Have you ever felt annoyed with the Instagram Algorithm? Or that no one is seeing your content? We have literally all been there, exclaiming how unfair social media is and frustrated that we are putting in the work and energy to create engaging content with less growth and engagement than we want.

I know, I know. I am in that exact same boat. There are many rumors about the algorithm and hacks to grow your following which borders on scammy, which is why I felt it was finally time to write a post about the mess of social media.

First and foremost, your Instagram feed, Facebook profile, and Twitter account are not owned by you. Yes, that is your artistic content, but you are using a free (well, mostly free) platform to promote yourself and grow your audience. And that platform belongs to someone else. With that in mind, I always like to approach social media as an extra opportunity instead of my first opportunity to tell people who I am and what I can offer them. Social media should never be your first priority, but instead a close second. Because you never know when an algorithm will change, a platform will change or close completely or your account could even be shut down.

Secondly, there is a myth that no one reads blogs anymore. I don’t know where this came from, but it is entirely untrue. There are more people reading blogs today than there were 5 years ago. This myth has created a phenomenon where people no longer spend time working on their site and making sure they have quality content. Instead, everyone seems to be working to increase their following count and getting the most likes per minute.

This needs to stop! Below you can find a set of priorities and how you should be spending your time if you are looking to grow your website. While social media is still extremely important it is not a substitute for your website.

• Create and maintain a website that makes it easy for users to find what they are looking for. This includes
• • Fast loading times
  • Blog titles that make sense
  • A search bar visible no matter where your visitors find themselves on your website

• Publish quality content: there is so much content online that you need to stand out by creating relevant, informative pieces so that people want to come to you first.
• Optimize your SEO: search engine optimization is what ensures that your blog posts, new products, etc. appear first in Google. It’s how people are able to find you organically.
  • If you have no experience with this, download YOAST SEO, an easy plugin that can help you immensely.
  • If you don’t have time for this I highly recommend hiring someone to help you.

• Utilize your newsletter: if you don’t have a newsletter you should create a free one today through MailChimp. Work towards building your newsletter subscribers by telling everyone you know about it. Offer freebies for subscribing (shameless plug: I offer a content calendar that you can use to plan out your year).
• Capitalize on your social media: use social media to help promote all of the amazing work you did above. Use it to help grow your newsletter, share new blog content, and let new organic subscribers learn more about you.

So if you are feeling defeated by social media algorithms or not receiving enough likes or engagement on your posts, take a step back and look towards the things you can control.