The world is changing so much from one day to the next, and so is the industry of Digital Content Creation. With social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok being the centre of this industry now, you might be thinking if it’s even worth it to start blogging. Is it even worth starting a blog at this point?
I'm here to tell you YES - it's not only a great time to start a blog in 2021, but it's also extremely important. blog has so many more aspects than you think it has. Here's 5 reasons why I think, in the age of social media, it's important to start a blog in 2021.
1. You Own Your Blog
The one thing that makes me nervous about crafting an entire online presence through social media apps is that you're 100% at the mercy of that app. You don't control or own anything. I always think about when Vine suddenly shut down. Or when the Instagram algorithm decides to start hiding your posts. It's both frustrating and dangerous to your online business to craft an entire brand through apps that you don't own.
A blog, on the other hand, you own. It's your own corner of the internet that's 100% yours and where you have control. Think of your blog as your home base. A place to house all of your thoughts and opinions, like your various social platforms, and a place where all your audience can engage with you even if you don’t keep up with the social media platform trends. Working on something that, no matter how can never be taken away from you, is the best thing you can do as a creator in 2021.
2. Your Content Can Be Evergreen
Here's what I mean by evergreen content - when a post you craft online can stay relevant and get views for weeks, months or even years to come
Evergreen content isn't as easy to create on social media. Take an Instagram post for example. You post, and it gets engagement. But after a few other posts, does it still give you the same amount of reach and engagement? No, it almost loses its potential to gain you more engagement. The algorithm on social media is tailored to your most recent posts - not anything that has been posted in the past. No matter how great content you post on social media, however nice captions you use, its engagement can only help you for a short period of time.
But on your blog, your content never loses its potential to gain you more engagement, rather that potential increases with time. Depending on if more and more people start taking interest in that topic than there used to be, it might just start getting more and more views! Tools like SEO and Pinterest can really help to keep your blog's content evergreen, and searchable for years to come. Some of my most viewed posts that still keep people visiting my blog to this day are from 2014!
Talking on the aspect of return of investment you get on the efforts you put in your content, a blog is far better than any social media platform. So, as years pass by, posts on your blog keep on increasing your audience, as long as they are relevant.
3. Access To Your Statistics Through Google Analytics
Let’s talk about analytics: it’s a process of collecting data, making patterns, and looking into that patterns. It is really helpful for seeing how your content is preforming, knowing who your audience is and what they're most interested in. Having access to analytics can greatly improve the sales and the engagement, in pretty much any industry.
Now that you know about analytics, think of how google can analyze all the data as it has so many users, and is the most widely used search engine all around the globe. Google Analytics is the best tool out there you can use to know your audience and understand them. With it you can have an idea of what kind of content your audience likes from you, you can have an idea of your demographic reach, and about many more of such useful data that will change your rankings and your reach. Having access to Google Analytics not only it helps you to improve your content, generate more engagements and also create that evergreen content on your blog.
4. Control Your Online Presence
Quick question, what is the first thing that you do when you meet someone or hear something interesting about someone? You probably Google them. I know it’s embarrassing to admit, but it shows how your presence online is really important.
Your blog can help to create, control and curate that online presence for you.If you're using your full name with your blog, it will likely be one of the first things that pops up in the search engine, which is awesome! Your blog shows your thoughts, your personality, your interests. So, it gives an idea about your talent to the audience, or anyone who's looking to find out a bit more about you. Having a blog is a great way to further capture the presence around your name online, as well as showing up as an authority figure in your respective creative field. If you want to be a content creator, a blog is a great place to showcase all your talents, your achievements, and your thoughts in one place. So, stand out, create your online presence, create your blog!
5. Elaborate On Your Thoughts
Can you really convey your thoughts and your message through just social media posts, or stories, or captions? I know for me, I'm able to further explain and elaborate on thoughts when I have the space to do-so. There always are chances of what you really wanted to say being misunderstood by the audience, and that can create chaos for you if you talk about sensitive topics. The biggest reason why I love having a blog is, I feel like I can really elaborate on exactly what I am thinking at that moment, what I want to say on a topic. Take the time to proofread it to see if that’s exactly how I meant to be coming across. Basically just crafting a bigger picture as opposed to just a caption or a story which is easily misconstrued.
Bonus -
This bonus reason is the one I hold closest to my heart, and it is that your blog acts as a time capsule for you. Those of you who keep a diary, or used to keep a diary at least, must agree with me. Your blog is not just a platform for you to gain engagement, it has sentimental values as well and it shows you how far you have come in your journey. I personally think there is no greater feeling than going through your journey and seeing how far you’ve made it. You can just open your blog, scroll through your previous posts, and see how your thoughts, your lifestyle, your personality has evolved in the past years.
What you think about all the reasons and if you have any to add to it? Have you started a blog yet? How fun your blogging journey has been so far? I love to hear your thoughts and opinion. Let me know!