Facebook vs. Blogging

What is the difference between Facebook and Blogging?  They are vast and very important and knowing the difference is key in terms of marketing. 

Blogs are like a keynote speech where the speaker (blogger) is in control of the discussion, but allows questions and comments from the audience.  Blogs are journals often authored by one individual, and sometimes teams. In the context of business communication, these are often used to talk with the marketplace and to join the conversation that existing external bloggers may be having.

Social Networks are like topic tables at a conference luncheon. Ever been to a conference where different lunch tables had big white signs inviting people to sit and join others of like interest? It’s like that. Social networks allow members to organize around a person’s relationships or interests, rather which just focused on topic. People that know each other (or want to meet each other) will connect by a variety of common interests. These are great tools to get people of like interest to connect to each other and share information.

It’s important to know the many different tools in your tool chest as every type of accessory fulfills a different need. Before you jump to tools, you should first understand who your community is, where they are, how they use social technologies, and most importantly, what they’re talking about.

As marketers, writers and business owners know, finding the right niche and angle to write a Facebook and blog post is tricky.  There are several aspects that should be considered when writing a Facebook marketing post:

• Will the post just be a link to your blog/website or will it be a unique post created just for Facebook? If it’s a unique post, then throw a really wide marketing net by talking about a wide range of topics
• If it is a link to your blog post, try to use an uploaded image of your blog. The image will be larger and more eye catching than the Facebook link image and we all know bigger pictures are easy to “read”
• Along with your blog link (and big image), write a short, creative post to entice your potential readers to click on your post, to get them to your website

Here are three things to keep in mind when writing a blog post:

• What is the purpose of the post? If it is to update your readers, then a quick informative post is needed. If it is to talk about an important topic, then a more in-depth post is appropriate.
• Link your blog to support your topic – you’ll lose readers (and possibly money) if you can’t bring credence to your post.
• Unlike a Facebook post, a blog may be conversational. It is definitely longer and more in depth than a Facebook post and if it is on your website, then you’ll have your readers’ right where you can get them to act on your blog post.

These may seem obvious differences, but it’s tempting to focus on just Facebook posts for online marketing but it is not the end-all of marketing.

Your blog post is what reaches all your customers, supporters and potential future members. Your blog post let’s your readers know that you are still there for them. Besides – believe it or not – not everyone is a member of Facebook.

You don’t have to log off of Facebook just to do some marketing writing, but you may want to give it some special thought as to what you will write about. Don’t forget about your blog post, as this is where you want your readers to be – near and dear to your organization. Treat Facebook and blog writing as apples and oranges – they’re both good for you, but the variety is what keeps it interesting.

Resources:

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/01/28/understanding-the-difference-between-forums-blogs-and-social-networks/

http://www.examiner.com/article/facebook-post-and-blog-post-writing-know-the-marketing-difference