We’ve witnessed over the last couple of years the exponential growth of influencer marketing and the impact it has had on marketing in general. In fact, A Billion Dollar Boy study of top marketers found that vlogging and influencer marketing has become the most cost-effective digital marketing tool with 22% of the vote. It is no wonder that so many big brands are now getting in on the act by using top influencers to promote their products but also by featuring them in their advertisements.

Most recently, the team at L’Oreal launched a campaign featuring a number of beauty bloggers/vloggers and influencers who all command sizeable social media followings. The campaign has been all over social media since launching and seems to have been very well received by influencers and consumers alike.

“Vlogging campaigns can capture up to 16xx more engagement than owned or paid media campaigns. For businesses looking at cost effective ways to help boost the bottom line, it’s a no-brainer” Ed East, Billion Dollar Boy.

So what’s our growing obsession with video content anyway? Stuart Groves, Founder and Partner at Shout about London had this to say about our consumption habits:

“You only had to look at the transformation of the Facebook newsfeed, for an example of the direction online content was heading - It’s gone from lots of written statuses, to pictures, to now seemingly endless video content. Dating apps are starting to lead with video, even pictures have introduced a range of motion. The more alive something is, the easier it is to relate to and therefore engage with.”

It certainly is true that video content is much more engaging and in many ways, is easier to consume. We’ve become quite obsessed with seeing ourselves and being seen by others. The growth of Snapchat alone is testament to that. Even Instagram has extended the length of video content from a couple of seconds to just shy of a minute and has also added a new feature to the app; Instagram stories. Marketers are paying attention and taking note. These businesses are only just starting to capitalise on our consumption habits and they have responded by giving us the kind of content that appeals and engages with us the most. On their part, it’s cost effective, engaging and hugely profitable from a sales and marketing perspective.

I’ve spoken to two businesses about how vlogging has had an impact on their businesses.

House of Colour (Personal Stylists)

The company recently started vlogging and have found it most beneficial in growing their community and significantly boosting engagement on Social Media. There was a steep change in engagement, not just in the vlogs, but in other types of posts, once they started using the media rich content. They have grown their Facebook fanbase by 50% in a year, from a starting point that had taken several years to build to the base point before ramping up the marketing effort. In addition, a vlogging joint venture increased the number of classes booked and a major professional speaking opportunity at the National Gallery came from someone watching the company vlog which featured their Managing Director.

Jack Monroe – Food Blogger/Vlogger

Jack Monroe is an award winning food blogger/vlogger who began writing a blog about local politics and a few recipes as a way of documenting her cooking. People began sharing what she was doing, and getting in touch to tell her they found it helpful so she carried on. She has now written 3 cookbooks and has made a very successful career out of pursuing her passion, having recently joined forces with Samsung to launch the new limited edition TabPro S for which Jack contributed to a top tips and insights package. Jack’s blog has allowed her to meet her heroes, write for national newspapers and to continue to campaign for causes close to her heart.

Vlogging is certainly taking off and has proven to be a cost effective, engaging and profitable way to advertise and market new products or services. It can also lead to new business development opportunities and allows businesses to really take control of the content they release in the market. I strongly encourage you to consider whether your business might benefit from vlogging.