As we launch into a new year my creative wheels are spinning when thinking about how to approach video differently. Am I the only one totally tapped out on hands-in-pans style recipe videos?
Who is branching out? What are some new elements to throw into recipe videos?
My thoughts: experimenting with different flavors of music and using more of a video in motion (like with a gimbal).
I have never experimented with creating hands-in-pans video, and honestly am very uncertain about whether I want to invest the resources to learn to create them at this point. Donāt get me wrong, I believe they still have value, but how much I donāt know ā and, crucially, thereās no real differentiation between my producing one myself and paying someone else to do it, as long as the quality is there. So, yes, I am more intrigued by the idea of experimenting with āvideo in motionā as you describe it ā Iāve thought about doing this for a series of sort of āfood lifestyleā videos. Topics might be why I use/love certain delivery services, how meal planning works in my family, certain green kitchen practices weāve adopted, that type of thing. Of course I have no idea how to put those into practice, but if I had unlimited time/learning resources, thatās the kind of video I would focus on today!
Monica, I love the concept of documenting why you love delivery services, etc. Food bloggers donāt do these types of videos enough and I can see where users would find them so helpful!
Megan, your podcast episode #059 inspired me to look for artistic ways to approach food videos and rich media.
Here are some videos/gifs I really like:
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/fall-table-decor-ideas-262832
Every time I see a video I really like on Instagram I save the image to a collection in Instagram (e.g. āfood videosā) and then itās easy to revisit later when I need inspiration.
These are SO inspiring! Iām at a crossroads with video creation and I sooo badly want to create something unique, different and beautiful. Thanks for sharing these!
Iām struggling with this topic right now. Iām a new-ish blogger, 1 year in. So Iām still focusing heavily on content creation. I would like to add video to some of my recipes that maybe rank in page 2 to hopefully move them to page 1 but donāt have the bandwidth right now to do anything too complex. Would hands in pans videos for few recipes just to get started be helpful for a new blogger? I totally agree though that with time, itās nice to create something that stands out, that has some unique individuality. I saw a recipe from Pinch of Yumm where they are using video segments to showcase specific instructions in the recipe. I thought that was unique. Sometimes as a reader of recipes, Iām unclear on one step so that helps instead of having to watch long video just to look for few seconds to clarify something.
My opinion is that ANY video you can add to your existing content is going to improve its value. If all you have bandwidth for is a quick hands in pans, then I say go for it! From there you can learn and grow and figure out how to put your unique stamp on video content. I love the idea of using video segments to showcase specific parts of the instructions. That is both unique AND valuable!
To add to this, Iāve been questioning if video really has the affect that it once did. I donāt see it growing my social media numbers because itās so widely used now. Iām mainly using it for SEO purposes, but I also have a few strongly ranking posts that donāt contain video.
I so hear you on this @mamagourmand. There was that stretch of time a few years ago where adding video to your posts was like MAGIC. Then everyone started doing it and it wasnāt magic anymore, but still valuable. I do still think itās valuable, but more for the user (which is what our focus SHOULD be, right @BethanySmith??) Video is so much more mainstream that we donāt seem to be rewarded much by the different platforms anymore.
So I guess the bigger question isā¦ Whatās next? What trend can we get on top of that adds value and that will also have that magic for a time?
Yes, what do the users want in a blog post?
So, my view on this is probably a little controversial 
And I donāt necessarily have the stats to prove it like I do for many things I sayā¦butā¦
If Iām a user and I want a video on how to make a recipe, Iāll likely go to YouTube or search for a video. If Iām searching for a recipe and find a food blog with a video added, itās often like , eh, not worth my time.
Of course, this depends. Sometimes if itās a complicated recipe, I might want a video, but rarely itās not really adding enough value.
So, my two cents, or one and a half cents, is that if you are making videos, you should prioritize adding them to Facebook and YouTube. Of course, if you have a video, you should add it to your blog post, but using it there as the main place/reason may not be worth the effort.