Social Media has taken over the world! Except if you’re my boyfriend, who has zero social media accounts and doesn’t even know how to work Facebook (opposites attract I suppose).
Whether you are catching up with family on Facebook, looking for outfit inspo on Instagram or looking for up to date news or a good old “debate” on Twitter, you’re always on some form of social media.
With trends changing more times than we wash our hair these days, it can be hard to keep up. This constant change and development in the social media world has created an abundance of opportunities for us all.
I remember when I was at primary school and I wanted to be a vet, then a nurse, an artist you know, the obvious jobs. These days kids are wanting to be data analysts or work in marketing.
With this type of job role that is easily done from a keyboard anywhere in the world, it can be easy to mistake them from sitting at home doing nothing.
The world is constantly changing and social media will only continue to grow, so why not take our piece of it?
So, when I tell people I am a blogger, the most common response I get is “what’s that?“. I’ve also found the most common misconception of what I do as a blogger is that people think I only do use Instagram.
That got me thinking, is there a difference between a blogger and an influencer?
What is a Blogger?
As a blogger, why don’t we start where I started? 6 years ago I discovered a blog when doing some research for a face cream I wanted. From there I continued to use blogs for everything! From makeup to restaurants you name it, there was something to be found.
The phenomena of the blog started around 1993. When admittedly the internet was a lot less saturated than today but there were still plenty of choices.
It wasn’t until after my friends were coming to me for advice and information on skin care products that I decided, To start with my own blog. And there you have it!
A blog is somewhere that you go for information, inspiration or a good old read of something relatable. Now this can be somebodies own blog like mine, for example, www.gemmaslittleworld.com
WordPress: an online blogging platform
WordPress defines a blog as “an abbreviated version of “weblog,” which is a term used to describe websites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog features diary-type commentary and links to articles on other websites, usually presented as a list of entries in reverse chronological order. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.”
Now, you can find bloggers who feel like writing for a hobby just as and when. But, Full-time blogging requires dedication and array of skills to tackle the never-ending demands of the role, demands such as deadlines for blog posts, constants retraining to keep up with changes to SEO, writing skills, multi-tasking, invoicing, understanding code, finances. I could go on but you are hopefully getting the point.
All of this behind the scenes work is only the start of it. Typically alongside a blog comes the management of social media channels and the constant trying to keep up and engage, but the rewards can be brilliant!
The value of the work of a blogger and the finished product is evergreen. It can boost search engine rankings for brands, build credibility and increase website traffic, to say the least.
So, when we write it all down like this, you can see it isn’t easy to become a full-time blogger with so much to do and so little time in the day. I take my hat off to those full-time bloggers making a living from it!
An Influencer
The clue here is in the name. An influencer is someone who is able to engage with their audience and has the power to affect their buying decision through one or more social media platforms.
Usually, an influencer has to have a large and engaged audience. Some PR companies focus on numbers whereas some focus on content.
Essentially it’s about the trust the audience has in that influencer in order to let them see their opinions or try something new.
While you intentionally start a Blog, being an influencer can often happen organically.
The influencer industry has blown up and is now a multi-billion industry. Brands are investing in these influencers who can directly tap into their audience and generate sales rather than using the traditional print marketing in magazines which cost twice as much.
So getting to what the benefit is to both the influencer and the brand. Money. Good old fashion money. It’s what drives the world.
Like I said before, the big wide web is becoming more saturated that and we have to work extra hard to be noticed. That is where my frustration lies.
You see, I, like other people am constantly learning, trying to adapt to changes, trying to pretend I’m a millennial who totally understands how to edit amazing videos and navigate her way around every new platform there is. But I’m not!
One of my pet peeves until now (keep reading to see why) was influencers being called bloggers, mainly by PR companies, but it really ground my peppers.
So I asked my followers
Some say that blog’s arnt what they used to be any more, some say they don’t even know the difference and some say they are the same thing. I mean, where do you even go from here.
The truth is there is no right or wrong answer, PR companies have an end goal in mind and don’t care WHO achieves that for them. Some people do read blogs and prefer content that doesn’t get old after 1 week. Some brands want that instant reach. There is room for us all on that internet!
I can report that, after writing this post and the conversations I have had with people around this topic, my peppers are no longer grinding.
I hope this has taught people in a very generic way the difference and helped open up this conversation that in a way we can help each other on our route to everlasting glory! Or something like that!
My final note and conclusion from this rambling of a post is:
A blogger can be both an influencer and blogger, but an Influencer cannot be both.
