With 2014 in our rear view mirror and 2015 stretching out ahead I thought it would be a good time to ask some well-connected local bloggers their vision of this maturing industry. I asked each blogger three questions:
What blogging changes did you see in 2014 that you hope will continue?
What did you dislike and hope not to see in 2015?
What are your predictions for 2015?
Listen to this post:
What did the bloggers say?
Rebecca Coleman @rebeccacoleman is a Social Media Marketing Consultant and Teacher, Blogger and Author and currently blogs at rebeccacoleman.ca, cookingbylaptop.com, and vancitybuzz.com.
I feel like bloggers are starting to get some respect, and I like that a lot. We are starting to be seen more and more as influencers.
Things I don’t like: snarkiness or general cruelty, bad spelling and grammar. Also, I understand why bloggers do this, but I really dislike the practice of publishing press releases on your blog.
My 2015 prediction is that we’ll continue to see more visual content on blogs.
It seems like people don’t have the time to read (or to write?) huge chunks of content any more, and a picture is worth a thousand words (if the popularity of Instagram and Pinterest are any indication).
Ricky Shetty @tokyoricky is the Executive Director at YVR Media Group who produces the educational events: YVRDads, YVR Foodies, YVR Bloggers and blogs at DaddyBlogger.com.
Bloggers started seeing themselves as a powerful media outlet more and more this year. Consequently, a lot of bloggers have learned how to charge for what they are worth for Sponsored Posts and Advertising. A lot more Bloggers started looking at their blogs as a legitimate business to make an income. One of my goals is to teach bloggers to think of themselves as CEOs of their blogs.
What I didn’t like is that a lot of companies want bloggers to review their products and services for free without paying them anything or giving them adequate compensation and benefits. I’d like to see companies pay bloggers similar to how they would pay for a TV, Radio, Newspaper, or Magazine Advertisement. I also see more and more corporations and businesses realizing the power of working with bloggers to reach their target market.
I believe the rules around sponsorships and advertising will get more clearly defined with a better defined industry standard.
Right now, there is a lot of grey when it comes to prices and costs for how bloggers can work with brands. I also think there will be more conferences bringing together bloggers and brands to learn from and connect with each other.
Bonnie Sainsbury @bsainsbury is a Digital Business Strategy and Marketing Advisor and the Founder of Social Media Smarter, and is on Forbes 2013 20 Top Women Social Media Power Influencers and 50 Top Social Media Power Influencers list. Bonnie co-hosts the podcast, Women Talking Tech.
Now, blogs are more integrated into the company’s overall marketing plan. Also, I like clean WordPress design that accommodates mobile devices.
I didn’t like how too many ads make blogs look cluttered. A simple design that conveys your message that your ideal reader can connect to quickly. Unrealistic expectations for how much money you can expect to make from your blog.
An integrated diverse content publishing strategy is going to be more important in 2015.
It has to take into account the growing importance of mobile and video to establish a person-to-person relationship with your ideal client.
Curtis McHale @curtismchale is the Owner and Creative Lead at SFNdesign and blogs at curtismchale.ca.
I feel like I saw more thought put into articles instead of random list articles pushing for ‘eyes’. Getting eyes on your site really doesn’t address the attention a user is paying to you at all. They just glanced through your list and didn’t really engage with the content. I hope to see more people writing thoughtful stuff and avoiding list articles.
Infographics, I don’t like them at all and hope I see less of them next year. Sure they look pretty and from what I’ve read they draw attention, but most often they feel like a way to avoid writing out the same content.
In 2015, I wonder if we’ll see people do more syndication to platforms like Medium from their WordPress site to try and increase their reach.
My two cents
As for me, I’m tired of reading snake oily promises of getting rich by blogging, especially by bloggers who got into the business ten years ago. Going forward, blogging influencers should be more honest with their audiences about the traffic you need to monetize, which takes a ton of work and time in an increasingly crowded blogosphere – no matter what you spend on blog training.
Also, in 2015, I hope to never see an image of sexual abuse on a business blog again.
It’s a new year in blogging
Given all the changes in the web, it will be interesting to see where the blogging industry goes in 2015.
What are your thoughts? What are blogging trends do you see coming? And what practices do you hope will be left in 2014? I’d love to know, so please comment below.
Happy new year!