There’s No Actual Strategy For Social Media Growth… Sorry…
Though I’m writing this article for vTubers, this still applies to anyone trying to grow on social media.
A strategy that allows a person to grow on social media doesn’t exist.
How could I know this is the case?
First, we have to define the word “strategy.”
“2a: a careful plan or method : a clever stratagem
b: the art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal”
Using “clever” clearly shows that a strategy is about thinking something not many have thought of — giving the strategist an edge.
If everyone is doing basically the same thing, then there’s no edge. It also means that the strategy isn’t clever. When a strategy isn’t clever, then it’s not a strategy. Then it’s just best practices.
This is why many Social Media Gurus suggest obvious things.
- Make content that people watch.
- Don’t let the viewer click away.
- Get the viewer to keep coming back.
No one makes content that they think people wouldn’t watch.
Do you know how I know this?
The process of making videos, doing live streams, and making content IS NOT EASY. Why would anyone put themselves into a position of suffering while having ABSOLUTE certainty that no one will care about the artwork?
Is it possible for an artist to make art that isn’t for other people to enjoy?
Sure.
But that falls outside of the scope of this article.
Since we’ve determined that people are making artwork to be served on social media do it — ultimately — for growth, this means that the obvious stuff is likely already known by the artist.
Artists are also always trying to improve. Why? Because they’re making stuff with the purpose of growing on social media. Deep down, they know that they need to improve. Why? Because it’s a repeated thing that’s talked about.
Artists also want people to return and continue enjoying their old and future artwork.
If everyone is following best practices…?
The key is to accept that most individuals trying to grow on social media are ALREADY following best practices — the common sense stuff.
But if that’s the case, then what does that mean?
There are factors often beyond what the average person has access to, such as a community of people that want to see you succeed.
It’s why focusing on the social in social media is so important.
Those who are good at soft skills, often, are the ones that succeed on social media.
People who are skilled at socializing, empathetic, ambitious, and determined know how to interact with others, likely knowing who might be the ones that could help them grow.
It’s also why people are fearful that other artists may approach them with ulterior motives while presenting a friendly exterior:
If people didn’t know that connections often contribute the most to gaining success, there’d no longer be insidious individuals hoping to gain a connection with someone more successful than them.
Aside from connections and the power of a community, there’s also artwork that is created before something happens in the world that increases the interest in that particular artwork. This can be seen with authors that had written a work of fiction that was previously obscure until there was an increase in interest in similar stories.
Why do so many people sell the idea if there isn’t an actual strategy to grow on social media?
The simple and direct answer is the same reason why the self-help industry is so successful.
There are many desperate people and just as many willing to PREY on them.
Type into Google, YouTube, or any other social media platform about how to grow on social media, and you’ll be swamped with ads. There’s a whole industry on just YouTube where gurus will try to sell you on how to grow.
You may not be paying directly, but you’re still paying them.
People want to believe that there’s a way to grow on social media since we’re good at finding patterns — if we weren’t, we’d have died out long ago.
Since we often see patterns where patterns don’t exist, it’s hard to believe there isn’t a way to grow on social media.
There must be order even in a chaotic system.
The issue is that there’s just too much information. It’s similar to people using a monkey to pick stocks.
You might see someone gain rapid growth, but try looking a few years after the artist “succeeds.” What you’ll likely find is a channel that’s performing far below what would be expected.
Things just happen to align in a way to allow them to grow but maintaining it is often elusive in the long run.
“When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients.” — Warren Buffett
I think this quote from Warren Buffett is exactly what’s happening with the idea of social media being “consistently predictable” packaged and sold by self-proclaimed gurus.
Just like a magician uses illusions and sleight-of-hand techniques, people in the industry will present an image that’s not completely accurate.
Those in the industry will present an image of being knowledgeable because they know that even if the person doesn’t succeed — they can just blame the customer for not following their direction OR that results can’t be guaranteed.
Social media is extremely complex.
This article isn’t meant to list out every reason why there’s no actual strategy to grow on social media — where factors for success are often not fully understood.
It’s just to help spread awareness that if you want to succeed on social media, maybe go full-time, it might be good to just do what you enjoy and be sociable on various social media platforms. This is while being okay if you don’t succeed and that there’s probably nothing you could’ve done differently.
Experiment
The best thing I could suggest is to experiment and not worry about whether it’ll be successful. Don’t worry about metrics; understand that it might never succeed.
But the best thing about experience is you eventually start gaining wisdom.
I think of my own situation, where I’ve been working on the same series since 2017. It’s now ~1,000,000 words long, and I’m in the process of editing it for the umpteenth time. The editing process will take over 2.75 years. Currently, it’s the longest original narrated web novel series on YouTube.
I don’t know whether it’ll amount to anything significant.
It’s also why I haven’t quit my job.
There’s a lot of experimentation that I’ve done with the story and where I want it to go. I also interact with other writers. I also have my own community — people who enjoy my story.
But that’s the life of an artist. Just think of the number of famous artists who never amounted to anything — only gaining fame after their death.
I try to keep in mind why I write my story. I’m doing it for myself. I also try to improve it for myself as an artist. It’s also EXTREMELY possible that only a handful of people enjoy it.
TL;DR
Don’t worry about finding a silver bullet for social media because there isn’t one.
Experiment and try new things. It’s possible that things change in the future and already having artwork ready for the change is better than not having anything to offer — or scrambling to create it before anyone else does.
Make friends and surround yourself with people who believe in you.
If there is a strategy, then it’s about how a strong community that fully supports you is the ultimate hack.
Just remember, people are really good at figuring out that you’re only their friend for clout.
