#ORGANIC SOCIAL MEDIA

[aisrbin]

ORGANIC REACH OR PAY-TO-PLAY

The digital town square has changed. Remember when a simple post could reach a huge chunk of your followers? Those days feel like a distant memory. Now, the algorithms act like gatekeepers, and it seems like everyone's shouting for attention. Organic reach has become a whisper, and "pay-to-play" is the dominant language. But is throwing money at these platforms really worth it?

The answer is a resounding yes—but only if you're smart about it. It's not about blindly boosting posts; it's about strategic investment. Think of it less like gambling and more like precision targeting. You can pinpoint your ideal customer with incredible accuracy, reaching them based on their interests, behaviors, and even past interactions with your brand. This level of control means you're not wasting resources on people who'll never be interested.

Paid social media isn't just about blasting a message to the masses; it's about building connections. It lets you expand your reach far beyond your existing followers, introducing your brand to potential customers you might never have reached organically. And the best part? You can track everything. From clicks and views to actual sales, the data is there, allowing you to fine-tune your campaigns and see exactly what's working.

Forget generic ads. Today's paid social offers a diverse toolbox. Think eye-catching videos, interactive polls, and immersive experiences that grab attention and leave a lasting impression. It's about crafting compelling stories that resonate with your audience and make them want to learn more. It's not just advertising; it's storytelling.

So, while the social media landscape may look different than it did a few years ago, the potential is still there. It's about adapting, learning the new rules of the game, and using paid social media strategically to amplify your message, connect with your audience, and achieve your business goals. It's not just about paying to play; it's about playing to win.

[transformativeworks]

Australian Social Media News

Australia has passed a law that bans anyone under age 16 from using social media starting late 2025, fining tech companies up to A$49.5M for non-compliance. While intending to address mental health concerns in kids and teenagers, the law raises significant risks for privacy, digital access, and the freedom of expression, raising questions about the boundaries of digital censorship.

With that being said, we don’t expect this decision to affect the OTW or any of its projects, including AO3. However, as the OTW, we are against all forms of censorship and will be releasing a detailed statement about the matter soon.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/australia-passes-social-media-ban-children-under-16-2024-11-28/

[koobruk]

In the era of the digital world, social media has become a significant part of our lives. For businesses, it provides a platform to directly reach their targeted audience, build brand awareness, and foster customer relationships. However, with constant changes in social media algorithms and increased competition, organic reach – the number of people who see your posts without paid promotion – has become a challenging aspect to leverage. Fret not! Read the article to know more.

[an-established-butt-dent]

Art warmup! After working on some digital artworks, it’s good to go back to my roots in traditional media.

And look at this beautiful winter sunrise as a backdrop!

Now first I have to wait for the masking fluid (the blue spots) to dry, before adding the first washes of watercolour. Which gives me plenty of time to make more tea. :)

[egophiliac]

do you have youtube channel?

technically yes, but I just use it to host unlisted videos for embedding, so there's nothing, like, public on it. :') sorry! I basically don't post anywhere except here and occasionally on pixiv (in case it's not obvious, I suck at social media).

[mintcaboodle]

we need ao3 for fanart and I am so completely serious. A universal platform not driven by any kind of professionalism or end goal, just for creating. Most important of all it needs to share the incredibly helpful and complex filing system ao3 does. this would be beneficial I think. because I want it.

[excelsior9173]

the speed at which iii updates his story after the band account and the fact that he’s the one that most consistently posts tour reminders makes me wonder if he’s running the band account too lmao

we all know it can’t be iv (who btw still hasn’t given us the “full rendition” he teased TWO MONTHS AGO) and ii is off in his little drummer world. ves totally gives me the vibe of someone who would still own a flip phone

[millenniallust4death]

This July, my mom and I are stepping up for a great cause! We're participating in the Multiple Myeloma March, organized by Myeloma Canada. We are committing to walking 200,000 steps around our charming (and often sweltering!) town of Wheatley, Ontario. We'd be thrilled if you would consider supporting our modest goal of raising $392. As a token of our appreciation, every donor will receive a special Martin and GSD postcard (if you feel comfortable sharing your address with me). Check out the donation link below —thank you for your generosity! ❤️

Donate: https://shorturl.at/u84HL

[demonic-shadowlucifer]

yes, we shouldn't ignore the terrible events going on right now (Palestine, Sudan, etc), but I think we need some reminders because some of the posts i've been reading have been giving off *extremely* guilt-trippy vibes: Not posting about current events or bad things =/= not caring. Not reblogging =/= not caring. Adding "don't scroll past this" or "reblog this or block me" to posts is guilt-trippy as hell. And lastly, online activism is not the only form of activism.

[alexwilltellyouthings]

This is about a show that was saved by Netflix a few years ago. This is the article about it (I recommend it!)

So, about the viewing.

We're already doing good, the show went back to top 20 and now 30 according to televisionstats, but we need new viewers. The thing we've been doing until now, but more.

What do we think about actually doing a marketing effort? As in, with ads and everything? Mostly online probably, but with fundraising either way. The billboard thing seems nice but not just that.

I'm not from the US or UK so this is an idea that I could help plan only to an extent. But I'm really wondering, because as a group we may be able to do the marketing Netflix didn't. Not just as in "save the show' but "WATCH the show"!

I'm thinking artists and editors to make the content, someone with performance knowledge to make the campaigns, and targetting audiences across platforms — YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Is this something?

[writing-with-olive]

as someone who has gotten on and then subsequently left both tiktok and instagram, i can pretty confidently say that there is a gulf of difference between staying informed, and believing that information consumption is in itself activism.

similarly, as someone who has gotten into outrage echo chambers and subsequently left them, i can also pretty confidently say that there is a gulf of difference between using indignation as motivation, and believing that stewing in anger is in itself activism.

both are means to an end, but being angry and seeking out reasons to be angry -- without ever building community and using coalition to either address the underlying reason the anger-inducing things happen, or directly provide aid to the people most affected by them -- isn't activsm.

[aroaceleovaldez]

You've talked about the pjo fandom's lack of fandom infrastructure a lot, what I want to ask is: why do you think the pjo fandom has so little?

I've seen other much smaller fandoms that have just developed infrastructure as the years go on but pjo feels like it's stayed quite stagnant in that regard. I would've thought that with pjo being so big there'd be a lot more than there is. Did we have a lot then we lost it along the way or did we just not develop it that much?

We definitely used to have way more! In my infrastructure list there's a LOT of old infrastructure blogs from back in the day. There's definitely more than what's on that list, but a lot of those blogs have been deactivated or otherwise lost. I've also talked a bit like [here] about some of the old stuff the fandom used to regularly have, like events that no longer run, common tag games and other community habits, etc. We also used to have more zines and other collaborative projects. These just don't happen nearly as often in our community anymore, because the people running them stopped being able to and nobody was able to pick them up and they were forgotten.

I mostly attribute this change to new fandom attitudes and the loss of community. Back in the day I feel like one of the most influential things to the fandom environment was how a lot of younger fans often looked to big-name-fans for how they should behave and navigate fandom spaces. A lot of people are familiar with the old "big 3" fanartists of the day - Viria, Burdge, and Minuiko - but what a lot of people don't remember is they used to trade art back and forth all the time! And with other artists/fans in the community! They were all just genuinely friends and so much collaboration happened between them! That's how we got a lot of the old big AUs and concepts in the fandom because people loved sharing those and collaborating. And because a lot of young folks often mirror the people they look up to in communities, younger fans were mimicking that behavior and there was a lot of exchange and communication and community happening in the fandom at the time. That behavior was demonstrated, replicated, and encouraged!

And young fans mirroring BNFs they look up to is still absolutely a thing! You can see this all the time if you just take a quick glance at fanart - how many character designs are clearly influenced from large artists in the fandom? Insert every Piper with Velinxi heart-shaped cowlicks here. But because there's a lot of ideas now about curating online presences as if it's a business (or literally turning it into a business) or outputting "content" we see a lot less of people - particularly larger fans in the community - vocally interacting with other fans. Everything feels very sanitized and polished and impersonal. There's way less exchange between fans now, or at least way less vocally.

And this is also pushed by general "new/passive fandom" culture as i generally refer to it, where there's so much more emphasis on consumption and "content" versus community (and again, that idea of curating socials like a business/brand). When everything kind of shifted with the like 2016-2018 adult content bans and everybody was moving around between platforms, folks lost a lot of means of learning about fandom history and their communities and how those communities looked. A lot of fans - including now older fans - have never known that fandom is supposed to be a community, and so now we have the older fans in the community with this very content-oriented presentation of fandom that is how fandom is generally advertised in mainstream media, because that's how they learned about it and how new fans are learning about it. They have no easy means to learn fandom history and nobody to mirror appropriate social fandom behavior from (which is also what i attribute to why so many fandoms have become "more toxic" or rude in recent years - especially with quarantine meaning a lot of young folks lost irl means of learning to mirror appropriate social behavior).

In smaller and newer fandoms, communities form easier and if they're the groundwork for the fandom it will persist and self-perpetuate most of the time. In general if a fandom is able to maintain that community aspect, it usually does just fine! (As per usual I point to the furry fandom as a great example of an older fandom with good infrastructure and community.) This is why I like to harp on about building community and reinstating these types of environments and blogs and such, and generally discussing the fandom's history as much as I can and remember it. People can't fix problems they don't understand or things they don't know about, so making that information as accessible as possible and encouraging these things is important.

[transformativeworks]

The OTW is Recruiting for Fanlore and Translation Volunteers

Are you fluent in a language other than English? Do you have an interest in fandom history or in fannish culture? Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? The OTW is recruiting! Read more at https://otw.news/6bdacb

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Unregulated social media is killing people and threatening our democracy. These mass shooters and school shooters are radicalized online by far-right Republican/Meo-Nazi propaganda. Our foreign adversaries and the Republican oligarchs want America de-stabilized so that they can plunder our people and government with ease.

[writterings]

i feel like we don't talk about how instagram reels are literally the devil. the comments and content there are so fucking vile. at least on tiktok a fat woman can post a video of herself without every single comment absolutely tearing her down for existing.

[nights-at-crystarium]

hey i'm not telling you what to do but i think everyone should do this (binge-interact, and generally remember that posts older than 1 day are also worth viewing)