In December 2020,

I wasn’t satisfied with my follower count. So, I decided to research ways to boost my engagement. I found the usual fluff articles about how to increase my numbers. A lot of this you’re already familiar with. Post consistently. Comment on people’s statuses. Then also there’s the three E’s: Educate, Entertain, and Eroticize.

I do two out of three. It all comes down to what people get from your content. I try to strike a balance between what I like to do and what people enjoy. It’s a very fine line.

I would probably post 3–5 times a day on Instagram. And I noticed the engagement levels would spike. The analytics told me what posts did well and which ones didn’t. It also told me which times people were most active. (Which is very important)

You can gameplan all you want but sometimes the algorithm is all over the place. And things are constantly changing and shifting within social media. What worked a couple of months ago might not be so impactful now. I’m always researching so I stay well informed.

In 2021, I posted on Instagram consistently and engaged with other accounts. I tried to offer meaningful commentary and most importantly I aimed to be social.

Sometimes account growth can be slow. Like mind-numbingly slow. I felt like visibility was the key to success. More posts mean more visibility right?

Yes and no.

Some posts just do better than others. There is no rhyme or reason for it. People follow you for different reasons. The major one is that they find value in what you post.

These last few months my posts weren’t reaching the heights they once did and I couldn’t understand why. Then, last week I hit a brick wall. I couldn’t think of anything to post. More importantly, I didn’t feel like posting. For the first time in almost a year, I didn’t post a single thing for several days.

It felt good to not be up against any pressure. People might not talk about it, but it takes a lot out of you to consistently come up with new content. And when that content doesn’t resonate it sucks. Slowly but surely I’m learning to simply log off and spend less time on social media. (Easier said than done)

Scheduling is also a big thing because if I can batch content and post then I can focus my attention on other stuff…like writing.

Have you ever experienced social media burnout?

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-Marc