What exactly is microblogging?

“The longer the article, the more audience you’ll get”
Almost every blogger considers that creating in-depth and long posts will drive more traffic to their website. In fact, this is actually proven, various trends show that readers are more likely to share and read the posts which are above 2000 words.

However today, with the rise of various social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, etc, the above perception is shifting and Microblogging is on the rise. This trend can be seen in a survey conducted by contently where a whopping 75% of the public preferred to read shorter posts below 1000 words.

What are microblogs?

Microblogs are a concise form of blogs, which allows users to share images, links, videos, text and many other short elements of their content online. Its a means of quickly conveying important news, updates, helpful tips and all kinds of content without having to create a traditional 600 word plus blog post. Research shows that people only tend to read 20% of the content they are shown, most people just scan a long piece of text to get the info they need so the ‘short and sweet’ approach of microblogging is a great way to go (especially if you mix it with compelling visuals) when trying to capture an audience.

Moreover, most of us are already microblogging daily without really realising it!

You may or may not be aware of it but whenever you share a meme, a quote, a video, or anything on various social media sites, it is considered as microblogging.

Benefits of microblogging

• More engagement – Microblogs can be a way to stay connected with your audience throughout the day. For instance, as an influencer, you can share your thoughts often via Instagram posts or tweets which will help you to have better engagement with your audience.
• Less effort – In contrast to long articles, micro posts can be created under a few minutes which allows you to share your content more frequently and maximize the benefits.
• More visibility – Microblogging sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc have extremely user-friendly mobile applications that can be used by everyone. So, you’re sure to have a huge audience base that assures optimum visibility.

Now, let’s dive deeper and find out which are some best microblogging sites with a broad daily user base.

Microblogging Platforms and Sites

Microblogging on Twitter

It’s the most popular microblogging site with a massive user base of 330 million. You can include text, links, photos, videos, and more in your tweets. Additionally, features like commenting, sharing, and retweeting make it more interactive.
However, note that Twitter allows a maximum of 280 characters on a single tweet.

Microblogging on Tumblr

Tumblr has more than 466 million blogs where you can create content including text, photos, links, MP3 files, Spotify tracks, and much more.  Moreover, you can follow, reblog, and comment on other people’s blogs which will appear in your dashboard.

Microblogging on Pinterest

Pinterest is a purely visual form of microblogging. You can create various boards according to specific themes and pin pictures to it. If your creation is really fresh and visually appealing, Pinterest can really up-level your marketing game.

Microblogging on Instagram

Instagram is a combination of visual and text-based microblogging because along with pictures or videos it allows users to upload a maximum of 2200 characters long captions.
You can upload shorter versions of your posts, include links, and couple them with great photos, this way you can drive the audience to your website as well.

Microblogging on Facebook

Admittedly, it is the most popular social media site in the world. With Facebook, you can create surveys, polls, buy and sell content, post stories, host watch parties, tag and interact with your friends via calls and video chats as well as share text and image-based posts.
Additionally, for a more focused promotion, you can assemble Facebook groups where you can create a good reader base for your blog by posting microblogs and connecting with members frequently.

Making Money from Microblogging

Can you make money from microblogging? YEP! You can make money from microblogging in some of the exact same ways as you’d monetise a traditional blog, things such as affiliate marketing work really well. You need to build up an audience on your chosen microblogging platform and then build a good rapport and reputation – if you pick a niche it’ll be easier to monetise as an expert in that ‘field’.

A good example of this would be Mrs Hinch. She has built her whole business around being an ‘influencer’ and microblogger in the cleaning niche – she makes a LOT of money from affiliate marketing when she shares her favourite buys from eBay or Amazon and she also does a lot of sponsorship work with brands because they want access to the audience she has built.

With the rise of social media, it is evident that microblogging can help you to grab the attention of the audience. I really hope that this post gave you a basic idea about the world of microblogging and some of the most popular platforms that you can use to level-up your microblogs.