Blogging & Social Media

I think it's reasonable to suggest that bloggers are maybe a little bit, just a teeny weeny bit, obsessed with social media.

Not only is is just perf to let us have a little nosey at the girl who we sat next to in year 10 science and her brother's girlfriend's best friend's dad, but many of us also rely on it to get traffic to our blog. Especially us newbies. (Well A Cup of T is 6 months old now!). Views don't just happen when you haven't established yourself as a blog worth visiting - so we turn to social media.

It's probably fair to assume that Twitter is the main social media for the majority of us, and for good reason - it is bloody great! You've got the amazing blogger retweets that can be such a help in the early days and my favourite thing about twitter - the "social-ness" of it (yeah, duh, I know, social media).

But there's just so much more interaction than you get with Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. Especially twitter chats (if you haven't experienced the chaotic joy that is a twitter chat do it ASAP). It's such a great way to make some new friends, find blogs and share your own while having, what is usually, an interesting discussion of some kind.

I clearly have very little negative to say about twitter. Apart from follow-unfollow-follow folk... I AM NOT GOING TO FOLLOW YOU OK?? I have recently decided to give Facebook blogger pages a go since becoming part of The Girl Gang. I love the Facebook page for the group - so much positivity and happiness and just awww.

So I joined the Blogging Network first.

And swiftly left.

ALL THE SPAM. SPAM SPAM SPAM. SPAM 4 SPAM? LIKE 4 LIKE? Are we 11 year olds on Bebo? Really? What is the good in thousands of likes on your blogs Facebook page if they are superficial swaps? What about wanting genuine interaction and growing a real following who actually enjoy your blog? Am I old fashioned?

I then, however, joined the UK Bloggers group which seemed much more regulated. and was full of REALLY knowledgeable, helpful bloggers. No more spamming the page with post after post, just a nice thread of "comment swaps". Or so I thought. I still think it's a great idea - you comment on the two posts above yours and the two who post after you subsequently comment on yours. How fair! And I LOVED the diversity in posts that I read as a result of it - so many new, wonderful blogs I wouldn't have encountered without Facebook. Some real new favourites!

But, of course, just because I read every post thouroughly, leave a thoughtful comment and maybe even read more and follow if I like it, doesn't mean everyone else does. I've had a "great post! xx" (which I'm pretty sure is against the thread rules) and even a comment that was irrelevant to the post or completely missed the point - as if they hadn't even bothered to read the title! So I'm unsure if I'll continue to use Facebook, I haven't had fun interaction or made new friends and it just feels... false. 

As for Instagram, that deserves a whole post of it's own. That's not something I personally use as a blogging platform to share posts etc, but I do love following my favourite bloggers on there and seeing some extra insights into their lives. When it comes to instagram, though, moreso than any other platforn, it's pretty important to take it all with a pinch of salt and not get sucked into the apparent perfection of everyone's life. (You just know behind that lush flatflay is 3 and a half pairs of socks, a chocolate wrapper and the rest of your floordrobe).

So, what's the point of this incredibly long rrambly post?

Don't get hung up on numbers - use social media (namely twitter) for what it was intended - to interact and have a chat. You can have thousands of followers or likes, but if no one is genuinely enjoying your blog of their own accord then what is the point? And finally - Instagram is a big fat lie, but a pretty, themed lie at that. So enjoy it, but be yourself.

Do you use any of these social media platforms for your blog? What are your thoughts?

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