It seems even more so lately that people are mad at Instagram and actually taking a stance and leaving the platform for other platforms like TikTok, focusing on their blogs or just disappearing from social media all together.
People have been annoyed with the platform and it’s algorithm changes that make it harder for your content to get seen, incredibly hard to grow and prioritizes the type of content they have no interest in creating.
I’d been feeling a strong pull to build a business that didn’t rely on my social media following, but up until last year, didn’t know exactly what I’d do. By the way, if you’re new here, I was previously a full-time blogger and content creator.
The previous 5 years had been focused on growing my IG account, somewhat unsuccessfully, and stepping out my role as an influencer, I was actually looking forward to using IG for fun again. I thought it’d be fun because I no longer had such a big stake in the game as when I relied on it for affiliate and partnership income.
But, I don’t know that it’s really become fun, I just simply don’t put much focus on it or get worked up when I inevitably lose another 1000 followers.
Either way, whether you use this platform for fun or for your business, I’ve heard both sides are equally as annoyed by it, but for the purpose of this post, I’m talking about business owners. Why it’s frustrating and what to do next.
Why People is Annoyed with Instagram
It’s Not Impacting their Business Enough
Is it just me or is this platform becoming more like FB where you feel the need to post, but you no longer expect it to have a massive impact on your business. Especially when your posts are only getting viewed by a fraction of your audience. When posting no longer is bringing in new sales, customers, email subscribers and your following is stagnant, it’s hard to stay motivated to use this platform for marketing efforts.
It’s Hard to Get Discovered
….without going viral! In the early days of IG, all you’d have to do was slap a few hashtags on your post and you’d easily gain new followers who were actually interested in what you had to share. Now, it’s much harder. It’s easier to “go viral” with reels, but not guaranteed. And, even if you do go viral, you’re not guaranteed to make more sales or get new customers or even a huge amount of new followers.
There’s No Strategy
With constant algorithm changes, it feels like the wild wild west! What worked one day, might tank the other day. There’s not always much rhyme or reason behind why one post goes viral and the next flops. It’s easy to get in your own head about the silly details like posting at the wrong time or wrong day. All this fear ends up making plenty of us (myself included) fearful to even post, so we don’t end up posting at all.
People Are Living in the Present
I truly believe that the pandemic changed us. After not seeing friends and family for literal years, the value placed on being in person with people is higher. And, I’m here for it! But, I do think that this has instinctively changed how we show up on social media and how we use it. I know I no longer document my life throughout the days and I’m much happier this way.
It’s Simply Not What it Used to Be
And, a lot of people miss that. It started as a photo sharing app, and now it prioritizes video. So, it’s an either adapt or die off approach. Plenty of content creators and business owners, are simply not interested in making videos! They just want to share their work, or post a picture of their family and have their friends see it. They’re friends and followers wish they were seeing it too.
What to Focus on Instead?
So, with Instagram going through the classic rise and fall of social media platforms, where do we focus our attention next?
I think most people would say Tik Tok, but as business owners, I think there’s a huge, missed opportunity for so many business owners to focus on generating their own content on their own platform—their website.
It might seem like a lot of work, but isn’t creating Reels multiple times a week also something you might not love, but feel is necessary for marketing your business?
As you guys probably know by now, I am fascinated by SEO and what I love is that Google is not going anywhere, search engines aren’t going anywhere, the internet is not going anywhere. When you need information, it’s the first place you look!
When you create content for your own platform, not only does it not disappear within a few hours or days, but it can actually continue to bring traffic (and new customers!) to your website for years to come.
This is exactly what I teach in my SEO course, Content that Converts, because I believe this is so incredibly important for every business owner!
And, if you’re thinking HELL NO I don’t want to be a blogger, don’t be. Just create a handful of awesome posts that represent your business well and drive in your ideal clients… on autopilot… for years to come. That’s the joy in creating your own content on your own platform.
As someone who was previously a full-time blogger/influencer, the shift this year has felt the biggest. So many creators and business owners have realized they don’t own their follower list on this platform. They’re frustrated and they’re focusing their efforts somewhere else.
I don’t know if it will ever go away all together, but it definitely seems to be trending the way of Facebook—annoying and no longer fun.
As business owners, I think it’s smart to always be thinking ahead for the security and growth of our business and on what assets we actually own and can control. Social media is a wonderful tool, but it should never be your only strategy.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below on social media and how it’s impacted your business recently. What other marketing strategies are you focused on?
BTW, how to easily start a mailing list & why it’s important, and 5 reasons why you need to create content to grow your small business.
