We all know it’s going to happen, but everyone is always wondering “when?” Facebook has been around for nearly a decade and many users have found it to be a great way to get new business, meet people with similar interests through group pages and much much more. Facebook has given many opportunities, but it has also taken away many. With distraction of the infinite social feed to stare at for hours, we could have been doing something else valuable with our time.
One of those things is blogging.
As great as it was to build up a following on Facebook, sadly, all that effort you put into their pages day in and day out will soon decay. How soon? Well I am glad you asked….
A recent study done at Princeton University based on the rise and fall of Myspace and trending ideas shows that the probability of the death of Facebook is over the next two years. By December of 2014, Facebook is expected to shrink by 20%. So think of it this way. By the end of this year, 20% of your followers or fans will no longer be around. What is the point of investing time into a declining platform?
The study stated:
“Ideas, like diseases, have been shown to spread infectiously between people before eventually dying out, and have been successfully described with epidemiological models,”
“Having validated the irSIR model of OSN dynamics on Google data for search query Myspace, we then
applied the model to the Google data for search query Facebook. Extrapolating the best fit model into
the future suggests that Facebook will undergo a rapid decline in the coming years, losing 80% of its peak
user base between 2015 and 2017.”
Image was taken from case study, which can be found here.
It is safe to say that whether or not this prediction is accurate, we all know it won’t last forever. Facebook pages will no longer be a wise investment and honestly, if you have had a FB page, why haven’t you taken advantage of having a blog or website too? Traffic from FB to your blog helps you retain those FB users even after FB is gone because they probably will still want to keep in touch. Your blog will be their best chance and odds are the ones that really care about you will follow you with passion and that’s why I love blogs.
So now that you have a good idea of when Facebook will be declining, now is an a perfect time to start a blog or website and really retain the followers you have from Facebook before the great decline.
Why should I blog?
1. Blogging is great for you on a personal level. – blogging is like completing a task, but honestly it never feels like a task to me. I mean seriously, I was inspired to write this post to help folks get out of Facebook before it collapses. The data prediction is a good projection. It’s better to start a blog today than tomorrow. I love the idea that I am accomplishing something and able to share it with the world. That’s a cool feeling. Blogging does that for you. Blogging has created incredible new friendships and opportunities for me on so many levels too. I have been able to capture my daily life thanks to blogging too.
2. Blogging is great for your business. – With every single post you are publishing, you are building up your local SEO, according to great experts, local search engine optimization service is a great way to generate traffic to your website. Writing about your business and your experiences sharpens your wisdom and connects you to your customers on a whole new level. The idea that they can comment and share amazing content that drives direct traffic to your site, where business can be conducted, for free is awesome. Blogs create free advertising when you community loves to share your posts. You can even build up email newsletters using Mailchimp and other services. To learn more about how blogs are great for business, head here.
3. Blogging is easier now more than ever. – There are so many great platforms, services, websites and companies out there to help you get started. Cool thing is, it’s only going to get better from here. One reason is here and the other reason is here.
4. Blogging is great for your career. – Blogging is great for your thought process and your writing skills. Being consistent with writing creates healthy consistent habits and if you write about topics that are interesting to you and are within your line of work, you can easily become a knowledgable resource for others online. Not only that, you open up many doors for opportunity when others see the skills and wisdom you have. Your blog becomes a real time portfolio and resume for yourself. That happens without you even thinking about it. I have been given many great opportunities through blogging for myself and others including freelance work as well as becoming a leader of a fantastic community.
5. It’s Free or Inexpensive. – Plain and simple.
How can I get started?
It honestly doesn’t matter what platform you use to start blogging, as long as you have ownership of the domain, it’s a good place to start. If you are serious about your business, whether you are a photographer, baker, or any small business owner, having a blog and a website that you host yourself will be huge. The investment is pretty small and is easily tax deductible in your cost to run your business.
I think the coolest thing about setting up a blog you can pretty much make it look like a website, but have a blogging function as the core. The more you blog, the better chance that folks will find your site, stay on your site and love everything about you.
So you are probably thinking…. “Where do I begin? Is it going to be difficult?”
It will be easy. I promise.
First let’s talk about platforms you could use and what you are thinking about doing then you can decide your best route is.
Different blogging platforms.
WordPress – I love WordPress and it’s what I use. You are reading my this on my self hosted WordPress blog that I completely own. f you just want to test the waters and not spend any money you can head here. If you want to have a custom website name and have full control of your site like I do, head here.
If you are thinking of being able to blog right from your iPhone I would highly suggest using WordPress. There is a fantastic app called Pressgram that can make photo blogging super easy for you I would suggest heading here for an easy walkthrough guide on getting set up with WordPress.
Blogger – This is google’s blogging platform. I have used it in the past, back in 2010, but I just didn’t like it too much. It all comes down to personal preference. It still is a great tool for you to use. You can head here to learn more about it.
Squarespace – I don’t have any experience with this platform, but it looks like its simple to use and has beautiful themes to choose from. If you don’t want to have to think too much about design, but want a beautiful website, Squarespace is pretty darn cool. You can find out more about it here.
My Favorite Blogs.
These are some great examples of blogs that I follow each week.
Signalnoise – Artist
Rober J Hill – Photographer
John Saddington – Entrepreneur
Drift Journal – Craftsman Spotlight Publication
DSLR Video Shooter – DSLR Video Tutorials
Dustn.tv – Social Media Guru
Final Thoughts.
I could really dive into even more details for you on getting started with blogging, but I feel this is a great starting point for anyone. All of my talking points and links I provided should give you great knowledge into the blogging ecosystem. There are many other blogging platforms out there to use, but these are the three I would recommend to just about anyone because of the flexibility they have. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask me. I will do my best to help you in any way I can.
Notes: For more information on the study by Princeton University, head here.
The evidence keeps stacking up to stop investing in Facebook as 2014 progresses.
February 1, 2014 Update:
1. For more info and some awesome facts on why investing time and energy into Facebook is a waste, check out this video here.
2. Fantastic article on the psychology behind the death of facebook here:
Why Social Networks Like Facebook Fail | World of Psychology
March 10th, 2014 Update:
1. “Research published today by Social@Ogilvy shows the downward trend of organic reach on Facebook that a post published on a brand page can expect. From 16% of followers of a brand page being shown a piece of content in 2012, the percentage of organic reach has dropped to roughly 6% in February 2014 for an average page, and just 2% for large pages with more than 500,000 likes.”
Quote taken from this article here.
April 8th 2014 Update:
1. Facebook’s Declining Organic Reach is a ‘Real Nightmare’ for Marketers.
Quote from the article: “Right now we’re very mad at Facebook,” Dave Martin, Ignited’s senior vice president of media, said earlier this week at the Mobile Media Summit. “The reason we’re so mad at Facebook is because Facebook won’t allow us to share content with our followers and fans as we could a week ago.”
2. This Chart Explains the Reachpocalypse and Why Facebook is Laughing All the Way to the Bank.
Quote from the article: “Facebook organic reach for business pages is plummeting, and will drop even further because Facebook is a public company that has fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders to maximize returns.”
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This is great Jacob, I am going to share it on my Facebook page :)
Awesome! Thanks! haha.
sheesh, this is so comprehensive.
;)
This is excellent and timely. I am on a mission since last year to get more of my colleagues blogging. Thanks!
Thank you! Blogging is a big deal. It can really give you new perspectives on you, your profession and things you are passionate about.
excellent scribbles jacob. a huge wealth of info.
:)
Wow! This is a beast! Thanks for the mention!
Thanks! You bet! Love your blog and your passion for G+. Definitely investing time there this year and beyond.
I’m noticing Facebook is a lot quieter already, not so much on my blog fan page, but on my personal page, people are disappearing. Have I really got to get used to G+??
I have been weary of G+ for a while, but folks like @DustinWStout:disqus are really starting to show me the opportunities there with his extensive knowledge and personal brand he has built there. It’s worth putting the time in. At least I think so. I have seen higher quality conversations on G+ as compared to Facebook. Just like anything new, you have to put the time and effort in. Nothing great in life should be just be handed to you. Some of us just get luckier than others. I also find Twitter to be a great place to be as well.