Why blogging is better than social media
How would you feel if one day the business you built up was taken away? With no notice? And no customer service to help you understand why or how to get it back.
If you’re on social media, whether it’s Facebook, instagram or Tik Tok, you probably follow some popular accounts like I do. My daily dose of “awww” comes from many of the pet accounts. You know, like henrythecoloradodog. This dog and cat duo have lived an incredibly adventurous life, going to places I have only dreamt about! And Lizzie.bear. The golden retriever I never met, but sobbed when I read her recent post sharing the news she had passed away. Oh my heart!
I also have other interests like home decor, travel, fashion and of course photography. I follow a wide variety of accounts saving posts for inspiration. Recently one of the instagram accounts I follow was deactivated. With no explanation. Over the last 5 years, this woman worked hard to build her brand, obtaining almost 300 hundred thousand followers! It had become a source of income for her and she was about to lose much of her paid partnerships because of this.
Devastating doesn’t even begin to explain how she feels. Watching her fight to find out why this happened and what she can do to get her account back showed what an amazing community she had built with her followers. People stepping up to spread word to help her build a new account, offering advice and sharing their stories on how they lost their accounts too. Some successfully got theirs back, others had to start all over again.
I started a pet sitting business back in 1993. Long before internet, email and Facebook. In so many ways, I think it was easier to market and grow a business then than it is today. While social media has more power with its ability to reach so many in just one post, it is also harder to target the audience that really matters, the people who will pay for whatever service or product you offer.
The downside to social media is that you don’t own your followers. We’re at the mercy of those who own these platforms. Who will see our posts, the algorithms they create, and the trends they help fuel. One day, in the blink of an eye, they can take it all away from us too.
Unlike your own email list. Or blog.
Blog sounds so…outdated, doesn’t it?? Yet, for marketing purposes, it’s probably a better use of your time than creating content for Tik Tok or Instagram. Same with email lists.
With a blog, you’re not limited to how much content to include. It can be as simple as a photo or as many words as you like. People can find your blog through a google search. Once a social media post has gone live, unless you’re willing to scroll dozens of subsequent posts, it likely won’t be seen again. Blogging is good for SEO too.
With email, the list is yours. As long as people sign up to hear from you, you’ll always show up in their inbox. While it’s up to you to create interesting content, your list can’t be taken away from you.
After seeing this instagram account that I love get closed down, it served as a harsh reminder that social media is not a guarantee.
While I enjoy posting and scrolling these social platforms and will continue to use them, I’ll be devoting more of my time to blogging and e-newsletters.
