7 reasons to grow your social media even if you don't have a million followers

Reason 1. Build a professional reputation

Only the lazy one did not mention the importance of personal brand this year. But it may seem that only freelancers who are constantly looking for clients need it. In fact, a good reputation comes in handy for anyone making a career. And social networks allow you to build it.

A personal brand will help when changing jobs: by looking at your blog, the new HR will be able to understand that you are deeply immersed in the field and select you from other candidates. And if you decide to open your own business, the brand will allow you to differentiate yourself from competitors and attract an audience that shares your values. In the end, a good reputation even helps to sell your services and goods at a higher price - it will be important for customers to purchase a product from you, because your charisma or approach to work responds to them.

A professional blog is not necessarily an encyclopedia of useful information. You can share something personal so that subscribers can see that there is a living person in front of them. Mentioning the ups and downs will inspire more confidence in readers than demonstrating "successful success."

Reason 2. Become a microinfluencer

Recently, brands have been turning Who are microinfluencers and why are they considered the future of marketing? / RBC for advertising not only to celebrities with millions of readers, but also to micro-influencers - bloggers who have from one thousand to one hundred thousand subscribers.

First, big bloggers don't always build an organic audience from interested people. Sometimes large numbers are artificially wound and consist of bots or blank pages. Second, well-known bloggers receive a lot of ad requests. When every third post leads to a "link in the description", the audience gets tired of commercial content and loses confidence in the recommendations. Finally, not every business needs a lot of reach. A city coffee shop or designer convenience store will get more leads from an ad campaign from a local blogger with 1,000 followers than a fashionable millionaire in the capital.

Some microinfluencers publish reviews for barter, not royalty. This is a pleasant opportunity to test the product and keep it for yourself, get a free croissant for coffee, be the first to go to the premiere of performances, take a taxi at a discount, and so on.

Reason 3. Find new clients

Real skills and experience of a specialist are much more important than a beautiful blog. But developed social networks are an opportunity to leave a good first impression with people who want to use your services. Just imagine: you are looking for a psychologist and two specialists were advised to you. The search engine found the social network of one of them: you read the publications and saw that it helps patients with your problems. The second has only a half-empty personal page with photographs from fishing. Most likely, the specialist who shares useful information will evoke more confidence.

You, too, can turn a blog into a portfolio of sorts - whether you're baking buns or getting your nails done. The illustrator will share his drawings, and the English teacher will share life hacks for learning a foreign language. People often look for specialists through social networks - by entering keywords like "florist Samara" or "Spanish online" in the search bar.

Reason 4. Develop skills

A blog is an opportunity to pump your creativity in practice. If you want to learn how to write texts, take photographs, edit videos, it will be most effective to hone your skills in business. Books and instructional videos alone will not be enough for a copywriter: you can memorize "Write, shorten", but not learn how to write. Theory will provide a basis and direction for development, and practice will help develop skills.

A blog opens up a wide field for experimentation - you can try different ways of presenting information, learn to make attractive illustrations and communicate your thoughts clearly. If you are planning to monetize your blog, you cannot do without knowledge of SMM and marketing. Plus, you can always ask readers for feedback and find out how engaging your content is.

Reason 5. Keep an online diary

Practical benefits are not all that can be learned from a blog. It can become a chronicle of your life and a digital diary with which you share interesting events and important observations. Plus, journaling teaches you how to express emotions better.Unveiling a reflective diary methodology for exploring the lived experiences of stress and coping / ScienceDirect.

Of course, you can write down your thoughts in a regular notebook and not show it to anyone. But the online diary also has the ability to set the desired privacy settings - for example, share publications only with loved ones. Then it will be possible not to retell friends and family about how you went on a trip, but simply write about it in the blog. In a couple of years, you will be pleased to re-read the notes and remember the pleasant moments.

Reason 6. Chat with interesting people

Gone are the days when you only became friends with people living nearby. With the help of social networks, you can find friends all over the world: communicate on interesting topics, practice foreign languages, create communities, interview.

When your content attracts people who share your point of view, you may make new acquaintances. And if they come to argue in the comments, you will be able to take a fresh look at familiar things and, possibly, broaden your view of the world. In any case, blogging helps to develop communication skills - to establish contact, maintain a conversation, diplomatically respond to comments and extinguish conflicts.

Reason 7. Switch from work to hobby

Work does not always allow you to fully realize yourself - this is normal. Your calling may not lie in the area that you do for a living. But a blog can become an outlet where you express yourself. This is a way to distract yourself from the routine by something that fascinates you. For example, being a banker and writing about handicrafts. Work as a taxi driver and blog about philosophy and books.

You can also blog about kids, travel, cooking, or sports. It is not necessary to limit yourself to one topic - lifestyle blogs are also interesting to audiences. Do not be afraid to experiment and write about what interests you - there will be readers for different stories.