Sunshine and the beach, a yummy burger and fries; there are just some things that go together like a match made in heaven. When thinking of putting a video on your blog you should never overlook its perfect partner… text! It may be tempting to think that your great video will be a treat for viewers so you can finally write less. Video and text are equal partners and you shouldn’t delve into video blogging without having text in place to be sure your post can be really seen by all.
Add A Link to Your Video.
You blog subscribers will receive post updates via RSS feed. When you create a new post these subscribers receive text: the blog title and the written copy you’ve posted. It’s likely that if you post a video without any accompanying text, they will only see the blog title in the feed! Video services like YouTube, Vimeo, and Viddler link directly to the video on the service’s website with a text link. A text link will show in RSS feed and your subscribers will be more likely to click the link to view the video!
Use an Image to Give Subscribers a Preview
Your video won’t show in the RSS Feed, but images will show up! You may choose to use a photo, add a logo, or use a screen shot from the video—however you choose to include an image it will show up in your blog feeds and give a visual clue to those viewer who like pictures to decide what they’ll read.
Satisfy Readers With Text.
If your subscribers receive your content as text in the RSS Feed, then your blog needs to deliver on content. Give your readers something to read by adding a brief description of your video’s content. The description should answer as many of these questions as possible: who, what, when, where, why, and how. You don’t have to write a lot. If you feel inspired to provide more, you can include a transcript of video’s dialog. Your subscribers will benefit from having text to reference, but you’ll also boost your search engine results because more text means your blog posts are more likely to be found when someone searches online.
When you get the right combination of video and text, you’ll find that you’ve created a winning relationship that satisfies your subscribers, blog visitors and the search engines.
