
Andaman Sea, Phuket, Thailand
I wanted to update this post because pulling back from social media seems as important as ever to me these days.
Even though I appreciate sites like Twitter and Facebook as communication channels I intuitively know that building my blogs and blogs owned by my friends sits at the top of my blogging to-do list.
However, do what feels good to you. Listen to your intuition. Some bloggers deeply enjoy connecting with readers on social media. Other bloggers feel a strong intuitive pull to work sites like Twitter or Facebook.
I merely share my thoughts to help you be aware of the pros and cons of social media sites.
Social Media Pros
Pool of Readers
Social media gives you access to billions of human beings.
No other channels boast as large a user base.
Ease of Use
Social sites are easy to use.
Anyone can load an app and be up and running minutes later.
DMing, Messaging and overall engaging on social media sites is easy.
Social Media Cons
Turbulence
Social sites seem to become more chaotic by the week.
The reason: fear.
Social media site owners largely use fear to separate people, to create a combative environment and to profit through conflict. Look no further than the Twitter decision to post inflammatory news stories on the home page. Imagine if you had access to a little under 200 million people. Would you shovel that shit into their mouths?
Obviously, all fear-based environments eventually collapse under the weight of dissention, battle and utter chaos. Facebook and Twitter may not be on the way out particularly soon but their collective credibility, massive influence and monstrous user base have all dwindled over the prior few years.
Turbulent platforms are terrible foundations upon which to build the bulk of your blog marketing campaign.
Pay to Be Seen
Gaining even modest visibility in terms of targeted human beings demands you to invest money in a paid marketing campaign.
The time and energy investment in using free marketing methods to be seen has reached absurd levels.
Of course, investing money is blogging success is not specifically a downside but when you can use free marketing methods like guest blogging and genuinely blog commenting to make as powerful an impact as paid social media marketing, which also boosts your organic reach, using paid marketing through social seems like a disadvantage.
The Answer
Do you need to quit social media as a blogger?
No. But pull back significantly on your social media campaigns.
Pulling back from social media dramatically seems wise because of the shaky nature of each platform. Social media is an illusion. Use the illusion to befriend and help people. See social for what it is. But pull back on using Facebook and Twitter extensively because bloggers should spend most time blogging. Bloggers blog. Bloggers do not use social media for hours daily; that is the domain of social media experts.
By pulling back, I simply mean spending less and less time on Facebook and Twitter to spend more time on:
- blogging
- guest blogging
- genuine blog commenting
to build blogging real estate that you own and to build blogging real estate that your friends own.
Do not quit social media outright as a knee jerk reaction to turbulence, narratives and other social media stories unfolding from 2020 to 2021. People seem to dislike social for appearing to remove their freedom of speech. But billions of ways to speak and connect online and offline exist and social media still works as a platform for working your blogging niche.
Imagine being a blogging tips blogger. Even if Facebook or Twitter does not support your political views you’d be unwise to write off each network as a means of sharing blogging tips value, making blogging tips blogging buddies and driving traffic and profits through each platform. Perhaps you feel enraged that Twitter and Facebook ban users who share your political views but if you can grow your blogging tips traffic and profits just put your ego to the side and succeed blogging-wise through each platform.
Ego will be your biggest enemy in this venture. Ego feels hurt that social media site owners present a specific narrative. Guess what? Social media owners own their sites. Each owner has every right to share a specific narrative. If you disagree with political or news narratives on social media sites just use social media sites 100% for working your blogging niche. Talk politics and news on other social sites tailored toward your news and political views.
11 Fundamentals of Successful Blogging Audio Course
Do not quit social media sites like Facebook and Twitter because you disagree with the political views of Facebook and Twitter owners. Use Facebook and Twitter to help people and make friends through your blogging niche. Spread love on each platform. I use each platform to share blogging tips and mindset tips. Sharing both types of tips attracts people who crave blogging tips and mindset tips hungry folks. I simply grow my tribe by seeing social media as a meeting place for people intrigued by my blogging niche.
Do I mind what Jack and Mark think about anything? No. I allow site owners to do as they do and use their sites to connect with my blogging readership. Removing my emotions from the process allowed me to benefit from using Facebook and Twitter independent of political, news and government narratives associated with each site.
Step Out of Negativity
I stepped out of that world by stepping into the world where my readers live on social media sites. Never write off meeting places where readers congregate solely because owners who manage these meeting places share different life views than you. Every person you come across shares at least some different fundamental views than you. Dear friends of yours share different fundamental views than you yet you remain friends and still meet.
Frame social media in a similar fashion. Pull back from Facebook and Twitter turbulence a bit but never write these sites off all together if each vibes with you on some level and also provides your readers with a meeting space.
You can watch the video here:
Should You Quit Social Media as a Blogger?
eBook
I wrote an eBook to help you navigate turbulent social media waters.
Check it out here:
How to Stay Connected Online in a Volatile Social Media World eBook