Why Bloggers Should Not Focus Solely On Instagram

Please don’t live and die by Instagram.

Let me start this over by explaining, Instagram is my fave platform and has been for nearly 5 years now. It started off as a place I could see other visual artists’ work and be inspired.

Then we bloggers started using the platform and made it a way to promote our sponsored posts, outfits, and work. No big deal right?

Right.

I don’t knock other people’s hustle. My goal is always to provide different perspectives and opinions because that is the beauty of differences. That’s how we grow. That’s how we evolve. Thanks how we become bad asses.

With the rise of Instagram and it’s previous instant gratification model, many people in the game have gravitated towards using it as their sole platform for their business. Those are the people I believe should be named: Influencers.

Then there are people like me whose bread and butter is their blog. Those are bloggers.

Bloggers still put a majority of their content on their blog. When they pitch to companies, the blog is the focus and social media platforms like Instagram are added promotional methods. Two bloggers who do this really well are Monroe Steele + Wardrobe Oxygen.

Bloggers want longevity and do not live and die by Instagram.

Because let’s be frank. Most of us are dying on Instagram right now any way with all their changes. This is the biggest reason I am putting far more back into my blog than my instagram feed. Trust me, a few months ago I was a live and die by Instagram kinda gal.

We also have influencers. Those are the people who live and die by Instagram and maybe one other social media platform. Influencers influence solely with sponsored posts and also organic posts on their social media platform of choice. Being that Instagram is effective, they stick to that. These are the ones who will post 2-3 times a day with lengthy captions and do not direct you anywhere. Why? Instagram is their digital space.

But is that a great long term strategy?

Not for me.

We have all seen the rise and fall of platforms. I mean hello and goodbye to Black Planet, MySpace, Tumblr, and heck SnapChat. Yes I wrote SnapChat. Cause really who under 22 really uses it like that since Instagram Stories was born.

Having an actual blog is a better way to ensure longevity. This is your brick and mortar space in the digital world. Your blog is your home. While posts on your feed start to push further down, a blog enables anyone to search for anything you have written and pull it up as long as you have used tags appropriately of course. And yes you can use hashtags on Instagram to do the same but what if someone uses your hashtag too? It just is not “yours”. And speaking of yours. If Instagram decides to close shop, would you have all your photos and captions?

I spend a lot of time asking my social media audience to check out my blog. That’s where the breadth of my content lies. You may love an outfit I post on Instagram but please know my best pic is usually on the blog. A lot of time is spent writing the blog content, adding links, editing multiple photos, making sure the SEO is correct, and more. That’s the work. That’s what I want you all to see.

But please don’t get me wrong. Instagram is an integral part of blogging. It is my top referrer.

Yes, I work hard for Instagram followers. One because brands put so much emphasis on your worth based on the number of followers you have and two, the higher number of followers on Instagram or other platforms, the bigger my reach and chance to have more people visiting my blog.

It all comes back to the blog.

So as the supportive audience you are, if you see that link in your fave instagrammers’ bio, click it. Help them keep their digital “brick and mortar” alive. Do not place all the value on their instagram. I know bloggers whose sites see nearly 100k pageviews a month who have under 10k followers. Those bloggers can get passed up for brand work even though they have a super loyal audience that will click and purchase.

Let’s all not live and die by Instagram.

Go ahead. Click on the blog sites of your fave people. See their whole picture and help them be successful!

On another note, I would truly appreciate the shares. Go ahead and pin some images on your Pinterest. Tweet out the link. Share it on Facebook 🙂 I’ve made it kinda easy with the share buttons.

Thank you for reading and looking forward to us all growing together!

Outfit Details

dress: Lilac Bijoux
shoes: old Jessica Simpson
Bag: Marshalls