Abandoning your blog for social media (particularly Instagram) is a trend I’ve noticed in the last couple of years or so.
It may be a trend in an industry where Instagram rules – especially where huge follower numbers seem to be the number one goal of influencers these days – but it’s also a huge mistake. In fact it’s not just a huge mistake, it could be devastating for your brand or business (even if it’s your hobby) to turn your back on your blog.
Think about it: Instagram is currently a free platform. Sure, you can pay to advertise and boost your visibility on there, but at its core it’s free. How long will it be 100% free for? How much of your content on Instagram do you have control over if they decide to pull the plug on it, or change it beyond recognition? (Then there’s the fact that Facebook owns Instagram, and much of Facebook has to be paid for these days… hmm.)
Answers: Probably not much longer, and effectively none.
[tweetshare tweet=”It could be devastating for your brand or business to abandon your blog and concentrate on Instagram because you’re relying on a third party to reach your followers.” username=”notlamb”]Instagram does not belong to us, and we have NO control over it whatsoever. However, what you DO have complete control over is your blog (if you host it on WordPress) and you DO own your mailing list.
This is something that I’ve heard more and more lately by experts in business and the blogosphere: Your mailing list is the most important resource you have as a business owner. Sharing apps and social media platforms come and go. Your followers, with individual email addresses that THEY own, do not. But if you have 50,000 followers on Instagram and you long since decided to give up your blog because er, what’s the point, right?! then you are very, very reliant (TOO reliant, in fact) on a third party to do whatever they choose with your “contact list”.
Despite this, I’ve seen so many bloggers that I’ve followed over the years simply give up on their blogs and concentrate on Instagram only. Every so often I’ll check in on their blogs and I’ll see that they haven’t posted for a couple of months. And the previous post was published several weeks before that. Now I KNOW that engagement and page views are down or stagnant for many of us (though there are ways to increase traffic you might be squandering), but that’s because people are choosing to read us elsewhere and the explosion of social media has meant our audiences are being spread more thinly.
So we need to constantly direct them back to our blogs and onto our mailing lists, because that’s the only way we can contact them without any interference from any third party.
Don’t put all your eggs (followers) in one basket
Deciding to give up on producing content on your blog and concentrating on Instagram is a bit like the proverbial putting all your eggs in one basket: You are placing 100% of your trust in one platform to run your hobby/microblog/business. If Instagram goes tits up for whatever reason (I know it’s hard to imagine but everyone thought Snapchat would rule at one point – now that’s dying a slow death…) then you are up a certain creek without a paddle. You have no way of continuing the contact with your hard-earned following.
The importance of your mailing list
So entice your followers – on whatever platform they may be seeing you on – back to your blog. And push that mailing list! It’s the reason that I’ve been subscribing to so many more blogs lately: notifications in my Inbox telling me my favourite bloggers have published new posts are an awful lot easier to keep up with than hoping I’ll see them in Instagram or in my Bloglovin feed (another platform that’s dying a slow death…?).
I’ve got plans for a new business venture this year so I’ve been reading a lot about marketing and how to run a business lately. The advice that seems to be everywhere is build, build BUILD that mailing list. It applies to bloggers as much as it does to businesses because for many of us our blog is our one source of income. And if it’s not, it’s either a large part of it or an important hobby that we couldn’t imagine life without.
It’s not worth risking!
Therefore if you’ve been thinking that in order to thrive in the blogosphere you need to ditch the blog in favour of Instagram, stop and think (don’t do it, in other words). You need to OWN what you own [your site] and you need to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF what you don’t [Instagram] while you can.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF BLOGS, AND HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING OF ABANDONING YOUR OWN BLOG AT ALL? COMMENT BELOW…!
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I really love your opinion about social media. But blogging is a other hand of the coin. Blogging and social media both are very important. If you write blog but do not market or share it on the social media, you’re not supposed to getting traffic and hits much. Its my thinking.
Found this post because of Amber, and I’m so glad I did. Reading your post and hers really reassures me that blogging is not dead. I already think that blogging is not going dead ( I really don’t believe it!), but having other people who are big bloggers who believe the same thing is just a great feeling. Great post xxx
Melina | melinaelisa.com
great post, thanks! I keep meaning to start a mailing list but gets put on the back burner. I’ll definitely be making it priority! xx
Thanks for this blogpost. I always like the ones who write about blogging, since I love blogging a lot and am always looking for ways to improve my blog. For me blogging is a platform where I can express my creativity, my ideas, my passion… and in doing so hopefully inspire other woman, even if it’s only on a small scale. Thanks for your direct (I’m Dutch, so quite used to the direct approach) and positive reminder. Love, Lieske
Actually I want to abandon my Instagram! Lol I know it’s part of the territory to be part of social media but to be honest I would rather spend time on my blog even if no one read it. It is a diary of my journey but also of my hard work. It’s hard to just abandon it and honestly I enjoy reading other people’s blog or working on my blog than I do scrolling through Instagram. I try to be as transparent as possible on my comments on Instagram but it does feel like a chore. So yes I agree with you.
Maureen |www.littlemisscasual.com
Great advice! Blogging takes more effort than posting on social media – thanks for the kick-in-the-pants reminder that it’s worth it.
You are so right with this post 😉 I’m a big fan of blogging as it builds roots and long term view while social media are just like kleenex … useful for a very limited amount of time!
https://4highheelsfans.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/relaxing-week-end-in-spa/
No. 1 – Thank you for SHARING your thoughts and not hoarding. No. 2 – Thank you for such sound words of advice. I admit to feeling overwhelmed sometimes by just my blog and IG, and while my blog takes more time, it is definitely more satisfying. I too know lots of people who have left their blogs in favour of IG and it has entered my mind before as well, I admit. But I always come crawling back and happy. I like blogging when I don’t feel pressure. Good luck on your new venture!!!
Oh goodness, I had no idea people were thinking of abandoning their blogs, that is what I enjoy most of all is the writing. I would be so sad not to do that. Thank you for the heads up on it, and I am excited to hear about your next venture! And I love the outfit on this post, that bag is gorgeous!
This is mind opening. Thanks for sharing this thought.
It’s funny you should mention this . I was at the ‘Influencer Unhooked’ event a few weeks ago and this got mentioned in some detail; about that as bloggers we own everything we produce but how Instagram owns everything we post. Quite scary really.
It made me think and to start concentrating on the blog more. I love them both but my blogs my baby xx
Really interesting article and point of view. I am only really starting out so its really helpful to have perspectives from established bloggers. #brilliantblogposts
Hello Catherine,
I must agree that I love Instagram and spend 99% of free my time on it because I enjoy it so much. It is instant, and the new village green or meeting pub . I regret not having jumped into the wagon long ago. I have met so many people through it in real life that have become true friends.
I still keep my blog, but less and more quality .
People have little time to jum from one blog to the next, but you can see at a glance if you want to go deeper on Instagram.
In about 10 years it might as well be taken over by something else , but it wont be blogs, but something even more exciting and fresh.
That is my humble opinion.
I totally agree. Every morning I check Bloglovin for new posts from blog a subscribe to and it’s gone from about 50 in the morning to less than 20. Some people do still want to read the long form blog… long live the blog!!
I have decided, afther stressing for a while about my followers, that I do what i like to do on my blog. I am just a very small blogger from the Netherlands, with a passion for blogging and I am not going to stress out about IG anymore. So thank you for this post!
I totally agree with you!! Right now, I’m experiencing the highest traffic on my blog ever and they are not coming from IG, they come from search engines such as Google and Pinterest. I have no intentions of quitting my blog because is the most important channel for sharing my style and help others with theirs.
I continue sharing ideas and style through media, but I see them more as an extension of my blog, but not as important.
Thanks, Catherine for sharing your thoughts on this topic. I’m glad you aren’t slowing down your blog like many of the ones I subscribed and I unsubscribed due to lack of content.
xo
Carelia
Another reason to put time into the blog is searchabity. Sure Instagram has hashtags but they are generally geared towards inspiration not solving a problem or reviews. And the lifespan of a post is so short. Evergreen content can be valuable for years! My day job maybe keeping me from blogging as much as I would like right now but Instagram will not replace my blog.
I agree with you Catherine. As a newbie blogger – I went self-hosted because I don’t’ like the “free” control thingie. A question. What emai list programme do you use? I started on WordPress – as I’ve heard over the years that was the best. I’m signed up to free “Mail Chimp” but want to see if I can change over to a paid programme. I have not much of an idea at this time of how Mail Chimp works and some have said Mailer Lite is easier. Thanks for your input or where you can refer me to for this input 🙂
I want to jump out and hug you! You’re so pragmatic–I love it! Let me tell you something. My blog is my baby. It’s not a “huge” blog at all, but in the two years I’ve been blogging, those who regularly read and follow my blog–well, they’ve become friends because of the engagement we keep up with each other. We debate. We disagree. We agree. We are respectful.
And although I am on IG, It’s pure fun. I enjoy IG but there’s a lot I can’t stand. My favorite feeds never show up. I follow you and Michelle and never see your stuff anymore. I’ve just about given up on FB. I’m no longer interested due to the nastiness and the bots.
But my blog–it’s become a part of me. It’s really important and I’ll keep at it long after IG and FB are gone!!! XOXOXOXO
The blog is just so dif. I’ve def slowed down, but not abandoned it 🙂
I find the blog so much more interesting. Instagram is a great visual but we all tend to flick through and I for one get a bit bored.
Content is key for me.
Catherine just keep on writing such interesting posts.
I get much more fulfilment from writing and creating my blog than posting on Instagram, and I do try to give as much time to all my social media accounts. Thanks for this post Catherine, you do give such interesting reading. Jacqui
mummabstylish
Great advice, Catherine. Thanks for sharing. – Amy
I totally agree with you, Catherine. Instagram is, in the words of James Nord of Fohr card, the girl everyone wants to dance with right now, but who knows what will be the case 5 years from now. As you point out, Snapchat was all the rage not so long ago. xxx
Absolutely correct!! Content is King, and it’s important to maintain control of your content. Great advice, Catherine!!
I bloody love this Catherine! Not only very wise but I love how you tell it to us straight. As you know I’ve neglected both my blog & Instagram for quite a few weeks & I must admit I’ve been anxious about the consequences. When time is short, choosing where to focus attention is crucial. Now that I’ve read your post I know where I need to be. Thank you for that my friend and thank you for never not supporting me, even when I’ve gone AWOL 😉
Love you woman xx
Thank you Catherine for your valuable perspective. I am at the start of my blogging career, which comes at the end of a long business career. You are absolutely correct, you are only as strong as what you control. Social media platforms have been targeted toward the young who have little interest in the content rights aspect. As these platforms become the vehicle for business, content ownership is key. I think in today’s society, I will need to reach my followers through email and that means a blog. Thank you again