Blogging had been an underdog for me for years. Why? Simply because platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn made it so much easier to reach a large audience. But that convenience came at a cost: the mass production of content. For years, I kept up with the rat race to create and share more and more. But recent developments in Big Tech made me start questioning things. How effective is it really to create content for these platforms? And doesn’t it feel wrong to reduce our hard work, wether it’s an illustration or other piece of art, to something as flat as ‘content’?
Love for ‘the gram’
For years, Instagram was my go-to platform. I met so many wonderful people there, some of whom have become close friends I now regularly see offline. It also helped me reconnect with old friends I had lost touch with.
Instagram was a springboard for my career as an illustrator. The platform opened my eyes to what was possible within my profession and introduced me to valuable connections. My follower count steadily grew along with my personal and professional development as an artist. And for a long time, that felt great.
The turnaround
But all that growth also came with a downside. For years, I posted religiously on set days and got a lot of interaction in return. But everything changed in 2018. A crisis in my private life forced me to step away from Instagram and social media altogether. When I returned a few months later, my follower count dropped by half. And my work barely got any attention.
Not long after, I posted a cheerful illustration of a bear. But because I used what seemed to be an innocent hashtag (bear), my post was shadowbanned by Instagram. The hashtag was apparently flagged as ‘unsafe’. The result? My work became even less visible, and the responses dried up completely.
At first, I started doubting myself. Was my work no longer interesting? I dove into the algorithm, learned everything I could about how to ‘please’ the platform. And that’s when I found myself on a slippery slope.
The bottom: sameness and algorithms
Where I once shared my work out of joy, I now posted to keep the algorithm happy. My illustrations were no longer pieces of art: they were content. I became hyper-focused on questions like: Is my color palette trendy enough? Is my copyright logo too big? Is this hashtag overused or underused? Sad questions if I look back at it.
This fixation on the algorithm sucked all the joy out of the process. And I wasn’t the only one feeling like this. I noticed the same trend among other illustrators and artists. Instagram had shifted from a place of spontaneous, diverse work to a platform of sameness. Dictated by what the algorithm ‘liked’. Sure, adapting to the algorithm could bring you success. But at what cost? For me, back then the joy was already gone.
But I still felt trapped. After all: as an illustrator, you HAVE to be on Instagram, right?
That was the moment I asked myself: What am I even doing?
Exploring other forms of marketing
Last year, I began looking into alternative ways to promote my work. Like newsletters, blogs and Youtube videos. But that little voice in my head kept whispering: “You need those platforms. You’ll miss out if you stopp posting” And so, I hesitated to take real action.
To make things on social media less overwhelming, I started automating my posts and limiting my time on all the platforms. That helped a little, but it was still very easy to get sucked in. Cute videos of talking birds, inspiring art projects and the best vegan recipes kept me scrolling. It was always the same love-hate relationship: fun, but toxic and addictive at the same time.
Recent developments as a wake-up call
Recent political and technological developments have been a real wake-up call for me. The growing (also political) power of Big Tech and the removal of fact-checking on some platforms are deeply concerning. And the flood of soulles AI-generated content on Instagram and Pinterest only adds to the problem.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not entirely against AI. I think we can all agree that AI is fantastic when it can spot certain health issues in time. But do we really need stupid AI-generated videos of ugly chickens running around in dresses? Especially given the environmental impact, I’m cautious when it comes to using AI.
Plus I see more and more illustrators leaving Instagram or drastically cutting back on their activity. Maybe this is the perfect moment for me to make a positive change too!
Future plans
These developments, combined with my frustration with social media, have made me rethink my approach to marketing. Instagram feels too fast nowadays: you post something and 10 minutes later it’s already forgotten.
That’s why I’ve decided to focus myself on long-form content this year!
My newsletter will remain an important part of my marketing. But a newsletter alone isn’t enough to reach and engage with people. So my plan is to write more blogs ánd create longer YouTube videos that I’ll share on my blog. But on my pace, and not the pace of Big Tech! With a focus on meaningful stories and artwork!
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I’m also curious: What’s your take on these recent social media changes?