The Socialize Strategy - Vlog Content Tips
Welcome to the socialized strategy, the Friday edition where I dive deep into 1 topic and cover it in a little bit more detail. So today, we're going to talk about vlog videos and creating good vlog storytelling videos. And I'm really happy that this is the topic because I recently did a workshop about it. So not only are you getting some points right now in short form, but I'm also going to link you to the full workshop where I demonstrated how to create a vlog, how to edit a vlog, and the tips for editing efficiently. And so today, we're gonna talk about filming so that you're prepared for editing efficiently, and then we'll cover a little bit about the editing as well.
Helen:But before I get started, I wanna remember to mention a few things. 1 is that I was featured, this past week, Morning on Merritt Street in a morning show of a piece about grandfluencers, a word I don't love. But I know that that's a thing that sells in the media for whatever reason, so I will embrace it. But I'll always be somewhat vocal about how I feel the term is a bit, I think it's limiting because what I do has nothing to do with my age. I teach content creation.
Helen:I'm an expert in production. And so why do I have to be labeled with a grand title when it's really a pro title? So, I mean, I'm a professional at what I do. I'm not doing I'm not good at it because of my age. I'm good at it because of my experience.
Helen:So that's what I'll say on the matter at this point. Until 1 day, I have a whole episode where we discuss it, and then I'll have on some guests and we'll have some other opinions. Anyway, for now, let's carry on. So let's get to it. How do you make an engaging vlog?
Helen:What are some of the tips and tricks for doing it? Because creating vlogs are a great way to seamlessly integrate a day in the life of what you're doing and into your content. And it really brings your viewer in to enjoying with you your process. And it's it it creates a loyalty that's very different than just posting videos. So I do this in my own content.
Helen:I, you know, I'll share the tutorials. I'll share my learnings, my strategy. But then in between, I do some things where I'm at an event, and so I film a little vlog of the event. Or I'm taking my son to 6 flags for his birthday. And I'll film a little clip little series of clips during the day so I can put together a video about that day.
Helen:So I really enjoy vlogging. I don't do it as a large part of my content. I do it as a supporting part of my content. So you can do the same thing. If you don't think your content is right for vlogging, for whatever reason, if you're a business owner and you think, no, I no 1 cares about my personal life or or or anything like that, Honestly, your customers would love to know more about you.
Helen:And I think it's a great way to get that loyalty from and a community vibe and really engage with your followers. So think of a vlog as just another avenue on how you can create some loyalty for yourself or your brand. Okay. Now let's talk about some tips on how to make it easier so you can do it without it being a big ball of stress. You don't have to be a person that makes a list.
Helen:You can make a shot list. That's great if you're an organized person and you wanna say, I wanna make sure I cover all these things in the in the day. You can do that. But let's talk about how you can realistically do it on the fly if you don't have time to prepare and make a list. Number 1, and I love this, you can set a timer on your phone.
Helen:So it does a little ringy dingy, ding ding, every hour or every 2 hours to remind you, oh, film something. Because a lot of times, we get caught up in the day. Halfway through the day, you're like, oh, my god. I was gonna vlog the day, and I completely forgot. There's always a way to cheat.
Helen:I'm gonna talk about that in a few more steps. A way to cheat if you forgot to record something. So I'm going to cover that. But if you have a timer set and it reminds you, in that moment, just stop for a second, pick up your phone, and film whatever it is you're doing. Find something interesting to do a quick shot of, and that will keep you going for the day.
Helen:So it's really helpful. So setting a timer. The next 1 is to think about not recording all day long. It is debilitating when you have so much footage that it's like a beast to edit. And I'm gonna give you a great example.
Helen:For 6 Flags, I was with Jonathan and his friend, my son Jonathan, for his birthday. And I just recorded quick little clips of us entering the park, getting to the park, going on 1 ride, coming off a ride, them at the lockers. It was so quick. I'm maybe I recorded 10 clips in the course of the day, and I made a vlog video out of that. And I'm gonna compare that to my son's wedding.
Helen:It was a nightmare to edit. It took me 3 days to edit his wedding video because I was recording every single thing. Of course, it was his wedding. It was a whole different thing. My son, Tommy, got married.
Helen:Hi, Tommy. Hi, Jenna. So they when they got married, I wanted to record and capture everything for them. And so editing of that type of a thing, which would be, like, their vlog wedding video, was so much more time consuming. So you are better off when you want to do this and keep it going consistently.
Helen:You are better off to film less. In this case, put less is more. In a lot of cases, less is more. But in this case in particular, less is more. So short clips throughout the day to highlight a certain thing, and that will make it so much easier to edit.
Helen:And you'll have plenty. You'll have plenty. You don't have to be stressed about it. Even the mundane things are interesting. So if you're doing something and you think, oh, I'm just sitting here at my computer or I'm just making a cup of coffee, maybe that's the little in between clip that you just film.
Helen:So when your timer goes off, if that's what you happen to be doing, set your camera up, prop it up somewhere, and just film it for freaking 5 seconds. It doesn't even have to be a lot. I always say vlog videos, 2 to 3 seconds is all you need of a shot. If you wanna put a little bit longer, that's a style, that's fine if you need time for a voice over to say what's happening. But you really only need short clips.
Helen:So you don't have to record for, you know, 30 minutes of you doing something in the kitchen when you only need just a couple of seconds of it. The other thing that's I'm gonna say this is a good 1 to remind you that you don't wanna fake it. But at the same time, there are times where you say, oh, shoot. I forgot to record when I was walking into the venue. Here's an example.
Helen:Went to my niece's shower, recorded some clips for her, and I wanted to make a little quick vloggy vloggy thing of her shower. And I as I was leaving, I said, oh, I never shot a picture of the sign outside. So it wasn't when I was walking in, but I just wish panned swish panned right up to the sign for a second, and then I just used that as my opening. And it was shot at the end of the day. So you you don't wanna fake an activity because it will look fake and it will look not authentic if you're pretending to do something that you maybe forgot to do.
Helen:A lot of times you can get away with it and go ahead and do it. But if you're faking it, it's not as authentic. So but doing something later that you forgot to do sooner can be a helpful tool because you want to think about your beginning and your ending. I always no matter what type of event I'm filming, vlog I'm doing, I always think, how do I wanna start it and how do I wanna end it? And I make sure I have.
Helen:When I shoot people's weddings, I always make sure I'd get the bride and groom and a kiss because that's such a good ending every single time. When I'm filming an event, I wanna make sure I'm putting a location somehow to it. So when we were at 6 flags, I made sure we were leaving, but I shot the 6 flag sign because I wanted to make sure I had my little here's where we are, and I used that for the beginning. So you don't have to fake something, but you can cover you can, do something later that you might use for an opening. So think about your opening and your ending.
Helen:The other thing is when you're editing, you want to make sure that you're not showing long, long, long boring scenes. So if you're a person that's like, oh, I spend so much time on my day doing laundry, you could indicate that by quick cuts of you doing laundry. 1 taking it in, putting it in, 1 taking it out of the dryer, 1 putting it in, 1 then folding. But not 1 long sequence of that because that will put your viewers to sleep and they won't stick around. But you can make it engaging by making a funny video where you if you're a person who does a lot of laundry in a day and you wanna make a funny video about that.
Helen:So you wake up, you're throwing laundry in. You're eating breakfast. You're moving it to the dryer. You're going you're exercising, then you're back in the laundry room. So you can do a fun video about making laundry, doing laundry by and making it fun by cuts, cuts, cuts, cuts back and forth, keeping your viewer engaged.
Helen:Okay. I have some I have questions that I'm gonna answer at the end of this podcast that I received this week, and 1 of them just it just reminded me of that. So I'm going to be coming back to talk about editing again later in this pod. Okay. Now the next thing is start with vlogging when you're if you're not used to vlogging, if you haven't done it yet, start with an event.
Helen:It's always more, it's easier to digest because it has a beginning and an end. Usually not that long. It's not a whole day, so you don't have to remember multiple times during the day. And you can say you can say, I'm gonna use this as practice. So let's say you are going to an event.
Helen:Even if you're not gonna post a video about the event, you can use it as a practice run. Film yourself going in, walking your feet, a footsteps walking in. If it's a like a flight of stairs, you have to go up. You know, I always I love filming the feet because you see where you're going. You know, quick pan turn at angle, but quick short snips.
Helen:Do not make yourself crazy with long, long things that you have to edit because it will be so debilitating to edit that you'll give up. So make it digestible. Capture different angles. And now it's just 1 more tip about shooting these things is I like to say either move the camera or let the action be moving. And you don't want both.
Helen:So if there's a lot of action in the scene, keep the camera steady because bicycles going by, that's enough action. You don't need to be swishing in bicycles, and it's too much action a lot of time, too much movement. So if bicycles are moving, maybe your scene is still. If you're panning over to capture the bicycles movie from, let's say, from a sunset, swish over to you can make a little pan, but then stop the camera while the bicycles are moving. So think about if there's movement in the scene and how not to make yourself your viewer seasick by too by too much movement, but you can make up for it by a slight drift if there's nothing happening in the scene.
Helen:Alright? So think about those types of things. You will get the hang of it if you watch my workshop because I do so much good demonstrating of this type of thing. I'm gonna link 2 workshops. 1 of them was a vlog, specifically a vlog video, and the other was editing a music video.
Helen:And those 2 things are so helpful in understanding how little you need to make something good. And I think that's the key. A lot of us spend so much time filming. We have so much footage that it becomes almost like you're frozen in an anxiety bubble or an anxiety tornado, if you've seen the movie Inside Out. You're You're almost frozen in the middle of it because you have so much that you can't even process any of it.
Helen:So you're better off giving yourself little things. I'm gonna relate this to something so off the beaten path right now. When I go shopping in a mall, sometimes it is too much. If I go into 1 little specialty store, I can find exactly what I need, much less choices, but I can focus. So when I'm in a mall and there's so many choices, I can't get my brain to to know where to go to pick 1 thing to it's just too much.
Helen:It's overwhelming. If I'm in a smaller store, I guarantee I can find something. So it's the same type of thing. You have tons and tons and tons of footage. You're never gonna find those sweet moments.
Helen:If you have just a couple of shots, you'll be able to make a really nice video without too much trouble. Alright? The last thing, and this is the most overused statement of all when it comes to content creation, oh, we know, but be yourself. If you're trying to act like your favorite creator or be, you know, out there and try and go over the top because you think that's what your audience wants, Likely not the answer. I remember, years ago, I was invited to do something, and it was before I was even doing anything on camera.
Helen:And I was so were worried about what they I thought they wanted from me, and I couldn't even figure out how to able to So this is a great example for me to realize, wow, how far I've come that I was so panicked about trying to figure out how to be myself. And now I don't even think about it. I just am myself. So there is this leap of faith that you'll be able to make at some point where you are just able to be yourself. You are able to just talk to the camera or and make it feel like it's your friend.
Helen:So talk to the camera like it's your bestie. Talk to the camera like it's your imaginary friend. Whoever it is that you feel comfortable talking to, think of that person when you're recording. And you can you'll change your tone, and your tone and vibe is everything. So those are the tips for vlogging.
Helen:And other than to say, go watch the 2 workshops because they're so helpful and they do explain it, and both are linked in the newsletter today. And if you don't get the newsletter, hellosocialize.com. Make sure you subscribe so you can get the issues, so that you can get all the links that we're talking about in the podcast. Before I answer questions, I'm gonna remind you, por favor, to please do a little 5 star thingy on the pod if you enjoy it or do a little review if you can because it would be really nice to get some traction and more eyeballs on the podcast if possible. And that's only done by reviews because that's how the platforms push these these podcasts up to the top.
Helen:So I'm gonna ask every time now. Please leave a review. And don't be angry at me that I ask every time. Now, I'm gonna answer some questions. Here we go.
Helen:Some of these questions are very specific, but I think they could help people. So I had someone ask me, my auto cut auto cut feature is gone in TikTok. And I don't know where it went, and I'm so frustrated because I used it a lot. And then proceeded to send me a screenshot of his phone, And all that happened was the auto cut name was changed to templates, and it was the same exact icon in the same exact place. But because it was labeled to templates, this person thought the auto cut was no longer there and so never even tapped on it.
Helen:So my my answer to this question is, number 1, tap on templates if you're looking for auto cut when you're in TikTok. Number 2, if something disappears, open your eyes and almost look around more because likely it just moved. And I find this myself. I'm guilty of it myself. Oh, my save button's gone.
Helen:Meanwhile, all I had to do was tap the little arrow and scroll, and it had moved down lower on the list. Whatever. This happens to all to all of us. We're so you know, we're in that we got blinders on and we know where the things are and we pit. That's where we're going every single time and we forget to look around.
Helen:So and looking around sometimes makes other things appear that you didn't even know were an option. So don't be afraid to tap, tap, tap and look around. This same creator actually asked me if it's better to use the AutoCut or to use CapCut for editing. And what I'd like to say to this 1 is it's really up to you. If the auto cut helps you to make content faster and you're short on time, use the auto cut and make your cuts.
Helen:Just push the content out. It's better to have more videos going than it is to be worried about making 1 video perfect. So if it takes you so long to do the editing in cap cut yourself, take advantage of the auto cut. It's pretty good. I've done it.
Helen:I've added a few videos and I'm like, oh, look at that. I put a nice little cut together. But it's also not great because a lot of times it'll take only the beginnings of a shot, and I'm I'm like, oh, I didn't really get to the good part of the shot until later. So, unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't take the best part, but it's worth experimenting. So that is my answer to that 1.
Helen:This also feeds into the next question, which is the the person asks, what he actually sent a video sample and said, can you explain why the edits are so quick on this video? And I'm like, well, now that's a funny question. It's a style, and that creator has a style of quick cuts. And she does a quick cut, and she's singing in the bathroom. And it's cut, cut, cut, cut, and it's all different.
Helen:She must sing the song 10 times, and she does different close-up or she's far away and she does lots of different actions. And then she just takes that into her edit app and she edits the best little bits and makes her music video. So quick cuts are style that some people use. It's not because, you know, she is using a special program that, you know, I'm not telling you about. Believe me.
Helen:This is just because some people have a quick that's their style of editing. So you do what works for you. And a lot of times people have professional editors doing their editing because these creators that are doing a lot of sponsorships and maybe they can afford to hire an editor to do their videos. So a lot a lot of times, I see that where those creators and their main business is doing, let's say, social media managing, so they don't have time to edit their own videos. So they hire an editor for that.
Helen:And a lot of times, those videos are differently edited because someone else's editing style. So you never know, but don't be alarmed and don't be concerned. You can do your own editing, or you can bring someone else on if that's something that you can afford to do. Okay. So let's say, do you have any other questions today?
Helen:Business page. Okay. This person says on their business page, they're not getting as many views as their personal page. And I think that there's a couple of things at play. Obviously, on a business page, you're not able to use those trending sounds.
Helen:And I find that even when I do a not too interesting video, but I put a trending sound on and the trending and even if it doesn't get as many comments as another video that I have going, the 1 with the trending sound and less comments gets more views than the ones with the more comments and the not and and no sound on it. So trending sounds do help, and they will help get you some more views. Those views don't necessarily turn into customers. So sometimes you're okay working with less views if you have a loyal customer base that's interested in your product. So just make sure you're still adding value to your customers.
Helen:You're showing them about your business. You're showing them some inspirational things that of why they might want to engage with you or buy from you or use your services. Because that tends to be more important than worrying about, you know, going having a trending sound on your video and then it's not really helping you get customers in the 1st place. So don't be too overly overly stressed about it. Alright.
Helen:Let's see if there's any other questions. Is it a good idea to have 2 personal 2 accounts, a business and a personal? So while I'm on that topic, let me say, it is not a bad idea to have a business and a personal account, especially if your personal account, you wanna go way off the beaten path and do a lot of family activities and things like that. Because even though on your business account, you can welcome in your personality, a lot of times people have so much other stuff going on in their life that they're showing on their business page that they're so far off topic. So if you really have a strong business of selling x, y, and z service, it's nice to venture off and show personality within the business, but it's not gonna serve you well-to-do a lot of personal posting that is unrelated to your business.
Helen:So I'm talk saying 2 things, yes, but I'm trying to trying to say that even though we suggest us in a person in a business account to show some personality, If you have a lot of personal content that you want to share for friends and family, for finding people about something some other topic that you are interested in. You really do wanna separate that, because growth for a business account will be slower if you're really pushing too much other content out that's off topic. I hope that's clear. That was a lot. This was a lot.
Helen:But I do wanna give the answers to the questions that are coming in. So I'm gonna take the time and I'm gonna do it. So if you enjoyed the the little rant of today of the podcast and the questions, please do leave a review. I'm gonna remind you 1 more time. I'm gonna thank you for being here.
Helen:We have an expert workshop coming up. It is in the newsletter today. We're going to be meeting with, the talent manager, talent agent, Joanna b Voss. She's gonna talk about what she looks for in influencers that she takes on in her business and what kind of things she does for them as their representation. And I'm gonna learn a lot and you are too.
Helen:So join us for that and keep an eye out for the next editing workshop, which will be posted on the website soon. Hellosocialize.com. And I will see you see you next week. Have a good 1.
