Vlog (shortened form for video blog or video log) is a form of blog in which uploads and postings are done in form of video broadcasts. It is in simple terms, a blog which publishes video contents and is sometimes also called a videocast or vodcast. Publish entries on vlogs usually make use of elements such as video links, supporting images and texts and other metadata along with video uploads. Vlog is also sometimes used to refer to video streams which are uploaded through other means such as YouTube and other live broadcasts on websites such as Facebook and others.

Vlogs have several advantages over conventional text blogs among which are:

• Adds personal touch to the content because viewers can both hear and see the author.
• It is accessible to different classes of people irrespective of educational background
• More information can be passed on to the viewer as videos can contain more details that written blog content.

Nevertheless, conventional blogs have advantages over vlogs because:

• Vlogs need more stable and strong internet connection to be able to watch videos on vlogs.
• There is need for additional coding on pages before search engines can be able to load video contents as part of search results
• Creating vlog contents is more time consuming than regular text blogs.

Types of vlog

When thinking of getting more views on your vlog, remember that the number of views is relatively dependent on the type of content on your vlog. The most common types of vlog in relation to content are:

• Product review: because people are curious to know more about a lot of products before buying them, vlogs like this usually garner a lot of traffic especially when the reviews are informative and honest.
• Comedies: comic videos trend a lot of times online as we all love to be entertained. Viewers usually share very good comedy videos with others which results in more traffic.
• Fashion and fitness: the fashion industry is a huge market for a lot of products including vlogs. Vlogs which upload beauty and fashion tips and/or fitness videos attract views.
• Education: videos which give detailed tutorials and instructions on how to do different things get a lot of views when they are helpful to viewers and they can get a lot of repeated views which translates to more view count for your vlog.
• Lifestyle: this type of vlog is typically original and unscripted as it is simply doing a video diary and showing it to the world. It is easy to operate and schedule of uploads can vary.
• Travels and culture documentaries: do you love to travel? If yes, uploading videos of different places on your vlog can help bring more views for you. Because a lot of people want to travel somewhere but they don’t have the means, they will often visit vlogs with videos of their fantasy places so they can learn more about them and sometimes satisfy their curiosity about the weather, geography, culture and lifestyle of such places.
• Event vlog: uploading videos of events and occurrences which are not part of everyday activities can also result in more views for your vlog. All you need do is know when something different and special is happening, film and upload in on your vlog with a catchy heading and voila, views will start increasing.

Once you have decided on your vlog content type, you are one step closer to increasing views on your vlog. All that is left for you to do is strategize and implement.

Strategizing to make your vlog better

1. Do not hide who you are: be yourself! When creating a vlog post, do not hide your emotions about the subject of the post. For example, if you hate cats, do not pretend to like one when making a vlog post about it. If you do, it will be obvious to watchers and thus remove the personal touch from the post and thus detach your viewers from you. It will also make viewers have doubts about you and might start thinking your vlog posts are biased.
2. Remember and consider your target audience type/class: always remember to put your target audience and existing vlog viewers into consideration. This is especially when choosing content topics and in your choice of words. This will help your viewers connect to you and look forward to sub sequent post on your vlog.
3. Associate with your friends: keep a close circle of friends and individuals that motivate you and believe in what you do. These category of people are your best bet in publicizing your vlog to others. They won’t mind watching posts on your vlog even if they were with you when filming it and will come in handy when you need to know about trendy issues to vlog about. These are usually the first set of viewers you have.
4. Follow trendy issues and topic: always endeavor to know and vlog on trendy issues. This is a search engine optimization technique which assures you of increased views. For example, uploading a video on how to make crochet braids can be a nice vlog topic with the recent trend of crochet braids.

Giving your vlog an identity and brand

1. Choose a great YouTube Channel Name: since YouTube is usually the first point of call for vlog viewers, it is advisable to have a YouTube channel and also use a good name for it. YouTube channel names should be catchy, not too lengthy or clumsy and it is generally nice idea to use a name that hints at what contents can be found on your vlog.
2. Promote your vlog on social media: you should always ensure your vlog previews/sneak peeks can be found on your social media handles (Instagram, twitter, Facebook, etc.). This will help you gain views as your social media friends might grow curious and click on it.
3. Collaborate and relate with other vloggers: make friends with other vloggers especially those who post contents relating to your niche. You can sometimes refer to a previous post by them in one of your videos and they can too.
4. Search for great contents to vlog about on websites such as Wikihow and Quora: these websites are filled with loads of write-ups and contents on topics which you can translate to vlogs especially when making educational/how-to posts.

After taking care to take the above recommended steps in getting more vlog views, it is time to concentrate on vlogging while watching your views increase.