Though they might sound like almost the same thing, there are key differences between blogging and microblogging. Let’s dive in and take a look at how to incorporate both formats into your content strategy and how the two can complement each other.
What Is Blogging?
Blogging takes its name from the original phrase ‘web log,’ referring to websites as online journals. This practice has evolved, and now almost all businesses have a ‘blog’ section on their website where experts share industry insights, business or personal news, and other updates relevant to the brand.
The biggest advantage of blogging is that you can own and have complete control over your content. This gives the bloggers the freedom to design the website however they like and host it at their own personalized domain name, for example, my.blog.
Blogs tend to be longer-format content, with more space to go into detail on your topic. They can also contribute to a website’s SEO performance.
What Is Microblogging?
Blogging can come in many forms of content creation, and one example of content that you may not typically think of as blogging is microblogging. Microblogging is a content form, you might have guessed, that is much shorter than a regular blog. Usually, it takes place on a dedicated platform such as Tumblr, a platform where users post short-form content, including links, quotes, GIFs, text, and other multimedia.
This allows users to express their thoughts and opinions quickly and concisely and update their feeds in real-time as they respond to news, other posters, and current topics. Some microbloggers update their feeds daily or even multiple times per hour.
The topics they discuss might be confined to their area of expertise, or they could be completely random as they respond to world events, share memes, or comment on their own daily lives.
Microblogging usually takes place on specific, dedicated platforms where users create a profile to share content.
What Is The Difference Between Blogging And Microblogging?
While the two practices are similar, these are the main differences between microblogging and blogging:
Character limits
Microblogs can be as short as the user wants them to be and are often limited to something between 250-1,000 characters. Blogs do not have a character limit.
Definitions
Blogs are written, designed, and often follow a specifically developed content or marketing strategy. Microblog posts can refer to any topic the user feels like commenting on and are not always focused on one specific industry or niche.
Ownership
Blogs can be launched and owned by a single user (or group of users), while microblogging takes place on a designated platform like Twitter or Tumblr. People running their own blogs can choose their own domain name and website policies, unlike microblogging sites, where users must adhere to the policies of the parent website.
Interactions
Though blogs can enable comments and gain followers, microblogs offer a more effective platform for gaining subscribers and interacting with followers and other users.
Timing
While there is no limit on how often you can blog or microblog, the time it takes to write and publish a blog means that most websites don’t publish more than a couple per week. Microblogs, on the other hand, can easily be updated however often the user chooses.
In Summary
So, are you ready to launch your blog and/or microblog? Now you know the difference, it should be easy to understand how each discipline can work for you. If you’re launching a blog to share news and information about your business or industry, be sure to launch a microblogging account too. There, you can share your blog and become part of a bigger conversation that will benefit your brand.