Why I Prefer a Blog in the Age of Social Media

The entire concept of a blog is one that sounds outdated, as if the people maintaining an individual website where they upload subjective beliefs and opinions has run its course in today's age. After all, blogs did become popularized in the early 21st century and predate internet websites that are almost seen as intertwined with the concept of the internet itself, e.g. Facebook, YouTube. As social media across different platforms grows larger by the day, and as more companies rely on PR tactics when communicating with the public through these channels, the private, self-centralized blog does not garner the same attraction it once had. Take, for example, a local small restaurant and how they could capitalize on public communications. This company would likely take in more revenue by being clever and responding directly to its followers on Twitter than it would through using a private website that people would have to visit purely for the sake of that restaurant. Nonetheless, with all the PR and marketing advantages that are present through social media communications in today's age, I still find myself gravitating more toward the design, professionalism, and idiosyncrasies that can be found with a company blog. 

I suppose this is evident in and of itself by where I am choosing to write this. I am bringing you - the reader - this opinion editorial in a format that gives you the availability to click on my home page and scroll through all my articles, so in that way perhaps it is selfish for me to encourage blogging as a way to increase the popularity of my voice. But I ultimately think that there are numerous substantial reasons why blogs are not only better for the company or person in charge but for the consumers, as well. 

First, through the lens of the creator, a blog is beneficial because it gives them much less limitation as to how they communicate with their audience. There is no word limit, no reliance on algorithms to attract viewers, and the style of the blog itself can contribute to the environment and tone. Comparative to being active on social media - where a person or company might concern themselves too much with hoping on trending bandwagons and trying to appear as funny - a blog simply breathes more freedom for the readers, and there is almost a deeper sense of intimacy between this relationship.

Second, through the lens of the audience, visiting a blog can become more insightful than clicking on a page on Facebook or Twitter. Blogs provide further disclosure for the audience because there is an easier-to-access archive of the creator's history all within a limited space. Additionally, posts on social media too often are reliant on current events, and in time can become trivial for the reader to care about. This is unlike that of the blog post where the content, if strong enough, can stand purely on its own. 

Ultimately, the preference between these two mediums is in the eye of the beholder. There is certainly merit in gaining popularity through social media engagement and it makes for good reason why many companies and individuals have shifted to this field. However, blogs are undeniably the way to go in building a customer base and educating them on your services. This, too, could contribute a lot to sales and attraction since everything is in one place.