The Future of Blogging

Ah, Blogging…

There is a whole debate going on about the blogging world right now. Across all platforms of social media, we’ve been discussing it. Many of my favourite marketing podcasts are in heated discussions about blogging and influencers. And every day at work, I get some form of article/ report in my inbox discussing the future of influencer marketing.

Is there any point in writing posts? Where should we focus our energy, time and money?

What’s happening with it right now and where it’s heading? Now, I don’t hold all of the answers, but I have some idea of what’s going on with it right now…

What Is Happening with Blogging & Influencers?

So, what on earth is going on with blogging and influencers right now? Quite simply, there’s been a shift in platform. Instagram has boomed over the last few months. People want their content quick and visual and Instagram provides that. Because of this, there has been a massive surge of sponsored/ paid advertisement towards this platform and blogging seem to have fallen to the side. This is not exactly new news to anyone.

So is this the end of blogging? Personally and professionally no. Professionally as a Digital Marketing Exec, there’s still something for a brand to gain in doing a  combined collaboration. The best type is in the form of a blog post and social media. For one there is DA, but as a wise peacock once said to me, DA only matter to those who believe it matters. And I agree with her. I have a DA of 23 that’s not budged for four months, no matter how much I do to improve it. However, all my traffic mainly comes from organic search.

Influencer marketing for a brand is all about awareness. It’s top-funnel marketing for getting customers to convert. As with anything, if your favourite blogger is saying this lipstick is amazing, studies have shown you are more likely going to go and purchase it than regular mainstream media. A blog post, done correctly, can be evergreen content. With the right SEO and subject matter, a post can provide traffic to a brand’s site for many months to come.

Personally, I’ll never stop blogging and I always encourage when working with brands on collaborations to do both a post and social. Not only is it evergreen content for the brand but the reward comes back to me. More so, with my organic content. Another big thing for me is, the content on the website is mine. The words, the photos are all mine. And whilst your photos on Facebook and Instagram belong to you, they also belong to the social media platform. They wanted to, they could use your content in any way they wanted to and you don’t have any say.

Public Opinion

For a long time, influencers have somewhat of a bad rep. Detestable freeloaders anyone? So do I think this will change for the better in the future? Personally, no. And the only reason why I say that is because, with people like this, you’ll never change their mind on it. Those who do not like influencers will never like influencers. I mean, how many times have you had the conversation with your Grandparents on what blogging is? And with these haters, they are always going to have the loudest voices and attract the most attention. So generally, on the news and out in the world, you’re only going to hear the negatives about blogging.

However, don’t let this discourage you that it’s all doom and gloom. As I’ve already mentioned, studies have shown customers are more likely to buy something recommended by someone they trust- aka influencers and bloggers. I feel the general consensus is that bloggers are okay, as long as they are open and honest. And I believe that opaqueness is going to be huge in 2019. I know I’m going to be doing a full review to ensure I’m disclosing everything clearly for all you lovely readers for you to see.

What Does This Mean for the Future?

For the foreseeable future, Instagram is reigning supreme for content uploading. And whilst it is disheartening to not see as many readers and comments coming through to the blog, I’m not going to stop blogging. I will, of course, continue to work on my Instagram feed but this is mainly for me. I do think there’s change on the horizon. And I don’t mean algorithm change.

For all this time, Instagram has allowed paid collaborations to happen on their platform, and not gain anything from the money that is being exchanged. I think Instagram is soon going to be finding a way to have a piece of the pie. Essentially, if you do a paid collaboration post, Instagram is going to find a way to take a percentage of what you’re being paid.

Again, this is all just theory and based on information I’ve read on the internet. But I feel it in my gut that a change is coming. What I do know is that marketing is getting savvy with how they decide on the influencers that they use. It’s no longer all just about your following, your engagement is now the biggest pinpoint that everyone is looking at. Technology also allows us Marketing Execs to have an indication of if influencers have paid for followers, are part of pods, even who’s follow- unfollowing. In conclusion, if you’ve been taking part in these tactics, now is the time to decide. Do you continue with the behaviour or do you clean up your act?

In conclusion, I believe that whilst you should continue with uploading content to Instagram, do not forget about your blog. You don’t want to end up in a possition when the change eventually happens, to be back to square one with your influence. I still believe that your corner of your internet is worth investing in and keeping up with regular uploading.

What Do You Think the Future of Blogging Is?