Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels
Can you remember a world without blogs? Maybe just! Blogging began in the mid-nineties. Early adopters like Justin Hall, recognized as the first personal blogger, used their blogs as online diaries. Things have certainly moved on since then with the advent of a myriad of other social media platforms and SEO development, allowing people to develop huge blog followings. Blogging has become a lucrative career for some and a satisfying creative outlet for many. But is the blog market saturated now? With an estimated 600 million blogs out there, how can you make yours stand out?
Did Instagram kill the blog?
Let’s talk about Instagram. This powerful platform hosts many global celebrities, including Christiano Ronaldo, who leads the pack with 318 million followers. It has made fortunes for some savvy influencers. Its dominance is such that there has been much debate about whether Instagram has killed blogging. Is blogging now confined to micro-blogging, little more than an extended picture caption? There are crucial differences. There is something disposable about Instagram that lacks the sincerity and authenticity of a fully formed blog. In addition, social media platforms like Instagram are fickle things. Instagrammers and Facebook users can fall victim to those mysterious algorithms that can disadvantage accounts while bloggers can always control their content. In reality, Instagram is a valuable add-on and is probably necessary to increase your blog’s reach. To remain relevant, bloggers should avoid whimsical musings and sound bites and focus on information-driven posts that will appeal to their niche.
Moving Pictures are the Way Forwards
Everyone with a mobile phone is a photographer now, and you can easily embed videos into your blog using various established platforms, including Vimeo and youtube. You can even have your own Youtube channel. Youtube is the most used social media platform with 122 million daily users, and it allows you to share a richer level of content with your blog readers. American YouTuber Casey Neistat has 12.3milllion subscribers and gives some great tips about vlogging here. What about the new kid on the block, Tik Tok? The short-form video sharing platform has had a rocky ride since its launch in 2016 but is now the number one app in the world. So far, Tik Tok has been about high-energy, fun videos but watch this space as things change quickly in social media land. If you’re interested in learning more about the sensational TikTok, click here.
Going Live
How about going way beyond blogging and using your online presence to organize events via your blog? The pandemic has made Zoom or Microsoft teams experts of us all, and incorporating live events into your online presence is now an actual thing. You can interact in person with followers and offer them interesting spoken content and interviews. You could even create substantial live-streamed content with the support of a live streaming company.
Developing your social media profile across several platforms and adding video to your blog will really add value. Advertisers and followers alike will appreciate the variety of experiences that you will be offering.
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