So, it’s obviously not Friday. I decided to do this post and life just got a little nuts. I am determined to get these done so this is my weekly contribution to Fast Minute Friday. Want to join me in the weekly prompts? You can find the word of the week at this Five-Minute Friday Facebook page. The idea is that you interpret the one-word prompt how you choose and then write non-stop for five minutes. No editing. No making it pretty. Just writing.
This weeks word is: Reach
Reach is a funny word, if you think about it. I looked it up and confirmed that it both means (to some degree) the journey to get somewhere or something and also the word we use when we’ve arrived.
Example:
“I reach to get the remote control”- Your journey to get to the remote control but you haven’t gotten it yet.
“I reached my destination.” Your travel journey has ended.
Another way that the word reach seems to pervade my life lately is in the idea of social media reach. In other words, how many people can I influence or potentially influence with my words on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. It also means the reach I have on my blog, which is measured in pageviews. That tells marketers and myself how many pages people have come to visit on my blog in a given 30-day period.
Reach is a funny thing. It’s not something I’m used to caring about. I’m used to doing my thing and if people liked it, they read it. If they don’t, they don’t. When I worked in the news world, people were interested in the topic I was writing about. Or, in the case of budgets, they may not have been interested per se but what I wrote about affected their lives whether they realized it or not.
So what’s this about social media reach? It’s certainly a conundrum for me. I want more writing opportunities with my blog and that means I need to increase my reach. But at the same time, I love writing for writing’s sake and squirm at the idea of just getting people to my blog. Then again, the more people who read that’s more people who might be positively impacted by what they see here be it a faith-based message or a cool new recipe.
Yup, reach is a funny thing.
Reach has many meanings. Keep writing and doing what you enjoy. Trust that your message will “reach” those that were meant to hear it. Blessings.
Definitely liked your take on “reach”. I think of reaching for the stars. Reaching for your dreams and trying to achieve even more and yet always remembering to be grateful for what you already do have. 🙂