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How to Turn Your Best Blog Posts Into Even Better Videos

How to Turn Your Best Blog Posts Into Even Better Videos

Video is the present and future of online content. Mark Zuckerberg himself has gone on record saying that he believes video will soon dominate the internet as we know it. In fact, a study from HubSpot found that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from brands and businesses they support. 

There are many factors that explain this phenomenon.

  1. Video is super easy to make. Anyone with a smartphone can start recording a decent quality video within seconds. 
  2. Video isn’t strenuous at all to consume. 
  3. Video gives brands a great opportunity to humanize their messaging and engage with people on a more personal level. 

So, if you have been knocking it out of the park with some of your blog posts and want to translate this success to the small screen, where do you start? 

First of all, you need to come to terms with the fact that your ability to write a killer blog post does not mean you can automatically create killer videos. The good news is you have a leg up! 

Let’s discuss some of the key ingredients to repurposing your premier blog posts into even better video content.

Learn the Basics of Video SEO

Many assume that text-focused SEO is more or less the same as video SEO. While there are certainly a number of overlaps, there are a few fundamental differences. 

Most importantly, the keywords involved in video SEO tend to be much more action-driven. For instance, let’s say you wrote an awesome blog post with the focus keyword “set up website.” 

Using the Ahrefs keyword explorer (with YouTube as our search platform), let’s see what kinds of trending keywords/phrases show up.

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You’ll notice that most of them start with “how to.” 

That said, you want to gear your blog-turned-video towards long tail keywords with clear user intent. 

But where do you include keywords in a video?

If you are marketing your video on YouTube (the standard channel), there are three major places to include your keywords:

  1. The title
  2. Descriptions 
  3. Tags

Let’s start with the title. Just like a blog post, the title is going to be a huge factor in how the search engines rank your video. The title should be compelling and invoke a definitive action.

For example, let’s say you wrote a blog post titled: “4 Tips for Impressing a Hiring Manager.”

In the effort of turning it into a video, consider action-focused titles like:

  • How to Impress Hiring Manager (40 searches/month)
  • How to Nail a Job Interview (200 searches/month)
  • How to Sell Yourself in a Job Interview (250 searches/month)

Not only are these title variations based on user intent, they have relatively low search volumes, which will be easier to rank for!

Now let’s talk about the descriptions. This is where you get to place the bulk of your keyword strategy (YouTube gives you a generous 5,000-character limit to work with). While there are many different ways to create descriptions, try to include keywords from the title and related terms throughout the text. 

Here is a good example from a video titled “How to Create a Blog Post.”

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Within the description, the video creator lists out each step involved in the process. You might also notice that these steps are packed full of keywords that dive deeper into the main topic. As a result, this video is ranking for a number of different queries related to creating blog posts. 

Last (but certainly not least) are the tags. When you add your tags to a video, you need to do so in a hierarchy. Start with the focus keyword, then add keywords based on their level of importance to the topic. 

For example, let’s say you are creating a video called “How to Convert a WordPress Website to an E-commerce Store.” 

Start with the broad tag “WordPress e-commerce.” From here, you can get more specific and add tags like “WordPress checkout page” or “WordPress e-commerce themes” and so on. The purpose of the tags is to provide a clear picture of what the video is all about – both to YouTube and viewers. The better tags you add, the easier it will be for the engine to rank the video. 

Emulating the success of a blog post on video is reliant on your ability to market it properly. Otherwise, it will more or less go unnoticed.

Streamline the Key Takeaways

One of the biggest differences between a blog post and a video is the amount of context you can provide. 

On a blog post, you have plenty of room to give tons of context to your points, provide examples, and spell things out. In a video, you can’t beat around the bush. You need to get straight to the point. 

Keep in mind, completion rates play a role in how videos are ranked on the major platforms – including YouTube and Facebook. If you are taking too long to get to the point in your video, it’s inevitable that people will drop off without completing; therefore, negatively impact your rankings. 

As a general rule of thumb, it’s safe to assume that attention spans are very small these days. It takes a calculated approach to keep people tuned in from start to finish. 

You need to go the distance here to make it easy for viewers to understand your main points. When you are giving advice of any kind (as you did on your blog post) provide text on the screen to make these takeaways crystal clear. 

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In regards to the video length, there is no definitive answer as to how long you should make yours. However, videos on the shorter side tend to get the most love. 

According to a report from Wistia, 75% of viewers will likely stick around for 1-2-minute videos, whereas fewer than 60% will be there for 4-5-minute videos. Now, this doesn’t mean that you should only aim to create videos shorter than two minutes. The most important thing is that you aren’t taking up any unnecessary time when getting your points across. 

If you are developing a script, take your time and read over it a bunch to cut out any extra fluff.  

Develop a Video Persona

Truth be told, there are probably hundreds – maybe even thousands – of videos on the web covering similar topics as you. This is a reality that just about every video creator must come to terms with. 

See Also
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So what keeps people coming back time and time again to their favorite video channels? 

The personality. 

In video marketing, it’s all about presentation. As the host, the personality you convey is how people relate to your videos on a personal level, and more importantly, come to trust. 

If you are brand new to the world of video content, you need to determine your approach to presenting your topic and insight. Consider the 12 common brand archetypes

  1. The Magician – Wants to make dreams come true. 
  2. The Sage – Aims to seek the truth and provide unique wisdom.
  3. The Outlaw – Wants a revolution.
  4. The Innocent – Wants the best for everyone.
  5. The Jester – Loves boosting spirits, lives in the moment. 
  6. The Lover – Wants to “woo” you. 
  7. The Explorer – Wants to break the molds of convention.
  8. The Ruler – Set on being the authority.
  9. The Caregiver – Nurturing, user-friendly. 
  10. The Hero – Challenges others to rise to the occasion.
  11. The Commoner – Unpretentious, wants to fit in.
  12. The Creator – Only settles for perfection. 

Take some personal inventory and figure out which one of these archetypes fits you (or your chosen host) as a person. Keep in mind, you don’t have to be restricted to just one. Above all else, a video personality needs to seem natural and authentic. 

Take Neil Patel for example. People come back to his content because they trust his expertise and the way he presents it. 

While his personality in the videos definitely comes across as The Hero, there are shades of The Ruler and The Caregiver. 

Take your time here. At the end of the day, viewers relate to people more than they relate to topics.  

Gauge How Your Written Voice Translates to Your Spoken Voice

Have you ever written a speech and practiced it in your head a million times only to find out it feels way different when you read it aloud? 

As what should come as no shock, a written voice and a spoken voice are two VERY different concepts. 

In your blog posts, you probably have a defined voice that differentiates your writing. While you should definitely reflect this in your videos, you need to have an understanding of how it differs in speech. 

Viewers can tell pretty easily when it sounds like you are reading off of a piece of paper. The result is that you end up sounding robotic, regardless of how conversational the writing comes off. 

As cliché as it sounds, the key is to let it flow from the heart. In other words, don’t rely too heavily on a script – or the blog post itself. Your spoken voice should be less formal, full of emotion, and paints you as a real human being. Pepper in some slang terms and avoid the heavy jargon. Try your best to stick to a basic outline of what key bits of information you will cover. Then let the rest come from the soul. 

If you are just starting out with video content, this will probably take some trial and error. Once you are comfortable speaking in front of a camera, nailing down a killer spoken voice will come naturally!

The Wrap

Turning blog posts into video content is not as easy as it might seem. Even the greatest, most charismatic writers can flounder on screen. 

The good news is that most of the common mistakes in this transition occur at the beginning. Once you establish a memorable personality, voice, flow, and the technical aspects of marketing your video, the rest is a piece of cake!

This post was written by Kevin Svec. He is a Senior Copywriter and Content Strategist at E2M Solutions Inc. He spends his days researching the latest tactics to help businesses produce compelling content that resonates with people of all interest levels. Kevin also hosts E2M’s in-house podcast: The Marketing Microscope. When he’s not rock climbing or hanging out at one of San Diego’s many beaches, Kevin is writing for Impulsive Wanderlust, a travel and leisure website he founded. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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