Why I think blogging is in it for the long haul..
There has been so much going round social media for months about how Instagram is taking over from blogging and how blogs are taking a backseat. As much as Instagram may be favoured for most people, I don’t think blogging is ever going to disappear like people think it will. Look at it this way, will news articles ever die out? Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Instagram – it’s my favourite social platform, I post on my stories pretty much every single day and I try to upload a new post at least once a day. But, my blog is my own platform, and that’s something I refuse to give up and throw away. Today I’m going to explain the reasons why I don’t think blogging will die out. This is obviously just my opinion and I could be entirely wrong, but here’s why I think blogging isn’t going anywhere.
Social media comes & goes
If you remember how popular platforms such as MySpace and Piczo were, they’re well and truly in history now. I mean we can all say we can’t see it happening but Instagram could just as easily blend into our past too. I see people boycotting Instagram all the time because of the algorithm and how hard it is to get your posts seen by people that are already following you. Yes, it still has billions of users, but one day everyone might get fed up. What never comes & goes is google, and the web in general. Blogs are a personal website so essentially they are never going to disappear unless you let them. Apps come and go, I think it’s safe to say the web is here to stay.
There’s less pressure
On social platforms we rely on followers and likes, and on blogs, there isn’t that pressure that social media has. I feel like you are much more ‘free’ to post whatever you want on a blog and you can just write and share photos to your hearts content. I know that when I put out a blog post, I’m not constantly checking it for views or comments like I do with Instagram. This is my space, I design it from scratch and choose how I want it to look – I upload anything I choose without it being the ‘in thing’ and I definitely don’t feel pressured to upload everyday too. I take my time with it and put out the best quality content rather than just having a ‘filler’ post just so I’ve uploaded something that day.
Filed in google
How often do you google search for a product review, or swatches of a product you want to buy? I do it multiple times a week! Can you do that on Instagram? The answer is no. Can you search your favourite influencers Instagram to see if they’ve done a post on a foundation or a lipstick you’re interested in? No, but on a blog you can! There’s so many benefits to a blog that you just don’t get on platforms like Instagram. If a brand pays you to promote their latest eyeshadow palette, it’s disappeared into an oblivion of posts within a couple of weeks, whereas on a blog your review is on google for anyone to easily find. Some of my posts from years ago still come up on the first page of google when certain keywords are searched. My instagram content from years ago never sees the light of day. Blogs are so much more valuable for long-term marketing.
It’s not as fast paced but that’s not a bad thing?
People love Instagram because of how fast paced it is. It’s so easy to have a quick scroll of some photos or stories on your break from work or whilst you’re sat eating dinner. But just look at how popular reading still is, it’s essentially a shorter form of reading a book. It’s so refreshing to sit and read things written by people you can relate to, and read in-depth product reviews, just all the things you can’t get from a quick Instagram caption or a tweet.
It’s proven that we have no control over our social platforms
I think we are all aware by now that Instagram just don’t listen, they do whatever they want and there’s nothing we can do about it. I still see posts on my feed from four days ago that I’ve already liked. Like what? It just makes no sense. Every time Insta put out a tweet, it has hundreds of replies just asking for the algorithm to be back to how it used to be and they never, ever listen. At least with our blogs we have complete control over them, and we can continue to promote them, even as everything else changes.
A more dedicated audience
If people are on your blog, they truly want to be there. There’s none of this “follow for follow” or “like for like” nonsense. They are actively choosing to search and to read your blog and that’s super cool. They’re taking the time to read and to see your best content, and the platform that you’ve most likely put your heart into. They’ll get to know far more about you and your life than they will from scrolling through a few instagram posts. They bring you real, genuine engagement. Something Instagram and other social platforms never will.
It’s easier to shop
On blogs, you can create shoppable links for everyone and anyone even with no readers or followers. There’s various platforms available like ShopStyle and RewardStyle where you can create a ‘shop the post’ widget at the end of all your posts too – so when you’re writing about beauty, homeware, baby products… whatever, you can link each item at the end so that people can shop them easily. If you have a significant audience it’s much easier to earn affiliate income through people shopping your links too.
Blogging will only die out if you let it
You don’t have to ditch your blog in favour of Instagram or other social channels. The majority of us use instagram and every other social platform as it’s a way to expand our brand and share our content more, but we don’t just abandon our blogs because one of those social platforms is doing well. Everyone knows that in five years there could be a new social channel that’s the best thing since sliced bread, and that’s cool. Just remember that as long as you’re keeping your blog live and posting content to it, it’s not going anywhere.
What do you think about blogging, do you think it’s going to stick around?
