Which One Would You Choose: Blog or Social Media? - Nia M Wardani | A Logbook of Life Discoveries

 

Hey, Bloggers! Be honest. If you had to choose between blogs and social media, which one would you choose? The debate about whether bloggers should leave their blogs and move to social media has been ongoing for several years.

Blogs used to be the hype. It marked the time when people started to have the freedom to share their opinions in the digital world. Bloggers earned so well from ads and sponsored posts that many people also wanted to start a blog. I have seen many bloggers from that day evolve to be popular media in their niche. Many of them have also expanded their reach to YouTube and social media.

Meanwhile, today, social media offers instant reach to the audience. The more audience you get, the more brands like you. A social media post is more likely to be viral than a blog post. Therefore, brands tend to offer more jobs for social media than for a blog. Many bloggers admit that their earnings through blogs have decreased over time. Since then, many argue that today is no longer the era of blogs, and blogger should turn their attention more to social media.

A Short Personal Note

I created my first blog during my first year of undergraduate study. I made it simply because I loved to tell stories through writing. It was not a very serious one, not at all professional. 

After I got married, my husband suggested that I continue to blog because there was an opportunity to earn from it through AdSense. I wrote about my teaching stories. But it was really hard learning to do it by myself. (That's why I suggest beginners find a coaching program.)

Then I found Coach Marita and Blogspedia Coaching. Both the course and the community helped me very much to the point where I want to do blogging as a profession.

But years have gone by. Five years, and I begin to lose. I rarely post anything to the blog. Thankfully, Coach Marita made me come back to the right path. 

Blogspedia Webinar (pic by Mr. Sugianto)

Friday, the 25th of July 2025, is a historic moment. Blogspedia held a webinar about "Can Social Media and Blogs Be Separated?" 

The webinar was actually intended to increase the participation of Instagram Walking for bloggers in Blogspedia. But in this webinar, Coach Marita sparked my inner fire to be consistent with blogging.

So, here I am, writing to you again. Please welcome me back, Readers. :)

Asking to Choose Between Blog and Social Media is the Wrong Question

Coach Marita started the webinar by asking, "To which platform do you post more often? Blog or social media? Or none of them?" Hmmm.. this question stuck me like lightning. When was the last time I posted on the blog? I checked: Two months ago! My apologies, Readers :( I wish I posted more often.

Why People Tend to Choose Social Media Over Blogs?

Posting on social media is indeed much easier compared to writing a blog post. Researching materials for a blog post can take some time, let alone writing it and publishing it. That's why we tend to choose posting on social media rather than on a blog.

Social media posts also receive instant reactions from the audience. You posted a picture with a caption on Instagram, and within seconds, people would click the like button or comment. This gives you a dopamine boost. 

Reaction on blogs can look very subtle. You see it in the Analytics, but most people reading your blog wouldn't comment. (So, Readers, please share your thoughts in the comments. I would really appreciate that. Thank you.)

Brands currently focus more on social media influencers than bloggers. So there are more jobs in social media than in blogs, for the reason I mentioned earlier. (But I have heard from senior bloggers, it is not that there is no job in blogging, but the way bloggers collaborate with brands changes. More on this in a separate post.)

Does this mean that we should now choose social media over blogs?

No, dear. They have different purposes. Here, let me elaborate.

The blog is "The House", Social Media is "The High Speed Car"

Coach Marita mentioned that our blogs are our digital houses. It is a place where we build our credibility. Just like other houses, we want it to be a long-term investment. So, don't expect instant virality. But the blog is the place to show our E-E-A-T: Experience - Expertise - Authoritativeness - Trustworthiness.

Meanwhile, social media is "the high-speed vehicle". I would personally think of it like a high-end car that travels fast, and the sound of the machine is blaring, waking up the neighborhood. It can reach a larger audience more quickly. It is a way to connect to your audience, listening to their concern in the comments and DMs.

So, what must be the right question?

Let's change the question into: Can we choose only one of them?

The answer is no.

Both blogs and social media should coexist. You cannot choose to leave one of them to get the maximum result. 

However, you can choose how to use each of them differently according to their purposes.

Illustration: the house is the blog, the car is the social media (this picture is generated with AI)

Strategic Use of Social Media for Bloggers

There are a lot of tips regarding the use of social media. But I am not going to share them in this article because this article is long enough. Please visit Branding Yourself in Social Media and Get Your Blog More Audience.

However, I can share with you, in general, on how to utilize social media for the benefit of your blog. 

1. Use social media as the entryway to your blog

Whenever you post on social media, ask your audience to check on a related article from your blog. Many social media platforms, such as Thread and Facebook, allow you to put a clickable link on a post. Meanwhile, sharing a link on Instagram is not so straightforward; you can use Instagram story or ask the audience to request a link via DM. Also, put your blog link in your bio.

2. Spread the word each time you have a new post

Don't keep the good news to yourself. Share on your social media that you have published a new post. Your faithful readers might have already waited for your latest post.

3. Use social media to tell people that you are a blogger

Well, I used to be shy when it was time to expose my blogs to the public. Isn't it scary not knowing who (especially someone who knows me personally in real life) has read my thoughts? 😆

But Coach Marita encouraged us to share it because more people would benefit from what we write. Isn't it something virtuous to do? Why don't we do it then?

The more people know that you are a blogger, there will also be more opportunities you will have. And social media is the right tool you can use for that purpose.

I can go on and on, but the article is going to be very lengthy. So let's stop here and continue this discussion on another article. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

To sum up, I would like to quote what Coach Marita has said, "Blog is a long breath, social media is a heartbeat. We need both to strive and develop in the digital era." See you in the next post.