster than if they had to sit down and read the information to transcribe it into memory.

Vlogging, essentially, is saying what your blog would contain, but through video. Earlier this year, I researched business trends and drivers for the photography industry. All of my sources pointed towards the same direction. The internet will most likely fully encompass our future generations. Tech companies are designing protocols for equipment that would allow us to have true virtual realities of our web experiences. Here’s a fun fact, artificial intelligence just got a financial boost from supporter Mark Zuggerburg. So, yes, the monetary needs are being met to fund this innovation.

Future clients and professionals will need video in their business and products. Why? Because of how we interpret the world around us and how we want our world to be. Our brains have three main methods of interacting with information and experiences. Those three methods are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. We learn from the world around us by seeing, hearing, and doing. With the internet playing so much into our consumer’s visual experience, a vlog gives its viewer a human face to connect with. That is the one thing words can’t do. A video has quick information that brings traffic to your site and has the closest one-on-one feeling the internet can host. This is why video and vlogging can be empowering for photographers and entrepreneurs who want to be known individually. Words connect the audience to a mind and ideas, a face connects the audience to the person.

In your business, what is your desired end result? After that, then what? Where is your niche?

If you’re going to vlog, is one video hosting site better than the other? Video has a huge boost in gaining traffic in a Google search engine, especially if its a Youtube video. Why? Google bought Youtube, and Youtube gets millions of viewers every day which guarantees traffic to somewhere. One of  Youtube’s biggest competitors is Vimeo. So, what’s the debate of Vimeo verses Youtube?

Youtube

• Pros
  • It is the most popular viewing platform.
  • It is great for SEO because Google Owns it.
  • It does offer a free platform for hosting videos
  • Does have paid advertising solutions
  • Does give royalties to music artists (that’s why you have ads on many videos)
  • You are allowed to dispute interruptions if you have rights to the music in the first place.
• Cons
  • Can have low quality with your content in video.
  • You might have competitive advertising in the side bar of your video (no way to truly monitor/control this).
  • Competitors can place ads on your video in hopes of steering audience. (Rude? Heck yeah, only way to get around this is if your audience has the Red Program, but this is never going to be a guarantee.)
  • Employees may not be able to see your content at work (some businesses still restrict sites to deter unproductively at work).

Vimeo

• Pros
  • No video advertisements
  • Cost Effective business account
  • Maintains visual content quality
  • It is more niche oriented, which means it has a strong community presence in that niche.
• Cons
  • Less traffic than Youtube
  • Possible interference with Google search engine.
  • Does have a limited amount of uploads
  • Might have lagging when uploading

It’s taking your content to a higher level. What professional wouldn’t want the most optimization?

In addition, I am very interested in  “Moving Stills.” It’s the “break out of the box” moment! It’s making a photograph move as a single art piece, which can be put on display by itself and in a video. It’s called a cinemagraph. As a fine art photographer, I’ve contemplated how this could be incorporated into my current social media and marketing.

1. How cool is it to have your art actually breath?
2. Would it make me stand out amongst my peers?
3. What is it going to do to the products my clients are looking for?

If you’d like to learn more, look towards Jaime Beck and Kevin Burgs. They coined the phrase “cinemagraphs,” and they have been pioneering the field since 2011. Personally, I think the idea of taking one of your fine art pieces and making a detail of the image move slightly is an added attention grabber. That difference could drive more clients to you because you have the capability to produce a product that stands out from the crowd. 

The skills of blogging, vlogging, and cinemagraphs will become more competitive as time progresses.

Blogs and written text can’t be replaced, it’s tradition for a reason. It would be beneficial to have a vlogging channel because short and concise videos are shared more often than links and text. Which means Cinemagraphs are on track with the competition and will likely become more popular in the future. The fashion industry has already embraced them. Fashion photographer, Lindsay Adler has a great blog experience that demonstrates the production of one of her cinemagraphs.  When I look at this particular blog, I’m thinking WOW, SEO hotspot! She has written text that meets the advised word count for blogging(plus it is clear and concise), she has pictures and video that demonstrates her educational tutorial, then she has the cinemagraphs. When it comes to social media outlets, she covered the diversity spectrum.

• She can post to Facebook, the cinemagraphs play with Facebook’s automated video player scroll control and can be shared.
• She can post to Twitter, the cinemagraph continuously plays like a GIF and can be retweeted.
• She can post to Pinterest and Instagram using the included photos, and her audience can repin the content.
• She can post to LinkedIn and Google+ by using a traditional blog and video sharing.

She literally hit the social media sweet spot, able to post and interact with stunning content in every platform. Specifically, her post to Facebook and Twitter might catch viewers attention for effectively because of its automated playing format. Take this into account as well, the iPhone 6 has the capability to add video to a picture for its owner. The new phone records a few seconds of video before the image is actually taken. This is a phenomenal new way to capture a memory too. Undoubtedly, this will influence the amount and quality of future social media posts. Also, it’s going to change client preference, taking a toll on the demand for prints, how clients want to document their moments, and the new “frame” that’s going to be able to display this product. 

While something may seems as if it is the next perfect solution for your business, don’t forget about

You and Your business. 

In general, there are some fine details you need to think about before scheduling out the time to do vlogging, a cinemagraph, or blogging. If vlogging isn’t for you or you don’t have the means for cinemagraphs, there are clients out there who will love your blog and be loyal subscribers. There are going to be the book lovers who prefer and enjoy reading and researching in a traditional manner. There are people who are going to be there to support you because they love you, what you do, and want to know what you have to say regardless of the format style! Narrow down what’s right for you because at the end of the day you’re going to have to be the one doing it and your passion deserves your best. You need to know yourself, who’s not your client, and who is your audience. There’s no right answer here, even though one of these ideas sounds like the new golden ticket…

1. Are you ready for a consistent stream of public speaking and public relations?
2. Can you construct AND commit to a marketing calendar with content that interacts with your audience?
3. Are your prepared for the hours of pre and post production it takes to make a professional video and cinemagraph, or write and review a blog?
4. Do you believe you can make an effective impact on your audience through this medium?
5. Can you afford the cost to design and create what you want to do? If not, how can you get there?

I believe artists that can incorporate and design all three mediums will help show us that our creativity is limitless. They will be the inspirationists who learn and teach us to do this in the most cost effective and visually stunning manner. They will carve out and conquer this new road in our industry.

Look for our upcoming blog where we interview experts from Fuel Your Photos and Superstar SEO for tips, tricks, and enhanced education for businesses. Post questions you’ve always wanted to ask, topics for discussion, and any other ideas in the comments. Interviews will be happening in the next two weeks, so we’ll engage your ideas until January 19th. We will collect and direct as many inquiries to our professionals to be evaluated and answered!

Carl Kerridge is a location and destination photographer based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He specializes in wedding, event and commercial photography. He is passionate about the fine art and photojournalistic aspects of photography. Traveling in and out of the United States, Carl has dedicated the past 15 years to studying/experimenting with his craft, teaching educational workshops, and advocating a global awareness through art. To learn more, visit his Website, follow him on Instagram or connect with him on Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn.