Wednesday 17 February 2016

Blogging & Social Media

bloggers and social media

I think it's reasonable to suggest that bloggers are maybe a little bit, just a teeny weeny bit, obsessed with social media.

Not only is is just perf to let us have a little nosey at the girl who we sat next to in year 10 science and her brother's girlfriend's best friend's dad, but many of us also rely on it to get traffic to our blog. Especially us newbies. (Well A Cup of T is 6 months old now!). Views don't just happen when you haven't established yourself as a blog worth visiting - so we turn to social media.

It's probably fair to assume that Twitter is the main social media for the majority of us, and for good reason - it is bloody great! You've got the amazing blogger retweets that can be such a help in the early days and my favourite thing about twitter - the "social-ness" of it (yeah, duh, I know, social media).

But there's just so much more interaction than you get with Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. Especially twitter chats (if you haven't experienced the chaotic joy that is a twitter chat do it ASAP). It's such a great way to make some new friends, find blogs and share your own while having, what is usually, an interesting discussion of some kind.

I clearly have very little negative to say about twitter. Apart from follow-unfollow-follow folk... I AM NOT GOING TO FOLLOW YOU OK?? I have recently decided to give Facebook blogger pages a go since becoming part of The Girl Gang. I love the Facebook page for the group - so much positivity and happiness and just awww.

So I joined the Blogging Network first.
And swiftly left.
ALL THE SPAM. SPAM SPAM SPAM. SPAM 4 SPAM? LIKE 4 LIKE? Are we 11 year olds on Bebo? Really? What is the good in thousands of likes on your blogs Facebook page if they are superficial swaps? What about wanting genuine interaction and growing a real following who actually enjoy your blog? Am I old fashioned?

I then, however, joined the UK Bloggers group which seemed much more regulated. and was full of REALLY knowledgeable, helpful bloggers. No more spamming the page with post after post, just a nice thread of "comment swaps". Or so I thought. I still think it's a great idea - you comment on the two posts above yours and the two who post after you subsequently comment on yours. How fair! And I LOVED the diversity in posts that I read as a result of it - so many new, wonderful blogs I wouldn't have encountered without Facebook. Some real new favourites!

But, of course, just because I read every post thouroughly, leave a thoughtful comment and maybe even read more and follow if I like it, doesn't mean everyone else does. I've had a "great post! xx" (which I'm pretty sure is against the thread rules) and even a comment that was irrelevant to the post or completely missed the point - as if they hadn't even bothered to read the title! So I'm unsure if I'll continue to use Facebook, I haven't had fun interaction or made new friends and it just feels... false. 

As for Instagram, that deserves a whole post of it's own. That's not something I personally use as a blogging platform to share posts etc, but I do love following my favourite bloggers on there and seeing some extra insights into their lives. When it comes to instagram, though, moreso than any other platforn, it's pretty important to take it all with a pinch of salt and not get sucked into the apparent perfection of everyone's life. (You just know behind that lush flatflay is 3 and a half pairs of socks, a chocolate wrapper and the rest of your floordrobe).

So, what's the point of this incredibly long rrambly post?
Don't get hung up on numbers - use social media (namely twitter) for what it was intended - to interact and have a chat. You can have thousands of followers or likes, but if no one is genuinely enjoying your blog of their own accord then what is the point? And finally - Instagram is a big fat lie, but a pretty, themed lie at that. So enjoy it, but be yourself.

Do you use any of these social media platforms for your blog? What are your thoughts?

Follow
SHARE:

9 comments

  1. I mainly use instagram and just recently have gotten into twitter as I really want to meet new people new bloggers, find great new content and share mine, It is a tad overwhelming at first. I find it hard to get convos with ppl as they already appear to have online friends etc going. I love instagram because I can practise my photography and I'm a nosy sucker for a peek into other peoples lives, but I'm under no illusions that most if it is just that! X
    www.whatrosiewrote.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I adore Instagram, but mainly for my own enjoyment as oppose to for my blog! Like you I follow my favourite bloggers to see their photos and what they have got up to, and to post pictures of the things I love. And if it wasn't for blogger chats on Twitter I wouldn't have many blogger friends, I am super greatful to them! I love this post, your writing is so honest! X

    ReplyDelete
  3. I use all of these apart from Facebook. I can't put my stuff on Facebook out of fear of what people I know will think. It's so much easier to let strangers read your stuff. I find Pinterest quite hard to use as I don't get a lot of traffic but I also use Tumblr and Tumblr can be pretty good for traffic and, of course, reaching a different kind of audience. Great post.
    Shona x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with Instagram, it is my favourite out of all the social media platforms and I'm probably a little bit addicted, I find myself just scrolling through without even realising sometimes! xx
    jodiemelissa.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I totally agree that Twitter is a great place to be social but I find that people are pushing numbers now. A lot of tweets of 'help me reach x goal'. I also find that it is hard to make friends on there and build lasting conversations. Just joined Girlgang FB group so that looks good. That said, I love Twitter!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I mainly use Twitter for my social interaction more than anything else. I do post to Facebook, though I don't get a lot of interaction from that until I get to work, strangely. Instagram is still quite new to me I haven't got to grips with that just yet. I just enjoy blogging.

    thelongitudeoflife.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. This was a really good read.
    My blog is just barely a month old and I've made myself a social media account for every platform - Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and I've even started making up a Tumblr account.
    I agree with you. Twitter is definitely the best networking device. It's a lot more difficult to interact or even gain interest on the others. Instagram is a place for beautiful things, but there's never much interaction.
    Since starting my blog I've taken to Pinterest again. I used to have an account and I barely used it, but now that I'm blogging I'm on there a lot looking for content ideas, as well as helpful tips.

    Your blog is gorgeous by the way... #bloggoals :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just stick to twitter and even then I've only recently started promoting my blog in it. Although I wish I'd started sooner, it's made such an impact on my page views, haha. I hadn't thought about joining facebook groups, may give it a try! xx

    http://books-and-memories.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for this post! I'm new to twitter and have found it difficult to get into, but I'll give it another try now. Would be nice with some interaction with other bloggers that isn't simply "like4like"- spam, but actually getting to now one another. xx

    June | https://hellolipstick.com

    ReplyDelete

© A Cup of T. All rights reserved.
Blogger Designs by pipdig