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Even though we all deep down know the “Instagram influencer” life isn’t all it appears to be, somehow we still find ourselves (secretly) wanting it. Why? If it’s your goal to work for yourself, be creative, and do what you love, is an Instagram life really the best path to take? Most people that have Instagram for business/creative endeavors have a blog as well. So which one are you focusing on and why?
I haven’t been blogging seriously for very long so take my thoughts as what they are: thoughts. But I will say I needed to have a fresh perspective and be reminded of this. And maybe you do too.
So this is why I don’t think you should try to make a living off Instagram.
Why You Should Focus on Your Blog and Not Instagram
1. You don’t own Instagram, Instagram owns you
There’s been enough Instagram algorithm talk and how it’s ruining everyone’s life so I’m not going to dive too deep into that, but with the recent changes and everyone finding it harder to grow and get engagement got me thinking.
Why spend so much time of our lives on an app?
We don’t even own our Instagram account. They can shut down or decide to delete your account or switch up the algorithm all willy-nilly and we’re at the whim of whatever they decide to do. If you are self-hosted you OWN your blog (though some bloggers will go a step further and say the only thing you truly “own” is your email list). You’re in control of what happens. No algorithm is deciding your growth.
Blogging is hard. Instagram is hard. You don’t blow up overnight with any of them. Some bloggers I admire say they were doing this for 5 years before they saw any results. So switching your focus from Instagram to blogging does not mean instant success, but it will make more sense in the long run.
2. Your blog posts are constantly being found
Have you ever spent tons of time crafting the perfect picture to post on Instagram? You post it, you get tons of great feedback, and all seems right in the world. But then what? Then eventually it gets buried in your feed and buried in the hashtags and people probably won’t ever see it again.
Almost seems wasted, doesn’t it?
The great thing about blogging is that your posts can always be found and searched by Google. There’s no shelf life. What if something you wrote kinda flopped and didn’t take off like you would have hoped?
No worries. It could potentially still “take off” years later.
3. You can recycle content
Ever think about posting the same photo twice on Instagram? You just can’t do it. Especially with every growth tip screaming “amazing and new content all the time” from the rooftops. Sometimes it’s exhausting to always have to be creating new photos.
With blogging, you can recycle content. Now, this doesn’t mean you don’t put your best content out there for your readers and you just post the same thing over and over again. But one fabulous post can be used in many different ways.
Let’s say you wrote a post about blogging tips and it got great feedback and is consistently getting good traffic. Maybe next you could edit this post, add even more stellar tips, and send it out again. The goal isn’t to recycle bad traffic, but to continually bring those awesome posts back to life.
My old posts are still getting found. Now I’ve had a blog for a while, but haven’t done much with it. I’ve been very inconsistent. Just typing up posts here and there and sending them out to the wide, wide web. I haven’t even (until just recently) looked into all the depth of blogging such as SEO, promotion, analytics, and everything that makes my head hurt.
1 year and 1/2 ago I wrote this Ultimate Fall Fashion Outfit Guide, posted it on FB, sent it to a couple friends, and that was it. Nothing much happened to it.
Later on, I read somewhere that you should make images for your posts and pin them to Pinterest so other people can find them too. I decided to try that last fall and I was pretty surprised at the results of this last-minute thing I decided to do!
A year after I originally wrote the post I was able to drive 4.1k clicks to my website from that one post alone.
Even though it was a year later, they weren’t bad results for something I had already written and put a lot of work into. Now this shows me that people really love fall fashion so I can do more big outfit guides in the future, link them throughout the original, and create new cover images to send out. You can’t capitalize on content like this on Instagram.
4. You have more reach with a blog
The only people that will see your Instagram content are those that have Instagram. While that number is a hefty amount, there are still billions of people out there that don’t use Instagram.
If you are putting all your best into one photo on Instagram you are really missing out on sharing your content with the rest of the world. There are so many ways to do that which do not involve Instagram. Google, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc. Oh and apparently there’s this thing called StumbleUpon which I didn’t know existed (like I said, not an experienced blogger). I didn’t know this was a thing until I saw a spike in my traffic of almost 300 views coming from StumbleUpon in just a matter of hours.
Because I have these analytics I can research more into Stumbleupon and how I can use it to my advantage which brings me to my next point…
5. Instagram can only tell you so much
Full disclosure: I do not have an Instagram business account and don’t know if I’ll switch over, so what I’m writing now is what I’ve been told/read. As far as I know, Instagram for business does have analytics and can tell you the best time to post, the location of your followers, and other demographics. But I think it stops at that (correct me if I’m wrong).
Blogging stats can tell you all that and additionally what links are bringing people to your site, your most viewed posts, what people are viewing in a day, how people are finding you, and more.
I am the least techy person out there and stats/numbers definitely do not fire me up and frankly, don’t make sense to me. But even I’m able to take a glance at stats and see what posts people are viewing (this can tell me what to stop doing or dive deeper into), where people are finding me (this can show me what platforms to focus on), and where they’re coming from (this can show me that maybe I could tailor some fashion articles to specific places, like European fashion for example).
Did these 5 reasons get you thinking about why you shouldn’t try to make a living off of Instagram?
I’m not trying to convince anyone to give up Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc. Your choice. I myself just needed this new perspective and I hope it will help you too. I’m all for spending my time wisely and if I’m going to put a lot of work and time into something, I’d rather see long-term steady results instead of fleeting “instafame”.
If you’re like me and have been treating Instagram like #1 and your blog as the afterthought, let me know what changes you see in your mood, blog, and life. Maybe not everyone will admit it, but Instagram can be kinda soul-sucking at times. There isn’t any less of a hustle with blogging, but there is less time comparing and scrolling through one beautiful and exciting life after another.
Your head may explode from trying to understand tech terms beyond your capability and your eyes may start to bleed from staring at words for so long, but focusing on blogging can be a refreshing break that still allows you to create without having to spend so much time scrolling through other people’s lives.
So what do you do? Just give up social media? Well, if you want. But you’ll need these platforms to help you grow. The point of this post is to help you understand that Instagram shouldn’t be where you’re placing all your eggs. Your blog shouldn’t be an afterthought.
Use Instagram to point people to your blog, not the other way around.
Conclusion: I was typing up some oh so wise thoughts when I came across this excerpt from Blogging Means Business that I thought summed it up pretty well.
I like this raw perspective from you- someone who has “been there done that, wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
wow, pinterest is such a great tool and it’s neat that it shows you those stats!
It’s hard to be honest, but I always appreciate when people open up about some hidden truths!
So true girl!! This gave me some new found perspective
I’m happy that it did!
I would have to agree with this!! Instagram has been so up and down, no one ever really knows what is going on with it!
Kileen
cute & little
So true! It’s best to invest your time wisely!
Hi Carolyn! Lovely post, I can totally relate. I had an instagram account with 5K followers for my previous blog but I was so focused on getting likes that I lost perspective of what was my original goal. Who doesn’t enjoy when other people like or comment on our feeds – it’s a confirmation that we have touched someone with our post. But chasing approval shouldn’t be the focus. Personal satisfaction keeps us going when the things we share maybe don’t have the responses we’d like.
So true! It’s hard to not care about likes, followers, etc when being on Instagram, but Instagram can also be a great tool. Such a hard balance! But I love what you said that chasing approval shouldn’t be the focus! Thanks for sharing!
I love your first point about how you don’t own Instagram. Remember when Vine was a thing and when it shut down, all the Vine Stars had nowhere to go? I always try to remind myself that my blog is mine and my social media accounts are not. It’s better to invest more in what’s mine than what’s not. It’s like a home – why spend money refurnishing an apartment that you don’t own? Right?
Anyway, great post!
So so true! I like your analogy about the apartment/home. Thanks for sharing!
this is such a great reminder and you make a great point babe! it’s all about balance and i think it’s more important to just love what you do 🙂 thanks for sharing.
So true! Otherwise it’s not any fun anymore.
This post is so important!!! We need to focus on the things we own AKA our blogs! So glad you wrote about this topic- I couldn’t agree with you more!
Thanks so much Kimmie! I hope it helps others out there remember that Instagram isn’t the “end all”!
This was really refreshing and encouraging to read. I know we recently talked a little about our love/hate for social media on IG. This was a great reminder for me to refocus on what really matters. Love your honesty as always! <3
Thanks for saying that Christa! I’m glad it was able to help you refocus. I know I needed the reminder myself. Instagram can be such a hard balance to manage!
I totally agree what you think. Most “successful” instagramer caught the wave at an early time before all the algorithm. Now isn’t the best time and focusing on blog is always a good idea.
So true. Part of being a creative entrepreneur is being adaptable and just knowing when something is working or not and being willing to switch it up!
Wow this was so interesting! Thanks for taking the time to research and share this!
These are great tips and will definitely be sharing this. Thank you for sharing this to us. Great job!
Thanks for reading Helen!
We definitely focus too much on IG! Love this!
Thanks, Lacey!
This was definitely an interesting post to read! I agree that people are focusing way too much on IG when they should be focusing on growing through other platforms like Pinterest or their blog. We don’t know what will become of IG and it’s better not to throw all your eggs into one basket. Loved your post, girl! xo
So true, we never know what will happen with those apps. Thanks for reading!
I agree! There’s definitely more potential in a blog’s popularity than an instagram’s long term success. MySpace was big, and then it wasn’t but blogs have been around since forever
https://www.bunnybernice.com/single-post/2018/02/24/Wedding-Garters-are-they-needed-and-do-you-throw-yours
That is so true about MySpace! Thanks for reading.
Couldn’t agree more!! Love this post! I really need to utilize Pinterest more. Such great tips!
– Mary
http://www.MissMaryPowers.com
Thanks, Mary!
You shared so many great tips on not focusing solely on Instagram! It’s one thing I struggle with doing so well on there, but I have to devote even more time to my blog!
It’s hard to find a balance and time to do it all!
I totally get your standpoint on this! I listen to the Influencer Podcast by Julie Solomon and she’s always saying that Instagram could go away at any moment!
I haven’t heard of her, but that podcast sounds like something I need to listen to!
Loved reading your perspective! All of this is so true! I try to not rely on Instagram and focus more on my blog, bc I actually own it!
So true!