I have been blogging since 2008 and started getting serious about my own YouTube channel more recently in 2022, so I often get asked this question of blogging vs vlogging.

Both mediums have unique advantages and cater to different audiences, but both may not necessarily be right for your brand or even your niche.

Let me go through the key differences between vlogging and blogging, weighing the pros and cons of each, and identifying the unique advantages of each online presence format to help you make an informed decision. 

To fully understand the most important differences between blog posts and video content, I must first explain what exactly blogging is and how it functions in the world of online content. 

What is Blogging?

“Blog” is short for weblog, or an online content format characterized by long-form content and a more informational style. Blogging can be done on a dedicated blogging platform, or can be done through a dedicated part of a company website. 

Definition and Key Characteristics

Blogging sets itself apart from vlogging and even written content found on sites like Twitter both as a result of length and as a result of the platform on which it is posted. Although captions are frequently used to make announcements, inform an audience, and get a point across, blogs are larger, longer, and more intensely focused on the written word. They can be used to deliver information posts, including how-to articles and product guides and introductory information, such as company values and practices. 

Blogs are typically visually appealing, if not visually based, and often include images, infographics, or even embedded videos. Blogs often contain affiliate links within the body of the post, making it easy for an audience to navigate to products, other posts, and even information supporting the points found within the blog. 

Types of Blog Content

Although the precise length of a blog varies considerably, especially across niches or industries, there are some common threads in blog topics. The most common blogs include information blogs, roundup blogs, personal stories, news and updates posts, and review posts. I will detail each of these and the blogs that fall under that heading below.

Informative Posts

How-to guides and tutorials are the two most common types of informative posts found on blogs. While social media platforms can be useful to showcase the type of content that highlights specific products, guides and tutorials can get into far more detail, and can help customers feel as though they are informed enough to make a purchase. 

Roundup Posts

Few online journals are complete without some type of roundup post or listicle. These posts are easy to read, easy to digest, and make it easy to tailor to personal preference and demographic differences. Posts often highlight partnerships or company products, and are a great option to get your foot in the door of blogging. 

Personal Stories

Personal stories and experiences are great subjects for blog content. Customer journeys can be showcased on blogs, personal stories of triumph can be used to show the history of a brand or company, and the personality of workers can be brought to the fore. 

News and Updates

Product launches, policy changes, and general news within an industry are all a form of content that are readily usable in blog format. These types of posts can reach a wider audience, if they are touching on industry-wide news, and can help bring in a larger number of readers than blogs focused entirely on company news or product information. 

Review Posts

Product reviews and comparison posts are also common themes found in blogs. These posts are a great way to utilize affiliate marketing for both brands and influencers, and can help increase audience engagement through organic calls to action. Review posts can be generated in-house, reviewing physical and digital products, or they can be generated by a content creator with whom you have partnered, to review your own products or services. 

Blogging Platforms and Tools

The most popular blogging platforms include Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix, and Medium. Each platform differs in small (or significant) ways. WordPress and Squarespace have been the most popular platforms on which to host entire websites, while Wix and Medium may lend themselves more to a blogging format as the primary purpose. 

There are a handful of tools that I would consider essential to successfully and smoothly creating a blog. These include a content management system, a text editor, SEO tools, and analytics tools. The exact source of these tools will vary. Many people rely on their blogging platform to deliver the tools they need, while others prefer to integrate a blog into an existing set of tools. Whatever you choose, make sure it has the capacity to manage posts and automation, deliver on SEO needs, and analyze the performance of your blogs. 

Further Reading: 45 Essential Blogging Tools to Improve Your Writing and Increase Your Traffic

What is Vlogging?

The word “vlog” is a shortened form of “video blogging,” or capturing life and details on video rather than through written content. Although vlogging once referred primarily to longer-form videos–think 20 minutes or longer–it has since come to encompass many different video sizes. A video log may be as little as 30 seconds to 1 minute, or as long as 2+ hours. 

Definition and Key Characteristics

The two most well-known and oft-used platforms for vlogging are YouTube and Vimeo. On both platforms, business goals are typically brand-based; the goal of vlogs are to increase engagement and build a sense of community. While blogging might benefit from an email list and further written content, vlogs typically focus more on video promotion in their content strategy. 

Vlogs are usually shorter and more engaging than vlogs, and they are largely personality driven. While blogs may focus on search engine optimization and reaching an audience through search and content quality, vlogging will rely far more on social media platforms and their algorithms in order to be seen and begin building an audience. 

Vlogging can encompass many different video styles. While successful vloggers often follow a basic recipe for filming, many successful vlog channels utilize a talking head style of recording, screen recording techniques, and b-roll footage in order to connect with their audience. 

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Types of Vlog Content

Vlog content varies from one brand to another, but there are some common threads among all vlogs. The most common types of vlog content include the following: daily life and personal updates, tutorials/how-to videos, product reviews and unboxings, travel and adventure vlogs, and interviews and collaborations. Although this is not an exhaustive list, these are some of the potential videos you can create, in accordance with your audience preferences and niche. 

Vlogging Equipment and Tools

The most essential gear required for vlogging is still substantial: a camera, a microphone, lighting, and editing software. You can purchase the bare minimum of each of these things in order to limit the upfront investment required of vlogging, but some users find that not getting the best first severely limits their abilities. Vloggers may also find themselves wanting to invest in a tripod, gimbal, a green screen, and a teleprompter, in order to make videos higher in quality, and to improve the production value of your vlogs. 

Editing software seems like a dime a dozen, but there are some notable names in the industry. Adobe is perhaps the most well-known, and Adobe Premiere is often a great entry into the world of video editing. Final Cut Pro and iMovie are alternatives to Adobe, and may come in at more affordable rates. 

Advantages of Blogging

Now that I have covered both blogging and vlogging, let’s talk about the advantages of blogging as opposed to vlogging. Successful bloggers need not enter the fray with an arm full of technical equipment or know-how; in truth, all that a blogger needs is a blogging platform and a series of ideas to flesh out. The entry and production costs associated with blogging are far lower than those of other mediums like vlogging. With little more than the ability to write and a machine on which to do so, you can begin blogging. 

Blogging is also beneficial, in that it possesses actionable steps to gain traction. Blogs are SEO-friendly, and organic traffic is not hard to come by provided that SEO best practices are being put into effect. Rather than relying on trends or algorithms, bloggers can successfully follow a series of prescribed rules and practices to be seen. 

Bloggers are also able to dive deep into information, and deliver highly detailed tutorials. While virtually all forms of content creation are open to discourse and education, blogs are unique in their ability to provide ample time and space for deep discussions and complex ideas. Tutorials and information posts alike are easy enough to create in blog form. 

Blogs are going to perform better in markets that prefer text-based content. It could be argued that most audiences want video or images in their content, but the continued popularity of blogs suggests that may not be the case. For the dissemination of information, detailed how-tos, and even long or harrowing personal tales, blogs remain valuable. 

Finally, blogging often offers a great deal of flexibility regarding publishing schedules and content updates. The writing process can be tricky at the best of times, and business owners may not always have the time to create large, in-depth blogs. Happily, many blogs do not require a set schedule on which to update, and businesses can utilize blogs anywhere from several times per week to only once or twice per month. 

Further Reading: How Might a Business Use a Blog: 9 Huge Benefits of Business Blogging

Advantages of Vlogging

The most obvious difference between blogging and vlogging is format; vlogging is video-based rather than text-based, which automatically has higher engagement potential. Vlogging is also a far easier medium with which to work, as it makes it far easier to convey personality, emotion, and authenticity. Vlogging is an ideal format for product reviews, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes content, all of which benefit from the easy-going and personal style vlogging embodies. 

Vlogging is also great because it is multipurpose; even long-form content can be repurposed into shorter clips for social media and your other online platforms, to increase your reach for internet users as a whole. YouTube and other video-sharing platforms may also be easier to tap into monetization, which is often a must for people considering the time investment of content creation.

Challenges of Blogging

Perhaps the most substantial challenge that comes with blogging is the need to possess and display strong writing skills. Blogging can be time-consuming, particularly for people who are creating long-form content. While other types of content can often be completed in an hour or two, blogging can take hours or days, depending on the length of the post and the amount of research required to complete it. 

Blogging requires consistency to maintain relevance; as more and more moves to media-based dissemination, blogs may have to fight to be heard more than video formats. As you create content, it can be more difficult to convey personality and quickly and easily build personal connections between you and your audience. 

Finally, blogging is heavily reliant on SEO and traffic-building efforts. If you are familiar with the tenets of SEO, this may not be a significant difficulty, but if you are new to SEO, the rules and guidelines can feel overwhelming or require a foray into training and education regarding effective search engine optimization practices. 

Challenges of Vlogging

At the outset, vlogging has much higher production costs, making it more difficult to start and more difficult to maintain. A high-quality camera, lighting, and editing software can be extremely expensive, so keeping up with others in your genre can be difficult if you do not put forth a high up-front investment. Once you do have all of the components in place, you have to move on to video editing, which can be pricey, and time-consuming. 

Vlogging involves a great deal of self representation and personal language, so vloggers must feel a certain level of comfort on camera, and possess considerable presentation skills. This means knowing appropriate angles, compelling language, and even just how to put looks together to appear knowledgeable and relatable in one fell swoop. 

Vlogging may have an easier time with relatability and engagement, but getting to the point of engaging may be more difficult. While blogs can utilize SEO practices to increase visibility, vlogging does not have the same option, and discovery may be rarer or more difficult. 

Blogging vs Vlogging: Which Should You Choose?

Choosing between blogging and vlogging can be difficult. Both share some similarities, from requiring an internet connection, to requiring a time commitment and plenty of content ideas, but both also possess some important differences, including standard audience and content requirements. To help you determine which is more likely to fit in your content plan, I have put together some key considerations to keep in mind. The first is: 

Your Skills and Strengths

If you have a strong writing ability, and you are comfortable with long-form content, a blog may be a great way to get your content on platforms in your niche. Comfort with or awareness of SEO is also a great strength for someone looking to start a blog. 

Conversely, perhaps your strengths lie far more in your on-camera presence and your public speaking skills. In these cases, video content is going to be far more satisfying and engaging for you. Vlogging is especially useful for people with existing technical skills in the realm of filming and editing videos.

Further Reading: 11 Best Practices to Create the Perfect Blog Post Format 

Your Niche and Target Audience

Are your topics better suited for text or video? This may seem like an obvious question, but personal preference is often given precedence over the answer. Some topics are better suited for text, while others are better suited for video. Explore the answer to this question in order to make a more informed decision. 

As you consider your topics, also consider your audience. Does your audience prefer one content format or platform over another? Some demographics seem to favor video content (think younger audiences), while others seem to favor text (think older generations). Evaluate which of these audiences is more likely to be yours, and decide accordingly. 

Finally, consider a competitor analysis? What format is your competitor using? Are they managing it successfully? This can help you carve out a space for yourself in your industry, by creating the content type most in need in your niche. 

Further Reading: 13 Most Profitable Blog Niche Ideas For 2024

Time and Resource Constraints

The time requirements differ between blogging and vlogging. Although both offer exclusive content, the avenues for content creation for each vary considerably regarding time and resources. Writing can take longer than filming, but does not use a lot of resources. Filming can be faster, but uses up a great deal of your resources, and requires editing, as well. 

As you go over your content marketing strategy, do not forget to consider your budget; do you have the budget for vlogging equipment and software? Can you afford the up-front expenditure of buying specialty equipment and software? If not, something with fewer startup costs–like blogging–may be the better option. 

Finally, consider the learning curve differences between video editing and writing. While video editing can be learned fairly quickly, with a series of tutorials and plenty of practice, learning how to write well can take years–years that you may not have to get started. 

Your Goals and Objectives

How are you trying to build an engaged audience? Is your goal to inform? To entertain? To inspire? Answering these questions can help you determine which format is right for you. Informing, for instance, may be better suited to blogging, while entertaining may be better suited to vlogging. 

Similarly, what is your main area of focus? Are you interested in content creation in order to drive traffic? Are you trying to establish yourself as an authority in a given field, or are you trying to grow a personal brand? Determining whether you should use blogging or vlogging to create relevant content will largely depend on your intended areas of focus. 

Does blogging or vlogging align better with your monetization strategy? Blogs often rely on visual and pop up ads, though these ads can make a blog look oversaturated and clunky, and can limit the speed with which it loads. Vlogging often takes on the ads of the platform being used to post, and may not feel quite as weighed down by advertisements. 

Further Reading: How to Start a Successful Blog in 2024 in 20 Steps

Conclusion

Whether you choose blogging or vlogging will ultimately depend on your goals, your content style, and the preferences of your unique audience. Blogging provides a powerful way to create SEO-friendly, in-depth content able to generate traffic over time. Vlogging, conversely, offers an engaging and dynamic format, ideal for building personal connections with your audience and showcasing your personality. As you identify the best platform for sharing content and the best format, consider your strengths, the resources available to you, and what resonates more with your target audience. Choose the platform and format that aligns best with all of those components. If you can, consider experimenting with both to identify which works best for your needs and your brand.