Things get out of whack in the content world when you try to mesh different types. Blogging started in the early 2000s in the form that we know it today. People and businesses would create articles on their websites. They would publish in a feed format with the most recent posts listed first.
Then social media came along shortly after with a few of the same features. The feed was a big similarity. It was written. Some of it was answering questions or stating thoughts. But it was condensed. And a few things happening in the blogging world around 2010 were about combining blogging on your website with traits of social media.
Micro-blogging was a term. Short little blog posts on your website that could maybe even feed into social media.
But that quickly went away. Social media grew into a very large form of content entertainment and education. But blogging continued to grow as well. And they’ve kind of formed some important differences.
Social media posts are typically short. Content is usually meant to disappear. Fresh content is rewarded on most platforms.
Blog posts have remained much the same. The feed is still important and similar to social media. But search engines, like Google, give long lifespans to some blog posts. Especially those that are meant to be relevant for a long time.
Neither is right or wrong. In fact, both social media and blogging can be right at the same time. They’re just different.
Embrace Blogging For What It Is
I see some bloggers and business bloggers that try to make their blog posts like social media posts. It’s not entirely like that initial phase of micro-blogging. But it’s still focused on short posts or posts that are meant to be trendy and hitting on what is happening right now.
The most successful blogs, though, seem to be the ones that focus on the traditional blogging format. They focus on answering questions that blog readers are focused on for any particular industry. The posts are usually between 500-1,500 words. They usually have a basic structure of an intro, some body sections and a conclusion. They usually include an image or two. And perhaps more if the topic calls for it, like if you’re explaining how to change the oil in a car.
But blogging also isn’t like reading a book. There are longform articles. That’s kind of its own little niche. And it’s a good one. I like it. The articles are usually some kind of investigative form of journalism and reporting. It’s a big time investment to do that. And you can certainly create a longform blog. But it will be tricky because most blog readers aren’t expecting that. It’s like hearing a 10-minute song on the radio. It might be amazing, but most people are going to feel like, what’s going on I want my typical 3-minute song…
Final Thoughts
People spend a lot of time on social media. There is no doubt about that. The content can have value. But even though it’s a big time commitment to scroll on social media, it’s not typically a big commitment to read or consume an individual piece of content.
Reading a blog post is more of a commitment. You have to focus. No multitasking. You have to commit about 5 minutes to read through it. You may even have to go back and reread. You may skip back and forth. You may save the blog post for something you’re going to do in the future.
But reading a blog post also isn’t the same commitment as reading a book. Reading a book requires singular focus for several hours. It usually involves hours each day for a week or more.
Trying to turn a blog or a blog post into something it isn’t will be a struggle. You can do it, but the better way to do is to embrace the typical blogging structure. Embrace what people want.