Facebook (aka Meta) has telegraphed it’s intentions with Instagram; content creators need to pay attention.
Meta – formerly known as Facebook – has recently upset the entire internet with changes to the beloved Instagram.
Once known for beautiful, curated photos of far-off lands, perfectly plated food, and impossible #goals, the rudderless-strategy of Meta lately has been to do everything it can to make Instagram into a TikTok clone.
If there is one thing Zuckerberg can’t stand, it is a successful social media platform that he doesn’t control.
What does this mean for content creators?
All over the web there are hundreds of content creators realizing they must either adapt their content into the new video-heavy format of Instagram or be left in the dark.
If you are a designer, photographer, fashionista, or other photo-driven professional, you may not want to switch to videos. It may not be your desired flavor or what your audience wants. Facebook doesn’t care.
If you don’t, say goodbye to organic discovery by Instagram.
This change to Instagram’s entire product-market-fit highlights an important element of a content marketing strategy: you must own the relationship with your audience.
It is far easier to reach the masses on social than it is to build your own community. Facebook/Meta/Instagram made it easy to post, share, discover, and connect with an ideal audience. They sold the drugs and thousands of creators bought.
Now, the drug dealer is changing the terms.
Content creators must – MUST – take steps to own the relationship.
How can you do this?
Invest in collecting email addresses, host premium content on your own website, create Slack or Discord-based conversations, and use services like Circle or Tribe to foster your own community.
Anything you build on a third-party (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc) thrives or dies at the whim of their executives. And we know their playbook! We know their executives are driven by quarterly profits. Right now, profits are created through advertising. Meta & Co will do anything they can to increase the surface area of available advertising availability. Even if that means destroying your organic reach or forcing you into a format you don’t want.
You, dear creator, are not their customer. They use you like you use them. And they hold the power to lift or crush your business.
Please, for the sake of your brand’s future, find sustainable ways to stabilize your platform.
You have a message and the world needs to hear it.