The arrival of the internet and its ever growing popularity among us has no doubt given birth to its next of kin, the blogosphere. This opening of sorts has inherited the same popularity and accessibility of its cousin, judging from the diversity of blogs we see (and follow) on the internet today. Social media analysts place the number of bloggers worldwide at a whopping 152 million, each catering to specific audiences and their own avid subscribers and steady visitors.
This figure is by no means a measly number and it even grows by the day-one new blog every half a second or 172,800 blogs created daily to be precise.
We are definitely in the digital era, a time and space continuum where knowledge is indeed power. Everyone who has access to the internet can also virtually get their hands full with knowledge generated and shared by bloggers.
Blogging, as we know it, bridges the gap between the human being’s insatiable desire for information and the rate at which that information is supplied through all other means, including formal institutions of knowledge and other mass media. In the amazing world of blogs, we simply have the power to claim knowledge and share it with anyone who cares.
The rise in social media usage has also influenced the growth in access to information and knowledge generation as people create, share and discuss information and ideas in virtual networks and communities. Rather than killing blogs, as some pundits have erroneously predicted, social media has even propped up the popularity of blogs and the means by which they reach out to wider audiences.
While Twitter feeds and Facebook status updates are short and sweet, blog posts are more thorough and informative. When blogs use the power of social media, the possibilities of reaching out to a wider audience is almost limitless.
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Competing For Subscribers
Our current social media and blogging realities, however, has put a vital question at the center of our discourse: With the immense diversity of blogs available at each and everyone’s fingertips, how could bloggers compete for loyal subscribers and target audiences?
Sharing is caring they say, that’s why bloggers also care about building their own dedicated audience base and welcome a steady stream of new subscribers. Knowledge sharing is simply impossible if your spanking new blog post does not even reach the consciousness of those who populate the internet and social media communities.
Engaging A Blogging Audience With Webinars
A new kid on the block could help bloggers reach their goal of reaching out to wider audiences, and that new kid goes by the name of webinars.
But one may ask: Blogging is for writers and seminars are for public speakers. True? Well, not anymore.
The core value in both worlds is information sharing, and it is only fitting for bloggers to try their hand at using webinars to interact directly with their target audience.
A Personal Voice
When a blogger’s ideas and information are presented live and through an interactive platform such as a webinar, the audience can ask questions, clarify ideas and create more understanding on areas that they find most interesting.
Sure, the comments section at the end of your blog post can to a certain extent provide that kind of interaction, but nothing could be next to the real thing than personal conversations done instantaneously through webinars.
Webinars make personal interactions between bloggers and their audience possible. Direct interaction also provides room for building the blogger’s credibility and approachability, which in turn directs loyalty and a sense of community among the blogger’s audiences.
Dynamic Exchanges
Webinars also create a sense that something is happening around the information and ideas that bloggers are about to share. The key is building anticipation, because anticipation builds traffic and awareness around your blog.
People are always attracted to something live and runs for just a limited time, and announcing an upcoming webinar will do just that kind of anticipation. Being able to create this sense of event also enables bloggers an opportunity for list building and to entice audiences to subscribe to feeds and announcements that will keep them informed.
The Opportunity To Go Viral
When people share that they are planning to attend your webinar, viral impact also builds up, which in turn directs other people to your webinar and your blog. Using social media platforms, announcements for an upcoming webinar or a recorded webinar could be easily shared by a blog’s subscribers to online communities and expanded audiences.
Through webinars, blogs are able to create viral content, which is an extremely important means to reach out to new audience groups and new content subscribers. In today’s world of social media, viral is the buzzword and webinars could actually help your blog go viral.
Bottom Line
Social media’s dictum ‘Sharing is caring’ keeps the popularity of internet based social interaction afloat. And with good reason, blogs could learn from this social media maxim by utilizing webinars as a space to grow their audiences and subscribers.
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