Why Writing Blog Posts Is Always Superior To Relying On Social Media
Perhaps your blog has gathered dust, or you haven’t started writing a blog yet?
Rather than write a blog post, it can seem ‘easier’ to share that juicy learning or nugget of wisdom/insight/aha moment, your unique point of view, your products, details of your services, client/customer feedback and so on, via your favourite social platform: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn but are those posts (over the days/months/years) working as hard for you as they could/should?
Whenever you post to social media, do you have that sinking feeling that your most precious commodity in business, your time and focus, isn’t converting to enquiries/sales/clients? That’d be a hand-up from me.
Believe me; I know how that feels…
Over the past decade of running an online business, I’ve had an on/off love-hate relationship with social media. ‘Love’ because I was (and still am) in contact with some lovely people. ‘Hate’ because I didn’t like playing the ‘game’ expectedly. Spoiler alert: I still use social media, but now on my terms.
Years ago, as a full-time artist, I would find myself responding to the pressure, expectation and general hustle of creating multiple posts for the social media ‘gods’ that seemed like a never-ending process. Yuck!
Perhaps you can relate to this lengthy process?
It went something like this:
Think up an idea, find the words and type up the draft, brainstorm multiple hashtags, create a graphic to go with the post, upload it, wait with bated breath for any likes/hearts/shares/clicks, answer any comments, follow and engage with yet more accounts/profiles to boost engagement and blah, blah, blah.
Meanwhile, you’re aware of the growing sense of unease and urgency inside of you, knowing that specific and focused tasks that could move the needle in your businesses will have to wait.
Meanwhile, I was left drained. Exhausted. Depleted. And to be honest, sometimes resentful 😤. In addition, I’m someone with introverted tendencies, and on the sensitive side, I frequently felt overwhelmed (after getting sucked in - hello, algorithms) and needed to take a break to reset! More time wasted, more pressure.
But. I’m not the only one. This is a common problem, and as I speak with other business owners, my web design clients, and those that purchase my 90-minute strategy sessions, I often hear the same from them. But there’s another way…
Dust off your blog
Writing helpful blog posts is always superior to relying on social media for your online presence. Use it as your primary means of expressing and communicating valuable content.
The average engagement rate for a social media post is only around 1%! Soooooo, not great!
I’m NOT saying delete all of your socials (IF it’s working for you AND you enjoy it) but rather to share valuable content from your blog (and website pages) to your social accounts that serve your ideal client.
Think of your blog as a personal invitation to visit your online home and show them some love. Help them to solve their problem or pain.
After all, ALL content must lead back to your website.
82% of marketers who blog consistently see positive ROI (return of investment) from inbound efforts.
Embrace your blog: here’s why:
1. Putting the lights 💡 on - When I work with clients, I get them to think of their website 💻 as their online home, and you can too. It’s where you can (and should) be yourself. So, ‘put your lights on’, make them a virtual cuppa and get them comfortable and ready to settle down and have a ‘chat’ to interact with your content.
Sounds better, right? Yes, your blog (and website) is the equivalent of that - it can delight, educate, entertain, and/or inspire your ideal client in a way that only you and your brand can. Remember, you are not bothering or hassling your ideal client, you are there to help them as the expert and brilliant wholehearted human that you are.
2. Long-term, or ‘evergreen’ value 🌲 - A blog post tends to have a much longer lifespan than social media posts, which might only be 24 hours!
A blog post can potentially receive traffic for years to come. This means it won’t be forgotten and fade into the ether like a social media post but could still be relevant and even re-purposed in months or years to come.
Bonus: If the content becomes out-of-date, you can always go in and re-edit/re-publish it.
2nd Bonus: Don’t forget to re-share (aka re-purpose) older blog posts from time to time.
3rd Bonus: Use content FROM your blog posts FOR social media posts giving the all-important link back to your website. See, social media is useful but just in a different way.
3. Security problems and algorithm 🤯 changes - There’s a LOT of talk about social media at the moment.
I always tell my clients that when using a social media platform, you’re at the mercy of the next algorithm change. There is ALSO the worrying trend of security issues with social media accounts being deleted and not reinstated or accounts being hacked and all content lost!
Remember: you own your blog and its content!
4. SEO 👩💻 - Don’t miss the opportunity to include all that lovely search engine (SEO) friendly stuff that gets you found in a Google search. This would include things like relevant keywords, long tail keywords, backlinks as well as optimising your headers, subject line and description etc.
I know it can feel a bit nerdy 🤓 but paying attention to these ‘touches’ is SO important because it means that your page will be picked up (indexed) by search engines. On the other hand, social media posts have a short shelf life and are often not indexed (searchable) at all.
71% of bloggers agree that optimising for search engines is the best way to get more traffic.
5. Creative 🎨 Outlet - On some social media channels you have a restricted character count and image limit but with a blog post, this isn’t the case. This allows you to get creative on your chosen topic AND to express what needs to be expressed without holding back.
Bonus: Why not include an embedded video?
Your audience can interact with your content, and the whole experience feels way more intimate without the distraction of other accounts vying for their attention and only clicking away!
6. Analytics 📈 - A visitor to your site gives you the opportunity of understanding the metrics, like how long people stay on a page, or how quickly they leave it and other pages that they might decide to click on. In contrast, a social media post often only gives an ‘impression’ but not an accurate figure of engagement.
7. Audience Engagement 💕 - When a reader is clicking over to your blog (or hopefully returning!), there’s ALSO the possibility of engaging with other content like your newsletter, services or the product page. With social media, you may have people liking and commenting but still, the average engagement rate is only about 1% of everyone who viewed your post.
With a blog, interaction with your audience is also possible via comments. It’s an opportunity for them to ask you questions, give feedback and engage with you.
Oh, and don’t forget to add internal links within your blog posts so that more content is viewed on your website, thus giving you Google indexing brownie points.
Bonus 1: Depending on your particular website platform, add social sharing to your blog posts.
Bonus 2: Consider adding an option to subscribe to your newsletter (your most important asset) after your blog posts.
Of course, social media posts can also elicit comments, but your website makes for an uninterrupted conversation without the distraction of a zillion other accounts vying for attention.
Conclusion - here’s my encouragement for you:
Give your blog some love 💖.
If you rely on social media to get your business seen and it works for you, that’s brilliant - I’m happy for you!
BUT if you’re not receiving quality traffic to your website, the task is putting you under pressure, you feel bad about yourself, or you feel cornered into posting because it’s what you’ve always done or what you feel you ‘should’ be doing, I’d ask you if it’s worth your time and effort?
Are these activities bringing traffic to your website and converting to sales/enquiries/clients? If not, think about switching to blogging for control over your content, long-term accessibility and better SEO.
Finally, if you’re not sure 🤔 what you should write about, you need writing, SEO guidance, a new plan, or perhaps a fresh pair of eyes to look over your current blog and to chat through ‘all things’ blog strategy, click the button below and let’s schedule a 90-minute call and get the ball rolling.
Click below to fill out a form so we can schedule your call. I’ll be in touch.
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