There has been a rumour circulating for some time now; that blogging is dead.
This could not be further from the truth.
Blogs are everywhere, with over 150 million on the internet today. Ranging from tech to gardening through to learning languages, there has never been a better opportunity to secure revenue through blogging.
Blogs drive traffic to your website, ensuring your reader receives valuable information as well as being introduced to your company, services, or products.
However, this does not mean it is easy. Building a relationship with your audience is vital to boost your engagement rate and create a community of people who regularly read, share and enjoy your work. An engaged and enthusiastic audience will also help promote your products and services, reducing the amount of paid marketing that is necessary.
This is where microblogging begins to shine.
What is Microblogging?
Most businesses and blogs are already microblogging without even realising it.
Microblogging was coined in 2005 when popular social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook burst onto the scene. Many websites give elaborate, over-complicated descriptions of what microblogging actually is.
Put simply,
Microblogging is the process of creating short, concise ‘articles’ often accompanied by images or infographics. Microblogging is typically done to engage your audience.
Twitter, the founder of microblogging, is perfect for drumming up a conversation. Twitter limits character length at 280. Meaning, you have to convey your thoughts, opinions, ideas, and information in a way that is easily digestible for your readers.
LinkedIn users often produce articles which would be considered microblogs. While they will not contain as much information as a long-form article, they will give the reader a wealth of knowledge and drive them to where the author wants them to land.
Microblogs work well when accompanied by long-form articles and can be used to encourage attention around upcoming content. Additionally, they facilitate a discussion and conversation which allows your customers to feel closer to your company.
Microblogging Allows You to be Consistent
For effective content digital marketing, you need to be consistent. There will inevitably be times where you may not have the time, budget, or access to multiple long-form articles per week.
Microblogging allows you to put out valuable, informative content but in a fraction of the time.
This keeps your brand visible and helps you to beat social media algorithms.
Microblogging is Effective for Time-Sensitive Content
Your brand wants to be at the forefront of current affairs – and creating long-form content is not always achievable, or necessary. It allows your company to visibly show they are aware of trending topics without spending too much time or energy on each one.
Microblogging allows you to give your audience an insight into your personality without the need for a detailed article, particularly useful for small businesses or bloggers.
Microblogging Allows You to Test Your Ideas
Writing a long-form blog post, that is SEO optimised, and formatted perfectly takes time. Yes, blog posts can be extremely profitable, but those with low views will not lead to a strong return on your investment.
Microblogging allows you to see what topics your audience are interested in, and what draws in chatter from elsewhere. Tweets with no replies, mentions, or retweets show that this topic does not resonate with your audience.
A great, and relatively inexpensive way to conduct market research.
The Best Platform for Microblogging
You can microblog on pretty much any social media platform.
They each have advantages and disadvantages, and all work better in different niches.
Do not try to master them all. Spreading yourself too thin will mean your content is weak.
People will not comment; they will not be engaged. For example, Instagram works great for travel. Beautiful pictures grab your readers, and your captions will engage and convert them to your site if that is the goal. Pinterest is great for infographics.
Take your time to experiment with platforms, considering what works for your business and audience. Then put your energy into one or two platforms, where you can share regular, valuable content.
Should you blog, or microblog?
In short, you should be doing both.
Microblogging allows you to quickly catch your readers, maybe over their morning coffee or on the train home from work. Times they might not necessarily be sitting down to read a full post.
Microblogging helps build your reputation and lets your audience understand what your brand is all about.
Create Shareable Content
People do not post because of what it says about you; they post because of what it says about them.
Have you ever logged onto Instagram and seen that every person you follow is posting the same story? It is because they want to show they are in the know, they want to look great.
A viral micro-blog on Instagram must not only be saying something of value, but it must be aesthetic enough for others to re-share it.
Microblogging Allows Better Mobile Interaction
Microblogging allows for more significant mobile interaction.
Around half of all web searches are now done on mobile. Your readers may find it difficult to interact with long-form blogs on mobile, but enjoy accessing the content via social media.
Work with the Algorithms
If you or your business wants to gain traction through microblogging, then work with your chosen platforms. Features like ‘live’ videos on Instagram work wonders to boost your engagement, which breeds further comments, follows and eventually sales.
Leverage hashtags to your advantage. And most of all, be consistent. Whether consistent for you is posting daily, weekly, or monthly. Make a schedule and stick to it.
Final Thoughts on Microblogging
Blogging boils down to what you want to achieve from it.
If you are all about engagement, then microblogging on social media is fantastic. Readers love receiving bite-sized pieces of information and connecting with the writer immediately. It opens up conversations, questions, and allows your audience to interact with each other.
