Is Blogging/Vlogging And Social Media Really a Numbers Game?
I have been blogging for four years and in that time I have seen many bloggers, vloggers and social media guru’s rise to meteoric stardom in their chosen field of online activity. With this their following has grown to quite honestly a huge number, while I have floated along with my meagre following in comparison, but it begs the question how important are numbers and when it comes to your following when you are working with brands does it affect the fee you charge?
I actually think I’m proof that it really doesn’t matter if you have 100k or 20k following in securing a good deal and getting a fair fee for your time. You may ask why.
Well the truth is simple. It’s all about interaction and sometimes it’s better to have 1,000 people following and say for argument sake 50% read your latest post than having 100k following but, only 100 people read your post.
Instagram is one platform that you can help with in relation to growth. Here is one way to get followers on Instagram.
I believe that PR’s and brands are now looking at influencers in more depth and realising that big numbers does not guarantee a good return all the time. Obviously it will on a number of occasions, but influencers or bloggers with a smaller following could easily get double the interaction and consequently be far better value for money in my humble opinion.
So over four years I have had what most would consider a slow growth in people following me, but this has not stopped me being approached by some of the biggest brands in the country, and receive very good fees for my time, but what is the secret to achieving this? Well I have an idea why and it has actually nothing to do with following.
Over the last three years I have been named in Vuelio’s dad and parent blogger lists. This is possibly considered the best top 10 lists around online. Through being on these lists I get a huge amount of clicks via my blog and the reason is simple. If you google the phrase parent or dad blogs in the search bar, both of these lists come up first, so if brands or PR’s are looking for parent bloggers to work with I’m always going to be in with a chance, simply because I’m there for all to see.
Therefore I actually don’t think numbers or a large following mean anything. Rightly or wrongly my opportunities have come from being named in lists of bloggers.
To balance the argument of course it’s important to realise that in a large amount of blogs following is important, and they have worked hard without a doubt to create a large following which will also ultimately help them in achieving work from blog because their viability is a lot greater than somebody like me.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Is a large following important to you or are you happy with a smaller following and possibly a greater interaction?
14 Comments
David and Donetta
November 5, 2018 at 7:16 am
I’d always put interaction before total following. Afterall, without interaction what is there? Interaction has always been my major driver in anything I do. I want to talk, listen and engage with people about anything and everything.
I think this world especially where money is involved will always be a numbers game. It’s great that PR’s are now looking into which numbers are actually important, I think that’s the change we need.
Engagement or following, it’s still all numbers, it’s focusing on which numbers matter more in the long game.
Great post mate.
Lewis brown
November 5, 2018 at 7:22 am
I believe that my blog is quite small in terms of followers and readers. It’s slowly growing because of some of the content I now write.
Whilst I haven’t been paid for work I have been gifted quite a lot of decent products. Products I a happy woth revieving as a gifted post only. I never started blogging to make money so I don’t chase it.
For me numbers don’t matter like you say. I think I have good engagement on my blog and certain social media and because of this I get emails all the time and not all the time I will accept what is being offered to me. (That’s a thing I’ve learnt is to not accept everything that comes my way)
Enda Sheppard
November 5, 2018 at 5:05 pm
I have no idea, as I have never done this commercially … I do like seeing my numbers rise, and I do check my “views”. If I get past 100 views, I am chuffed!!! #GlobalBlogging
Lisa Pomerantz
November 5, 2018 at 7:32 pm
Interaction, like eye contact, matter. Numbers, like scales, not so much. #globalblogging
Kate – The Mum Conundrum
November 6, 2018 at 10:39 am
It’s a tough one isn’t it?! It often feels like its about reaching the next arbitrary figure in terms of followers, but ultimately who cares, if no-one’s really reading and interacting with your work? Thanks for linking up with #ItsOK xx
Helen Copson
November 6, 2018 at 4:37 pm
I never know what the best thing to aim for is. What’s the point in having a huge social media following (which I don’t) if none of them are reading what you write. It’s annoying! #ItsOK
Emma
November 6, 2018 at 7:21 pm
This is a really interesting and thought provoking post. As a relatively new blogger(I did blog previously but stopped for a few years) I often wonder whether companies look at follower numbers or engagement and whether a blogger/vlogger with a smaller following stands any chance at paid work against a larger influencer, this has definitely made me think about things from a different perspective.
Daddy Poppins
November 7, 2018 at 12:53 am
Have to agree with you Nige. It’s all about interaction and engagement with your readers.
Surely it’s better for PRs to work with 3-4 small more engaging bloggers for the fee they’d pay for someone with a similar combined number of followers that don’t really interact. They’ll get more ‘bang for their buck’.
As for lists, being non U.K. I can’t apply for most of them but I’ve recently reached the finals of the 2 most respected parenting blogger competitions here in Ireland and I’ve found it’s opened doors and got people talking. (Having said that I also paid a lot of attention to seo in a niche Irish dad blogger market when moving to self hosted and feature very high on google for keys phrases).
Being able to be found by PRs is key.
Helen Copson
November 7, 2018 at 9:27 am
This is a tricky one, I want a good following, but I’ve definitely noticed a good following means sod all if nobody is ready my blog. I only have 4,000 followers on Instagram but none of them click through to my blog so it’s a bit pointless. We all need to get on a list like you! Thanks for joining in with the #ItsOK linky
Unmindfulmama
November 8, 2018 at 2:24 pm
Really interesting read as I am relatively new to blogging. I got into blogging mainly because I want to write and needed an outlet for my mummy grumbles, rather than for a commercial reward! But should my blogging take me on that path, you’ve made some interesting points to take into consideration. #itsok
Anne
November 8, 2018 at 4:14 pm
This is something that has always interested me. I used to wonder how on earth people could get such huge followings, especially in such a short time. But as the years have gone by I’m quite happily plodding along with a slow increase. I get work, but I’m also limited in the amount of work I can do so I have to turn some away. I do get sad when a brand I would really love to work with and I know my readers (who actually read my blog) would be interested it, decides to go with someone with 10 times more followers than me. But that’s life! Well done on getting on the Vuelio lists.
(I have had some fantastic collaborations in the past though, I’m really not complaining.)
#itsOK
Crummy Mummy
November 9, 2018 at 10:17 am
Totally agree it’s about engagement – 1,000 engaged readers are far more valuable than 10,000 disengaged ones #itsok
Musings of a tired mummy…zzz…
November 10, 2018 at 10:25 pm
The advice keeps changing! When I started DA was everything, then it changed to followers and now engagement. I think a happy medium is a combination. Most of all, blogging should be FUN! Thanks for lining up with #globalblogging
Dave Pearson
November 23, 2018 at 10:20 am
When I decided to really go for it with my blog I did it for myself alone. I’d had a blog, in one way or another, for many years so with theyorkshiredad.com I merged all the historical posts from all my other stuff into one place and began to organise it. Over 1500 posts in total! I still wasn’t concerned with numbers. But, through Instagram, and a bit of hustling, I’ve brought in a number of gifted experiences that as a family we’ve enjoyed. I’ve just been sent my first product review, and I make enough to cover hosting costs from paid/supplied content. I never set out to make it a business, and although I keep an eye on the numbers I don’t stress about it. Engagement is key.