This is perhaps one hot topic in vlogging that we ought to discuss. You see, when there are new hit videos (imagine nyancat, annoying orange, and “Gangnam Style”), a lot of people become too eager to jump in to the popularity bandwagon, often stealing the popular videos and uploading them on their own channels. They do this generally without thought of the person or company who originally produced them. Now, the question is: is doing so right or wrong?
4 Ways to Retain Originality Despite Copying Vloggers
Our answer is a big, big, NO. Without doubt, it’s wrong to steal other people’s videos. They worked hard for them, and it’s just right to show respect by not stealing their video to drive traffic to your own YouTube channel. However, it is all right to copy formats of your favorite vloggers or use the theme of specific popular videos as an inspiration for your vlog entries. Here are some ways to use popular vloggers to leverage and develop your YouTube vlog:
Follow the Trend
If you observe popular vloggers in your niche, you’ll find that a lot of them follow a trend. For example, in the beauty and fashion niche, a lot of users create a “What’s in my purse?” video. In cooking, trends are often overseen by the season. That is to say, during summer, cold treats are often the subject while in winter, warm soups are generally the norm. When you notice such general trends, you can often follow them and simply add a personal touch on your video. For example, if you’re going to do a “Gangnam Style dance cover,” you can wear costumes while dancing or perform the dance in interesting or odd places like in the mall, the airport, or public transport. You can copy vloggers, but you must be sure to tackle it in a new angle.
Add More Info
Even the most informative videos on YouTube can only give so much information. Always, people who view one video on YouTube look for related videos. This is where you come in. You can breeze through the information popular vloggers and then add more information. The extra information you give can be any or a combination of the following:
- Offer your two cents
- Provide more references
- Present a demonstration (perfect for product features)
Create a Video Response
This is perhaps the most efficient way to direct people from popular YouTube vloggers to your channel. There are a number of video response forms you can create, two of which are the following:
- Express your opinion about the video, citing reasons and references
- Reproduce the item or food the vlogger showed, preferably adding some personal touch
Feature Videos
If you’re feeling a little lazy, then this option is for you. Simply put, what you do is select popular videos with a similar theme and compile them in to a video list. You can then title them as follows (take note that X stand for the theme):
- Top 10 X
- The Best X Videos of 2012
- 5 X Vlogs You Need to Know
Featuring videos is very easy, and it allows you to get the attention of those that watch the popular videos or vloggers you chose. For extra points, contact the video owners. Get them to watch, comment on, and recommend your video.
Given the above ideas, you can surely create great videos—not from directly stealing other vloggers’ videos but from simply learning from them—and develop your channel and yourself into one of the most popular and respected ones in your niche.
