Is vlogging in Singapore really worth it? For starters, vlogging is one of the subsets of video marketing and statistics show that video marketers get 66% more qualified leads annually and a 54% increase in brand awareness.
What Is Vlogging in Singapore?
A vlog is a video blog or video log in which the content is purely in video format. Vlog posts consist of creating a video of yourself or an event, editing it, and uploading it on YouTube, other video sharing sites, and promoting it on social media.
With the changing demographics, vloggers in Singapore are mixing video streaming and blogging to gain an edge over their competition. Other than shooting the video, there is a complex process of editing the clips as well as matching the video with the respective audio clips.
Below are eight vlogging rules that you should adhere to always.
- Collaborate with other vloggers
- Promote the brands you use
- Get a manager
- Value your content
- Be honest
- Be consistent
- Set realistic targets
- Edit the vlogs yourself no matter the viewership
Moreover, you need to be grounded to create valuable content consistently. With that said, the technical part of vlogging is the easy part. To help you get started, we have prepared this comprehensive vlogging guide in Singapore.
Step 1: Start With a Good Vlogging Camera
You can record video clips for your vlog with any device that can take good pictures and videos. This includes professional cameras, a webcam, a tablet, or a smartphone. With that said, the device must have a good camera that is capable of taking HD footage.
Studies show that Singapore has one of the highest smartphone penetrations in the world and this means that your subscribers will watch your vlog on mobile devices. Modern smartphones and tablets have high-quality screens and this means that you need to record and upload HD quality videos.
There are many vlogging camera options to choose from, but it will be a while before you find the best vlogging camera for your needs. Here are the features you should consider when buying a vlogging camera:
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- In-built optical image stabilisation
- High definition video
- Low-light performance
- Wi-Fi
- Flip-screen
- Microphone input
- Location of the camera’s microphones
Before settling on a vlogging camera, ensure that you have answers to the following questions:
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- What kind of content do you want to create?
- Where will you shoot your videos?
- What is your budget?
- What is your ideal camera?
More so, you should invest in a vlogging set which includes a vlogging camera, a microphone, tripod, and lights. With that said, the camera’s megapixels zoom, and flash should be the least of your worries when shopping for a vlogging camera.
Step 2: Create a YouTube Channel
YouTube is the best vlogging platform today, and more than 45% of Singaporeans prefer YouTube to regular TV mainly due to the diverse content available.
While there are alternatives to YouTube, 78% choose YouTube as their first stop for online video. At least 6 in every ten people attest that they start watching pone video and end up watching other videos.
Over 60% of Singaporeans watch YouTube on mobile videos and as much as 41% of Singaporean are influenced by YouTube videos on which brands to buy. For this reason, YouTube is a great place to start vlogging and creating a YouTube channel is easy and straightforward.
Step 3: Film a Vlog
Armed with your vlogging camera and a YouTube channel, it is time to start vlogging, by filming your first video.
Unfortunately, vlogging ideas do not come easy, and the easiest way is by filming your daily activities, hobbies, or do some challenges.
With that said, getting the vlog right on the first attempt is challenging for most people. Here are a few tips to get you started:
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- Do Not Over Think It
Over planning is one of the hindrances of getting your first video out. Start recording and say whatever comes to mind. Some of the best vloggers in Singapore are spontaneous and this makes the vlog appear more real.
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- Good Audio Quality and Lighting
If you have picked the best vlogging kit, you are good to go. Ensure that you speak audibly and avoid long silences. When it comes to lighting, do not sit behind an open window or in places where there is too much light in the background. Just make sure the room or any location you are vlogging from is well illuminated.
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- Interact With Your Audience
Unlike blogging, a vlogging allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Engage your viewers by motivating them to post opinions in the comments section. Be sure to respond to the viewers’ comments always to show that you care and to spur engagement.
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- Unique Sign In and Sign off Phrase
All great vloggers have one thing in common, a unique sign-in and off phrase. This helps in personalising your videos.
Step 5: Edit Your Vlog
Unless you are streaming a live feed on your vlog, you should always edit your videos to cut out anything you do not want in the final video. You can also edit the video to enhance certain features such as exposure, contrast, among other things.
However, video editing is not an easy task, but you can get plenty of guides and tutorials on YouTube. Here are four steps you ought to follow when editing your videos for YouTube:
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- Select a Video Editing Program
Premium video editing software can be costly and too complicated to a beginner. Fortunately, there is free video editing software for download. If you use a Mac computer, iMovies is the best video editor, and for Windows computers, Windows Live Movie Maker will get the job done.
If you have advanced experience in video editing, then you could use programs such as Pinnacle Studio, Adobe Premiere Elements, and Vegas Pro.
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- Editing the Video
The goal of the editing process is to create seamless videos from different clips that tell a story. Most video editing programs have a timeline view onto which you can drop the individual clips. You can move the clips around, trim them, or delete individual shots.
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- Add Graphics, Texts, and Other Special Effects
Once you have pieced the clips together, you can now add special effects, texts, and graphics. In most software, it involves the addition of a text layer to the video at certain points. Be sure to watch several videos on YouTube to know how to place graphics and texts properly.
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- Choose the Right File Format
Once you are done with adding the text and the graphics, you need to save the video in a format suitable for YouTube and other vlogging platforms. Fortunately, YouTube supports most of the major file formats.
Step 6: Upload Your Vlog to YouTube
After you are satisfied with the quality of the video and audio, it is time to upload it to YouTube. Click on the ‘Upload’ in the top right corner of your YouTube account and follow the uploading process.
With that said, ensure to:
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- Pick a catchy title
- Fill out the description tags to help viewers find your vlog
Step 7: Do YouTube SEO
Organic search optimisation is one of the ways you can increase your video viewership. YouTube is the second largest search engine and uses a similar algorithm to that of Google search. Consider the phrases and keywords that will summarize the content.
Optimising your videos ensures that potential subscribers find your content easily. It entails:
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- Writing a compelling title with a maximum of 70 characters that gives insight into what the video is about
- Create eye-catching thumbnails to give your content a polished and professional look
- Include video descriptions and prioritise the most important keywords and information in the first sentence
- Add web links to your website, blog, or any place on the internet that you have content
Step 8: Promote Your Videos
It is one thing to upload a YouTube video and promoting your video to get viewers. The easiest method is via social media. Every time you upload a video, share the links on your social media pages. Another way of promoting your vlog is by collaborating with other vloggers in your niche.
Step 9: Be Consistent
The number of video views depend on subscribers and how well the videos are promoted. It will take a lot of work to get to a thousand views, and the only way to get more views is by being consistent.
Being consistency and collaborating with other vloggers is one of the surest ways of growing the channel. Note, you will get negative comments but you should never let them demoralise you.
Step 10: Monetise Your Vlog
With a growing subscriber base, you will start getting more views for your videos. This is an opportunity for you to monetize your vlog. There are several ways of making money from YouTube including:
Become a YouTube Partner
This involves allowing YouTube to run ads on your videos. Here is how you can become a YouTube Partner:
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- Sign in to your YouTube account
- Click on the account icon in the right top corner
- Click on ‘Creator Studio’
- Select ‘Channel then Status and Features’ in the left menu
- Click ‘Enable’ in the Monetisation section
- Follow the on-screen steps and accept the YouTube terms and conditions
You will also need to create a Google Ad account to be part of Google’s advertising network. However, this is only available to vlogs with at least 100 subscribers and at least 4000 watch hours in the past year.
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- Affiliate Marketing
As your vlog becomes more popular, you will find that your subscribers and viewers are willing to spend money on products, information, and merchandise related to your brand. You can offer free information, but drive your viewers to a website where they can buy the products at a discounted price.
You can start on affiliate marketing for brands that your viewers and subscribers about. On top of this, you could use the vlog as a marketing platform for your e-commerce website. Research shows that 64% of the viewers make a purchase after watching branded video content.
To promote a product on YouTube, provide a link in the description section or as a video overlay. You will receive a commission for every purchase made through your assigned affiliate link.
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- Create Sponsored Content
Another way of monetising your vlog is by publishing sponsored content. Brands will sponsor your videos in exchange for mentioning their products and marketing slogan.
Concisely, publishing sponsored content is a better way of monetising your vlog since you do not have to share your profits with YouTube. Unfortunately, it might take you some time before you start getting sponsors. Luckily, you could get into influencer marketing by using sites such as Famebit.
Famebit allows you to search for companies that want somebody to create branded endorsements on Instagram, YouTube, and other online platforms.
Mistakes That You Cannot Afford to Make as a Vlogger
Vlogging is one of the sure ways of establishing a personal connection with your audience. However, some mistakes could hamper attainment of this goal.
Below is a comprehensive review of vlogging mistakes you should avoid as a digital marketer:
Rambling
Online shoppers seem to always be in a hurry to find the information and complete purchase if the deal is worth the money. The worst mistake is rambling in a vlog when trying to convince them to place an order.
Avoid this mistake by having a clear mindset of the topics or what you want to say before switching on the camera and recording. Do extensive research to know the pain points or friction points that hinder customers from purchasing a product and address them.
On the other hand, you can hold a FAQ vlog, but it won’t be fruitful if you don’t know which questions the customers have regarding your product. So, consider the message you want to convey to the customers before you start vlogging.
Being a Copy Cat
The vlogging world is filled with copycats who imitate vloggers doing better than them. Unknown to them is that the vloggers they look up to have their audiences and have cut a niche for themselves over the years.
Trying to imitate them will only result in short-term results, and soon your audience will know you are not original. Focus on coming up with a unique way of communicating with your audience. Understand that the pro vlogger you want to be like has an audience that is most likely different from yours.
Therefore, their way of communicating may not work for your audience. Work smart and hard to define your audience and continuously engage with them. Remember, it takes months or even years to have a solid audience.
Not Making Time to Interact with the Audience
Sure, vlogging is a way of showing your product and world to people who you probably haven’t met yet. However, vlogging when using a product and assuming that what you say or the features that you review are what the customer wants to see is wrong.
It would be best to interact with the audience consistently to understand their specific needs and preferences. If you post the vlog on YouTube, check the comments and respond to them to start a conversation.
Please take note of the common comments regarding the products and use them to get ideas for your next vlog. If you vlog when offering a particular service, you can ask the audience to send you things they want you to cover.
For instance, if you are a computer repairer, you can request your audience to tell you which part of the computer they want you to vlog repairing. That way, your content will be relevant and relatable to them. If not, you won’t get any responses, and the whole process will be in vain.
Inviting the Wrong Guests
First, appearing alone in all the vlogs can be good or bad, depending on your niche and the intention of the vlog. It would help if you showed the audience your true personality and that you are knowledgeable in a particular field for them to trust you.
One way to achieve this goal is by inviting special guests or speakers to discuss topics. This hack will show the audience you are an authority and expand your reach when the guests post the vlog on their YouTube channel and social media platforms.
The mistake you can make is to invite a guest who is not an expert in your niche. Using the same computer repairer example, inviting a home improvement professional is unwise as they won’t offer any value to the vlog.
Concisely, the guests that you invite should be related to your niche. Guests who have an existing audience and are renowned vloggers are perfect as they will help you connect with new audiences.
Assuming Someone Else Persona
Unlike a recorded video where you can hide your true persona, you cannot get away with that when vlogging. The audience will know whether you are true to yourself or just trying to copy someone else.
This mistake can be avoided by focusing on your personality and the message. Be confident and laser determined to achieve the goals that you set when you started vlogging, and you will shine. Here is an article we found on how to make your videos authentic.
Not Including a CTA
A CTA (call-to-action) tells the audience the action they should take after watching your vlog. You could ask them to share the video on their social media profiles or visit your website to learn more about the product or service. There is no shortage of ideas on how to use a CTA.
Most bloggers forget to add a CTA in their vlogs, which hinders them from realizing the full potential of video in marketing. Include clickable buttons at different video sections to make your vlog successful in promoting the product/sales and generating sales. Sproutvideo is one of the best tools for adding text, images, and links to videos.
Clout Chasing by Following Trends
Trends power the digital marketing industry, especially the video marketing facet. There have been video marketers who have generated thousands of sales by riding waves of ongoing events in the past. Unfortunately, the videos stop generating sales once the event hype runs out.
Unless you are the first to vlog about a unique trend in the industry, the rule of thumb is that you won’t get much traction. We see many vloggers following trends only to get disappointed by the results they end up with after spending hours filming and editing the videos.
Be different and more efficient by consistently covering topics you find interesting and relevant to your niche. That way, you will attract a strong core audience that will be open to the idea of sharing your vlogs. Eventually, some vlogs will go viral, thereby giving you the huge traction, you have been yearning for from the beginning.
Negativity
People are go through a lot of life challenges right now and often switch to vlogs to get inspiration and motivation. Give your audience exactly that to endear your channel to them. Avoid discussing negative topics such as religious and political topics no matter how relevant to think they are to them.
Borrow a leaf from Grace F. Victory, a successful vlogger whose popularity is due to the inspiration and motivation vlogs that she posts online. As mentioned earlier, you cannot afford to imitate her way of communicating with the audience, but her videos will point you in the right direction.
Making Lengthy Videos
There is no definite answer to how long videos should be since attention spans vary across different audiences. However, the average attention span today is only 8 seconds.
At the start of your vlogging journey, start by making vlogs of different lengths, then monitor the views and engagement level to know the ideal length. Check the video engagement metrics and if you have to, jot down the results every couple of days to benchmark your progress.
This information will help you to know which durable suits your viewers. Note that the length may vary based on the topic discussed, so factor that in when planning for your next vlog. For instance, if you intend to examine one product feature, there is no need to spend more than 10 minutes. Strive to deliver the intended message within the shortest time possible.
Inconsistent Posting
As mentioned earlier, it’s important to constantly engage with the audience to keep them interested in the content. If you have been posting every three days then fail to do so for several weeks, the audiences will know.
Woe onto you as they will look for alternative channels with similar informative vlogs to fill the gap. Most of them will assume that you are no longer interested in vlogging, and they will eventually lose interest in your content and channel.
Avoid this mistake by creating a vlogging plan and sticking by it to achieve consistency. Based on your weekly or monthly schedule, decide the amount of time you can commit to vlogging, editing, and publishing the videos.
In addition, decide the topics to discuss at different times of the month. Diversify the topics to keep your content interesting and engaging. Ideally, the audience should learn something new from each video you post.
Proper planning will provide plenty of flexibility to cover relevant topics that arise along the way without having to change the entire plan.
Not Having Realistic Goals
Failing to plan is planning to fail. This may sound critique, but you will be surprised by the number of bloggers who use this strategy to market brands or products, but they don’t have a set of realistic goals.
The goals should be the blueprint for your vlogging campaign, and we recommend that you follow it to the letter to achieve the expected results. If you have to deviate from the plan, develop ways of recovering and staying on course.
More importantly, the goals should be realistic and measurable. At the start, don’t expect to get thousands of videos from the first vlogs. Instead, be patient and slowly build your audience by being consistent, authentic, and professional.
Poor Lighting and Equipment
Quality is one of the primary factors that set professional vlogs from their counterparts. The audiences gravitate towards channels whose vlogs are filmed in properly illuminated spaces. Therefore, you need to ensure that you film using proper equipment.
Thanks to advancements in technology, there is plenty of advanced lighting and filming equipment that you can purchase online. Check out the features and pricing to find one that suits your needs and budget.
Well, at the start, you may not have the privilege of purchasing the most expensive equipment, but that is no reason to post poor-quality vlogs. Search for budget cameras, then invest in better equipment as the channel grows. We found an informative video production 101 guides that you read to learn how to produce videos with proper lighting.
Not Using Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is a must for any business or individual marketer who wants to thrive in the world of eCommerce. The vlogging fraternity is not an exception – no matter how good your vlogs are, you cannot afford to assume that you will get the traction that you desire if you don’t invest in social media marketing.
Virtually all the platforms allow users to post links to videos for free on their platforms or dedicated pages. You can also promote the videos to reach a larger audience but check the campaign’s settings to ensure that the videos are displayed to the right audience.
So far, Instagram and Facebook have proven to be the most ideal for vloggers, with custom features such as Reels getting massive traction across the globe. Take time to learn how each platform functions and the features available to get the most results.
Fretting About Having the Right Tech
Yes, we mentioned that you need to have the right equipment, but it doesn’t mean that you should not start vlogging. Other digital marketers are using simple equipment to generate vlogs that generate sales, and it’s not too late for you to join the bandwagon. Look for hacks on how to create stellar videos while on a shoestring budget here.
Poor Quality Audio
Apart from lighting, audio is another major factor you need to consider when vlogging. The audience will condone vlogs with poor lighting if the information offered is valuable but cannot stand bad audio.
One sure way of ensuring your videos have quality audio is by using an external microphone whenever you are recording. An extended mic will ensure your audience can hear you, so use it even if the camera has an in-built microphone.
On the same point, you should speak slowly and concisely. Amping up energy and speaking fast will compromise the quality of your vlog. Before hitting the record, take a deep breath and practice what you intend to say.
Closing Remarks
Vlogging in Singapore will help you connect with the target audience at a deeper level. Coupled with robust social media marketing, it will help you get ahead of the competition and spur engagement especially on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
Contact us today for custom digital marketing services in Singapore.
