I just came home from attending Blogapalooza’s Generation D (Digital) at the City Of Dreams (COD), Manila. It was full of bloggers as well as influencers that gave tips and inspiration to start and continue blogging. It was definitely meant for Millennial bloggers as well as Generations X, Y – Generation D (Digital) in general.
Most of the influencers and PR guru advised the inclusion of video contents, having a niche in the blogosphere and well written blog posts. Other tips I got are:
"Video Content and Distribution Strategy"
Why Video? Based on analytics, it’s the most popular means to communicate with your audience.
Facebook is usually used for short videos (or previews) and YouTube is for long videos or the actual video.
Lloyd Cadena is a very popular YouTube personality and also a Disc Jockey (DJ). He will release a book called “X Rated” about exes.
Micco Solis of www.weduetstyle.com is a fashion blogger.
Team Lyqa gave tips on how to deal with bashers.
Look at your analytics to know the length of the videos that works best for you. Extend up to where your audience watches.
Focus on quality when starting up a video channel or a video blog (vlog).
There was a question from the audience about thumbnails. It’s a 1 picture that represents the entire video. For Gadget Philippines, they do the thumbnail right before the unboxing of the gadget. No misleading thumbnail. For Lloyd, he recreates thumbnail with caption about the video.
“Gawin mo yung gusto mo. Kung ano yung nag-work, dun ka mag-focus”.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Mario Domingo talked about the “rise of the machines” or the artificial intelligence (AI). He mentioned that in 2 years, AI will affect the following industries:
- Finance and Logistics
- Healthcare
- Consumer – Telco, Media
"The Agency-Business-Influencer" Relationship”
Jason Cruz is a mountain climber and outdoor guy. He said that fairly or unfairly, rumors of bad behavior of bloggers stick. He also said that Instagram is used mostly for food and travel and that articles can be posted on Facebook (for comments). He gave examples of success stories like Masarap Ba? And Let’s Eat Pare.
For analytics, they mentioned that most readers and audience like videos of cooking, travel and pet. It’s best to know each platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) advantages and that each type of blogger may be stronger in a particular platform but seldom in all platforms.
There was a brave soul in the audience who asked how much are bloggers paid. It’s my first time to hear about bloggers’ compensation. According to Jason Cruz, banner ads are already there (given). It’s still the quality of your blog’s contents that would lead to endorsements and projects/campaigns. Every influencers/PR guru are in unison when they suggested on focusing on (blog’s) content and not the monetary value of blogging.
There were also practical tips on being bloggers with good attitude and that it will greatly help in getting invites to events.
What are the changes in the digital content? Today, there are more videos, more visuals and heavy content like infographics.
Before, blogs are of the long form – 800-1,000 words in a blog article. Now, it’s bullet-point with lots of pictures and videos. Before, it’s pure reach (number of followers). Now, it’s engagement and strong affinity which equates to higher probability of buying.
Ten years ago, bloggers are hobbyists. Today, blogging is an art form. In 2005, the blogosphere was taken by Rex Navarrete. In 2009 it was Happy Slip.
Influencers can be niche bloggers. Just follow your passion and be authentic.
Build your (fan) base. Market yourself. Cross-promote yourself across platforms and stay true to your craft and passion. Tip from Donald.
Establish your own niche. Specialize or be known for something. Invest in your own brand and be true to that brand. Focus on writing well and create well-written content. Be passionate in writing. PR companies look for bloggers that fit the brand or clients.
They strongly suggest not to copy+paste PR contents (media kits) and it is still best to reword it. They also said not to go after loot bags.
Eon uses Gravity to know bloggers’ known ranking. They no longer rely only on Google Rank or Alexa. They also rely on human factor: pool of panelist. She also coined the term #Foodstagrammers
Press release is a great guide in writing the blog article. It’s best to have a 1st person view in writing the event and experience the product (or event). Videos in blog posts are okay but it’s also useful to have a write-up so that clients and readers can search for the product in the future.
The issue of being a brand influencer and a political blogger is also tackled. The PR Panelists and speakers are united in saying that brands are apolitical and therefore looks for brand ambassadors that are also apolitical. I guess I really should create a different account for my political views if I want to be a brand ambassador.
"Internet Rockstars: Stories of Influence in the Digital Space"
Here are some tips on how to go from 0 followers to hundred thousands:
- Authenticity is key.
- Regular update, whether blogs, Instagram or other social media account, is essential.
- Engage with your audience and reply to comments as often as possible.
- Ramon Bautista emphasized the advantage of being first (or trendsetter) in a platform. Look at the trends.
- Collaboration is also crucial Bloggers can collaborate with YouTubers for more engaging content and new ideas.
Before Ramon Bautista spoke with his fellow influencers on stage, he sat beside me (one empty seat in between) at the 2nd row. For about 10 minutes, I was actually starstruck and I just pretended that I didn’t know/notice him (myself being uber shy). I could have taken a picture with him or have his autograph but I didn’t.
I listened to him attentively during their panel talk since he’s very famous on the Internet and among bloggers. He talked about his early days in the blogging/YouTube industry. He gave practical tips with his signature humor.
Joyce gave a very subtle comment against voting for Mocha in the future.
“Until the Next Blogapalooza Event”
Sadly, I need to go home early. I wasn’t able to stay around for the raffle of the Sony Experia C4. Blogapalooza’s Generation D (Digital) emphasized the attitude (of bloggers) of being “light to the world”, advocating the “Think Before You Click” attitude and using blogging to advocate volunteerism and promoting positive change to society.
Blogging is also about being responsible in fighting against fake news and learning from the (cliché) tagline “with great powers comes great responsibilities”.
Special thanks to the sponsors by the way: Vidanes Celebrity Marketing, Gomoto, Zalora, Kimstore, Paymaya, Globaltronics, DMAIPH, Wilkins, Coke, among others.
