As one of the most familiar names in new media, it’s fitting that Robert Scoble of Fast Company TV had a slot speaking today at the New Media Expo. His session titled “Building an Audience-Thrilling Videoblog” just wrapped up.
The basic premise for videoblogging, or vlogging, is to show something better than you can explain it through text, Scoble said. I agree, not everything deserves to be on video, it has to be visual, right? Nothing bores me more than a talking head. So many people still don’t get that, I think.
In terms of the future of vlogging, Scoble started out by saying there are still wide open spaces, channels, that don’t have video in them. Niches in numerous topic areas are still untapped for video producers and creators to step into. He called it a “trillion channel world.”
When looking at the potential audience for a video blog, Scoble said video creators can make money with a small audience. It doesn’t have to be a large, mass following like traditional media. The key is a sponsorship model, Scoble said. Having sponsors behind the production of a mass-appeal videoblog is key. Though, the chances of getting a sponsor that won’t try to set guidelines for you might be difficult, Scoble said. A “dream sponsor” will leave you alone.
Is every video blog thrilling? Scoble says, “I’m not very thrilling. But I did find what I like to do, I did find a niche. For most of you that’s the way to go,” Scoble said.
How do you find content topics to focus on in the area you want to video blog about? Scoble spent some time in his session showing how to use Google AdWords to search for keywords to base your “shows” on. Simple, but not as widely used by podcasters and video creators as you might think. Scoble says corporations can also gain insight from AdWords, by seeing what search terms are the most popular in their field.
For his material online, Scoble says he never thinks about the fact he’s broadcasting his stuff to thousands of people and starting conversations with them. He still focuses on getting one or two people to care. Like at a lunch, you can only talk to so many people at the same time, he said.
Scoble says it’s important for any would-be blogger and podcast creator to just listen and learn as much as they can about all the new tools available. Find out how things work. This conference is a great place for that, from my perspective.
In talking about the viral nature of the Web and new media, Scoble said it can all happen so quick. “The world can move fast” if you have something interesting to show them or tell them about, Scoble said. He talked about how he got the word out about something on Twitter that resulted in 800 people responding to him directly in a short period of time.
Scoble spent the final minutes of his session talking about distribution channels to choose for your video, which are numerous. But, he pointed out, it depends on how you’re shooting your video – cell phone, webcams, video cameras, etc…
He also said many big companies, in terms of using video for internal or external purposes, still aren’t ready to think that video produced with $250 video cameras can have a bigger impact – internally or externally – than expensive over-produced video podcasts. Something he started at Microsoft, and obviously had huge success with it. But more corporations are understanding that if you’re not on Google – through blogs, videos, podcasts – you won’t be in front of your customer. “Doing a press release won’t get you links,” Scoble said.
Well said.
