*steps up to podium again and clears throat*

A disclaimer: I’m not referring to any particular individual, as I’ve been between 8-10 social media coaches do this over the last 3 weeks. But it’s important to talk about methinks!

A lot of influencers are being gaslighted. Thread

I’ve noticed a pattern across at least two social media platforms where *it seems like* influencers are being gaslit by social media coaches into believing their content is the reason for their low reach.

It’s happened to myself, and a few other peers of mine.

Over the last 2/3 weeks, a lot of influencers have seen a dip in their reach.

Not their engagement, their REACH. The amount of times IG shows our content to our followers.

It seemed to happen rather drastically and immediately.

Now this could be for various reasons. The most popular conspiracy is the algorithm again. I say ‘conspiracy’ because IG have neither confirmed or denied.

Either way, something has happened behind the scenes that has incurred low reach on some accounts.

Naturally, a few influencers have commented on this. When your livelihood depends on having a high reach and engagement, it can be disheartening to see that the platform isn’t showing it.

You automatically begin to blame your content.

For eg: I’ve consistently had between 150,000-200,000 in reach over the last 3 months. Within two days, the reach dropped down to 800 people & is still there, despite me making great & engaging content.

A glitch in the app? Who knows?

Anyway, across Facebook and IG I’ve been seeing IG gurus/coaches (all white) telling influencers that there’s no such thing as a glitch. That there isn’t anything wrong with the reach because ppl have been telling them *their* content is flourishing.

Instead, they are telling influencers that the reason their reach is low is due to...essentially...them having shit content that isn’t engaging.

Not taking into account that IG often hides accounts belonging to marginalised communities: fat/black/LGBTQIA+ accounts.

Blaming the creator for their low reach in a bid to sell them your IG/social media coaching package is a really crappy thing to do??

Reach isn’t the same as engagement.

High engagement x low reach is out of our control.

Low engagement x low reach = our control.

Most people are complaining of high engagement/reposts etc, and the drastic fall in reach. Just because a few people you know are experiencing good reach, it doesn’t mean there isn’t an issue behind the scenes that are affecting people.

Invalidating people’s experiences and voices in a bid to sell a coaching course isn’t cool.

Like I said, this is just something I’ve noticed within FB groups and IG posts from quite a few ‘gurus’.

*steps off podium*

Whew. The DMs are filled with creators who have noticed the same thing.
I knew I wasn’t overthinking it.