#so used to consuming (quick) media on TikTok etc

[merv606]

Remember when, once upon a time, in a galaxy that seems so far away, the movie Idiocracy was a parody ….

But it turned out to be a pretty good prediction of the present and future 🤦‍♀️

Do they know that reading is not mandatory? Nobody is forcing them to read?

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Stephen Robinson at Public Notice:

A near-majority of American voters willingly reelected Donald Trump. This harsh reality is a collective moral failure, but it’s also not a choice made in sound mind. Consider that voters believed Trump’s first presidency was a roaring success and Joe Biden’s only term a Carter-level catastrophe. It’s an upside-down Bizarro World view that ultimately played a key role in dooming Kamala Harris.

Trump’s 2024 platform was rooted in an obvious lie — that the nation under Biden’s leadership is a flaming dumpster fire and everyone was much better off when Trump was president. Democrats challenged this false reality with facts, but they ultimately lost the messaging war. Their best efforts were no match for the most powerful weapons in Trump’s propaganda arsenal — a timid press and a right-coded social social media environment. Greg Sargent reports in the New Republic that the Harris campaign’s own internal polling revealed an alarming trend: “Undecided voters didn’t believe that some of the highest profile things that happened during Trump’s presidency — even if they saw these things negatively — were his fault.” According to exit polls, Trump decisively won the questions “who do you trust more to handle the economy?” and “who do you trust most to handle a crisis?” Of course, in reality Trump utterly botched the 2020 pandemic response, which researchers concluded resulted in 40 percent more deaths than necessary. And yet swing voters are willing to risk it all again in hopes of cheaper eggs and cruelty against outgroups.

Disinformation on demand

Legacy media shoulders significant blame for their “sanewashing” of Trump’s incoherency and deteriorating mental state. Voters believed Trump could fix a steadily improving economy despite his promotion of inflationary tariffs. The media even presented Trump’s rants as cogent discussions of economic theory.

It’s worth noting, however, that an NBC poll from April revealed that voters who received news primarily from legacy media (newspapers, cable news, etc.) still overwhelmingly supported Biden. Trump owes his victory in great part to low-propensity voters of all races, including young men, and those voters don’t necessarily form their views based on mainstream media reporting. Rather, far too many are stuck in an online social media bubble where they are delivered a steady diet of rightwing propaganda. The median age of a Fox News viewer is 68, and liberals have joked about the network “brainwashing” their conservative parents. But rightwing social media content has effectively targeted and radicalized younger people, who — unlike the typical Hannity-obsessed grandpa — can vote for the next several decades. TikTok, which Trump joined in June, has 170 million users in the United States, and according a Pew Research survey, more than half of them said they regularly get their news from the platform. That’s up from just 22 percent in 2020. This is a serious concern because the far right uses TikTok to advance unfounded conspiracy theories and outright lies.

[...]

Lower income Americans, particularly young people, do spend more of their income on groceries, rent, and gas. That’s why Republicans were so laser focused on the price of eggs. Unfortunately, there’s a dearth of liberal content countering the negative vibes. Of course, explaining the post-pandemic economic recovery is complex and requires more than a punchy one-minute video can convey. Although people might idly scroll TikTok all day, consuming 60-second quick hit videos like potato chips, they will balk at reading an extensive, well-reported news article. That’s too filling a meal.

According to a University of Oregon study, 40 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Republicans surveyed said they’d become more conservative from their TikTok usage. Half of the Democrats surveyed said they’d grown more liberal, but a lot of far-left content on TikTok is downright alienating and can sound like MAGA’s idea of a strawman leftist. For instance, one user boasted that she “didn’t care” if liberal economic and social policies “hurt the economy,” thus conceding that those policies are in fact harmful to economic progress. TikTok’s artificial “vibecession” dominated the discourse, while abortion-related content was actively suppressed even while pregnant women were bleeding out in parking lots. Users of the platform resorted to disguising the word “abortion” as “aborshun” or “ab0rti0n” in order to reach an audience. TikTok has a longstanding policy against promoting abortion services, which it classifies as “unsuitable businesses, products or services.” However, TikTok, YouTube, and Meta have allowed users to spread and monetize anti-abortion misinformation. Studies have shown an interesting gender gap in where young people receive their news on social media: For most women, it’s TikTok, while most men learn about the world from YouTube, X, and Reddit, all of which have become havens of crude masculinity.

On YouTube, 56 percent of users are between the ages of 18 and 44. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based nonprofit that researches extremism, conducted a four-part research project this year that determined YouTube’s algorithm consistently steers users to rightwing and Christian content. The algorithm does this even with seemingly apolitical search terms, like “male lifestyle guru,” which YouTube reflexively associates with conservative ideology. Rightwing news content was also more frequently recommended, including anti-vaxxer videos. As far back as 2019, both YouTube and Facebook’s autofill search boxes would return content that promoted anti-vaccine misinformation.

[...]

Why rightwing content has the edge

When Kamala Harris appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast, host Alexandra Cooper told her listeners, “I do not usually discuss politics or have politicians on the show because I want Call Her Daddy to be a place that everyone feels comfortable tuning in.” Left-leaning podcasters/social media content creators often avoid politics for fear of turning off their right-leaning fans. Joe Rogan and Dave Portnoy at Barstool Sports don’t bother with such apologies when they have rightwing guests because it doesn’t compromise their brand. They are rightwing cultural influencers. Liberal podcaster Hasan Piker recently commented on the impact rightwing influencers have on young men of all races.

“There is a massive amount of rightwing radicalization that has been occurring, especially in younger male spaces. Everything is completely dominated by rightwing politics,” he said. “If you’re a dude under the age of 30 and you have any hobbies whatsoever, whether it’s playing video games, whether it’s working out, whether it’s listening to a history podcast or whatever, every single facet of that is completely dominated by center right to [the] Trumpian right. Everything they see is rightwing sentiment.”

Rogan and Portnoy might not present as overtly political as Walsh and Shapiro, but their edgy, hyper masculine personas are pure MAGA. Even billionaire CEO Elon Musk likes to present himself as a “disrupter,” an agent of change who boldly confronts the status quo. Anyone who’s seen the more popular indie films of the 1970s would realize how compelling this narrative is to young men. The subtle way that Rogan and Portnoy infuse politics into their personas presents a contrast with left-leaning social media content. The liberal TikToker or YouTuber who releases videos about home makeovers might endorse Democratic politicians during election season while wearing their “just voted” sticker, but rightwing influencers prime their audience on a daily basis. Young men marinate in a stew of rightwing sentiment and end up resenting the libs.

Stephen Robinson wrote in Public Notice a very valid case that a right-coded media environment gave Donald Trump the decisive boost to get elected, such as praising the disastrous Trump reign as a “success.”

Social media algorithms heavily favored right-coded and pro-Trump content, despite the never-ending whining about “censorship” from conservatives.

[youremyheaven]

A beginner's guide to Vedic Astrology

1. Vedic astrology is based on a very different way of perceiving the world. It will take some time to get used to it but be patient. Its not as quick and easy to compartmentalize as western/tropical astrology. it addresses the human condition in all its nuance and complexity. It will take you a lot of time to understand even one nakshatra but this is normal and part of the process. Avoid looking at twitter/tumblr posts that try to tropicalize Vedic astrology by giving really weird takes with 0 context or explanation. Read blogs and articles, do a google deep dive, there are many websites run by Indian astrologers who will provide you with good introductions to your chart/naks.

2. There are 27 nakshatras divided over 12 rashis, these come under the rulership of 8 planets and are further classified on the basis of their aim, tattva, ganas, yoni animal, function etc. Familiarize yourself with the mythology of your naks and their basic classification. This is the most accessible starting point for a newbie.

3. Zodiac does not automatically become redundant in the Vedic system. They are called "rashi" and each rashi houses 2 or more nakshatras.

4. 90% of the time the moon occupies only ONE nakshatra over the course of one day. its UNCOMMON for the moon to occupy more than one nakshatra in one day. if you don't have someone's birth time and use 12 noon as the standard time (which is common practice since its right in the middle of the day with 12 hours behind and 12 hours ahead) 90% their moon sign will be correct. Since the ascendant changes every hour or so, its hard to narrow it down unless you know the person and can make an educated guess.

ive seen people argue that xyz is ashwini moon instead of bharani moon etc and please go to a good vedic birth chart generating site (i recommend either astro seek or faraway) and you can check their birth chart for every hour of the day of their given birthday if you have the time. the MOON STAYS IN THE SAME NAKSHATRA OVER THE COURSE OF ONE DAY!!!! its RARE for it to be in the preceding or following nak and it usually only happens for a VERY small window of time.

5. if you can, just get your chart read by someone who knows their stuff. avoid consuming the misinformation rampant on twitter/tumblr.

6. approach Vedic astrology with an open mind. many websites will tell you you're a horrible person with zero luck , jealous and doomed to live in perpetual misery but please understand that these come from the narrowness of their own knowledge and understanding. any wisdom possessed by an individual has to pass through their filter of perception in order to be written down. astrology is not a doomsday machine tool condemning some and glorifying others. do not make a religion out of this. think of your birth chart as something that provides context as to why you are the way you are. don't let it be something that holds you back.

7. please don't randomly pick up tantric practices and chant mantras or perform rituals just because you know a little bit about vedic astrology. this is a whole new turf and these practices can be life changing if done right but disastrous if done wrong. trust your intuition, always. i hate that tiktok/social media etc has made witch craft/magick/esoteric occult rituals look like some quirky, "woo woo" thing that anyone can do. please stay safe ya'll <33 don't blindly follow others <33

[slythereen]

apologies if you’ve answered this before or if there’s not really a specific gathered resource, but you seem knowledgeable about such things!— i am interested in learning more about f1 racing, do you have any recommendation for where to find a beginners guide/‘f1 for dummies’/place to begin learning more?

hello!!! i am also rather new to the sport and had to consume massive amounts of content from all over the place and frankly am still learning a lot all the time, so i'm not exactly an expert. what i can share are resources i relied on in my own ✨ descent into madness ✨ though !

so, my incomplete and questionable guide to selling your soul to f1:

it's all about how you like to learn and consume media tbh. i tried to watch a race initially, was confused, regrouped and started exploring. personally i watched all of dts up to the current season and then watched the first few races that i had missed while obsessively trawling twitter to learn more and waiting for my first live race (aka australia this year — massive rip). but it's up to you how you dive in!!

drive to survive

don’t get me wrong, dts has its issues — they invent drama, have some misleading portrayals, like to splice together clips from different race weekends together. it’s definitely more of a creative project than a straight up documentary. 

that being said, it also explains a lot of the lore and history behind the sport, teams, and drivers in an entertaining fashion. it’s newcomer friendly so it explains the rules. yes, will buxton gets a lot of heat for stating the obvious, but some of those obvious explanations are helpful for the clueless. 

there are also a lot of very cool shots and some good exclusive interviews that they get. sure, you can probably find them clipped on youtube, but may as well just watch dts. the first season is a little slow if you’re like me and want to see charles immediately (worth noting not all teams had agreed to participate s1), but that’s just me. 

(plus: it’s entertaining. i live for drama. just take said drama with a grain of salt and assume it’s probably invented or blown out of proportion.) 

the tiktok girlies 

again: tiktok can be a bit hit or miss. you’ll see a lot of bad takes and pure cringe if you linger too long on f1 tiktok. but i started watching content from a few f1 girlies who seems reliable and had friendly introductory content. they’re generally very nice and happy to answer questions. 

after a while i stopped watching them just because i no longer needed the intro information or explanations, but they did help fill in gaps and point out some of the inaccuracies of dts. 

some who helped me learn more:

@/lissiemackintosh (okay she's an f1 presenter but she's cool as shit i love her queen of the paddock etc etc)

@casxf1 (intro content is sort of her Thing)

@formula_dev (she was my go-to girlie for learning)

@f1toni

f1tv content 

i am pretty sure f1tv isn’t available in all countries, but i have always watched races through f1tv. there are a lot of ways to watch races live illicitly if that’s what you prefer, and other countries have sky or other channels they can watch on (USA also has espn), but i prefer f1tv because i’m too lazy to find streams and don’t want to worry about stream issues mid race. 

plus: f1tv comes with a whole archive of past seasons and a host of other media content during race weekends (ie, the fia press conferences on thursday, post-quali and post-race). they have a tech talk series that explains some of the technical aspects, do weekend warm-ups each race weekend that gives an update/context, and have been adding more intro content on the platform. there’s an app, which is convenient. 

the f1tv stream also allows you to use the channel switcher to choose between your commentary options (f1tv or sky’s commentators), or to see the live timing data, or to see any of the driver onboards. it’s quick and you can switch back and forth easily. (if your computer can handle it — my mac often can’t — you can use multiviewer with your f1tv subscription to set up a bunch of different screens and panels to watch, for example, the main stream and a driver’s onboard. or multiple onboards. or whatever you want basically. personally i usually put the race on my ipad and the onboard on my phone, because that streams perfectly and multiviewer likes to kill my laptop.) 

the downfall of f1tv is that they don’t have a smart tv app yet. idk why. it’s very irritating. it also might be a bit expensive to some, but i think it’s worth it. 

f1 twitter (hell)

it’s a minefield out there. truly. BUT my next big question, after starting to get into watching races live and watching some old seasons and learning how it works, is how people seemed to always be in the know about paddock gossip. i wanted to know about it as it was happening and see the ~drama~ unfold live and feel like i was part of the season actually occurring. 

so: twitter. follow your teams, follow your drivers, the for you tab is actually your friend here because it’ll bring new journalists and f1 commentators into your orbit as you learn who is who. some of the big driver fan pages operate as sources of information and updates with relative stealth if not immediate updating. 

at this point i follow enough people (and have infected my algorithm enough) that i tend to see gossip and updates across most of the teams. big news tends to get shared by everyone anyway. 

if you prefer tumblr, you can still get A Lot of updates on drama and gossip pretty quickly. there is a bit of a delay between information hitting twitter and information hitting tumblr (partially because none of the official teams or drivers have accounts on tumblr; partially because of the amount of people on f1twt versus f1blr). BUT, a lot of us tumblr girlies liveblog during the races and sessions and bring any crucial content over from twitter to share here, so the info will probably be here eventually/soonish. (following the race tags each weekend will prob give you a lot of the quick updates live.) 

some great charles specific update accounts

@leclercsletters

@leclercdata

@/charlsleclerc

@cleclercfansuk

others i follow for the 🍵 (not necessarily CL fans/i follow some ppl i disagree with for the intel) 

@fiadocsbot (😭) / @f1 / other official accounts press etc. 

@_allthatglitz

@maranellosaint

@scuderiafemboy (actually also has tumblr)

@fm1_3316

@/lecstappens

@candeleclerc16

@/elpredestinato

@formuleo_

@pikaclerc

@leclerqz

@fottitiferrari

@/f1tami

@/htrs4piastri

@estestroll

@fanaticsferrari

there are certainly more i see on my timeline all the time !!! this is just skimming through my following on the train 😭

tbh if i started trying to list tumblrs with hot takes that i follow we might be here all day. note to self: make my following list public lmfao

introductory posts & masterlists & others

full disclosure: these are resources i went hunting for out of curiosity and never actually used myself, but they looked fun and funky so yaknow. if there are iconic masterlists that i am missing, rip, someone please feel free to add or correct me. some of these are definitely seasons of old (aka like last year) but you get the point.

f1chronicle has this guide!

f1 put out their own beginner's guide to f1 video but it's like......5 minutes (and here is their longer intro video for 2023)

this much longer intro to the rules video by school of sports looks promising

apparent f1 also has a whole category of articles in their beginner's guide series

@babssionate's ppt guide to f1 and drivers intro

@shuntedmate's (sister's) ppt beginner's guide to f1

pitwall's beginner guide to f1 ppt

@race-week's guide to getting into the technical side of f1 (and whole blog appears to be some cool info on drivers and histories etc)

here is @lestappenforever's glorious guide to charles' driving style that i re-found while trying to figure out if i have a reference list tag (i dont)

[thoughtsbylilyf]

According to the selective exposure theory, people choose to seek out media that align with their own personal beliefs and opinions. People may ignore media that contain opinions opposing their own, whether they’re aware of it or not.

Similarly, there is the uses and gratifications theory, which describes that people choose to engage with specific types of media to fulfill specific wants or needs.

I kept track of all the media I consumed in one day, and I’ll be analyzing whether my media usage relates to these theories.

Throughout my day, I will scroll on TikTok. TikTok is usually the first app I open when I want to take a break and spend some downtime on my phone. Considering the uses and gratification theory, I use TikTok as a source of entertainment. When I want a quick source of entertainment, I often go to TikTok to fulfill that need or want. Whether or not I engage in selection exposure on TikTok, I believe I do, but not necessarily intentionally. One of the reasons why TikTok is so popular, and the reason why I like it so much, is the curated “for you page.” My FYP is filled with videos catered to my likes and interests. TikTok uses algorithms to know exactly what types of videos I like to watch and recommends creators accordingly. Because of this, I don’t often get exposed to videos that don’t align with my interests, opinions, etc. I also don’t often go searching for such videos. So, I believe I do engage in selective exposure on TikTok.

I listen to a lot of music on Spotify throughout the day. I like to have background noise as I’m walking around, doing homework, doing house chores, etc. This day I decided to listen to a podcast, which I don’t do very often. I listened to the podcast “High Brow,” hosted by Mina Le, which typically discusses society, fashion, pop culture, and trends. For uses and gratifications, I would say I sought out this podcast for entertainment as well. I wanted something to listen to as I was cleaning my apartment to keep myself from getting bored. As for selective exposure, Spotify does recommend various different types of podcasts to me. However, as someone who isn’t an avid podcast listener, I decided to lean into something I knew I’d probably enjoy. I subscribe to Mina’s YouTube channel, and I enjoy her videos and the topics she discusses. I do typically agree with her opinions, so it seems I’m still guilty of selective exposure.

Lastly, I used Snapchat throughout the day to keep in touch with friends and family. Since moving away from home, I use Snapchat often to send snippets of my day to my friends and family from back home. Snapchat definitely fulfills my social needs.

After analyzing all the media I consumed in one day and why I chose it, I can see that I definitely do engage in selective exposure and that certain media do fulfill certain needs for me. I never really thought about why I chose certain media before. Now I can recognize that I do engage in the selective exposure theory. I tend to stick with media that aligns with my own interests and opinions. With this in mind, I’ll consider branching out with my media use in the future!

[puppy-pudding]

I know this isn’t necessarily related to shifting. BUT! I wanted to explain and maybe mention a couple things for some motivation for the shifters who are struggling to find the want to keep going on their shifting/manifesting journey!

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

To starts off, shifting is easy. Yea, I know you have heard this MULTIPLE times, but it is the truth. Don’t over complicate it! It’s as easy as one, two, three. Quite literally.

belief

consistency

success

I use this ALL the times as a checkbook to get my desires! I mades it up while in the shower, wwwww… (if you are going to take this idea, DO NOT claim it as yours! Give me credit, or don’t post it at all!), — besides that! It’s called the 1, 2, 3 method (usually for my manifestations! But I’ve used it for shifting too!), or you can calls it B.C.S.

To go more in depth— here’s a little explanation!

𝜗  ﾟׅ   ၄ 🍮 ၃  ׅ     𝜚 ﾟׅ

belief: it is literally what you’ve been seeing all over tumblr! Your self-concept is the main key to all of this. Think of it this way… The way you perceive everything. You THINK and SEE the world around you, the 3D, to be like that. So, in return, your world will revolve and show those exact beliefs to be true. It will be like that, since you said so. Now that is cleared up- put that in perspective into whatever you think about your situation: how hard it is to do ___, how long ____ is taking, why won’t ____ happen, etc! Once you are done with that, revise it. Instead of thinking of how hard it is to do whatever, change perspectives: “It is not hard at all, it is easy. I always do ___ and it comes naturally to me.” / “I always have everything come to me quick and efficiently, oh look! I just got a text from ___. And my package was just delivered! This is all so easy!” / “___ already happened, I just experienced that. And I always expect to experience that, whenever I want. Because it will forever be like that.”

𝜗  ﾟׅ   ၄ 🍮 ၃  ׅ     𝜚 ﾟׅ

does that make sense? That was what people call affirming. It’s really plain and simple. Now, there is another thing that is important! The ‘C’ word.

𝜗  ﾟׅ   ၄ 🍮 ၃  ׅ     𝜚 ﾟׅ

consistency: Ding Ding Ding! You seemed to forget to do something? What was it? It was stay consistent and dedicated. You can’t keep having something if you aren’t consistent, can you? You can’t keep your dream job if you aren’t consistent at working at it? How will you stay famous if you don’t keep making your fans happy? That’s the point. With consistency, comes stability. What do I mean by this? Well, it all ties back to B. Belief needs constant confirmation. How? Let’s brain dump for a second. You consume a lot of this “shifting” and “manifesting” content every day. You also consume a lot of what you BELIEVE and/or think is right and you like. It’s how the social media algorithm works! The more you like something, the more likely it’ll show up. And the more you consume that, the more you’ll think about it. The more you think about it, the more you’ll want to consume. And the more it’ll show up. It’s a cycle. Now, that sounds… pretty familiar? It is, and should be. It’s exactly how consistency works. If you use social media, TikTok, even tumblr—! You should know that the more you like, or the more you follow people with related topics, the more it’ll show up. If you affirm consistently, the belief will become more solid. More stable. Your subconscious is the foundation of your reality, of your relationships, of YOU. So this means, as you’ve seen before, your subconscious can control anything and everything around you. Your beliefs are also the second building block to your subconscious. And being consistent with those beliefs and principles, will make your subconscious mind warp and change your reality into those beliefs. The more you affirm, even if it’s just a couple sentences each day, it’ll give you want I call ‘S’.

𝜗  ﾟׅ   ၄ 🍮 ၃  ׅ     𝜚 ﾟׅ

Now, there is the last thing! The letter S.

𝜗  ﾟׅ   ၄ 🍮 ၃  ׅ     𝜚 ﾟׅ

success: Now that has happened. It’s already there. All of it. You shifting, you manifesting, you changing EVERYTHING in your life. You changing the 3D to match the 4D. That’s all. It’s that easy.

As easy as 1, 2, 3 !

⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒⌒

Things I’ve manifested!

🐾🎀(๑>◡<๑)୭♡ᵎᵎ 

I manifested! (With subliminals + affirming!)

I manifested doll-like beauty with a small, slim dolly babyface with a v-shaped slim, small chin. ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮🐾🎀 ⋅ ☆ I manifested a sharp yet soft jawline that is rounded, free from any fat on the jawline, chin, and neck. ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮🐾🎀 ⋅ ☆ I got a tiny little forehead and short mid-face. I also manifested cherubic, squishy pink cheeks. ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮🐾🎀 ⋅ ☆ I manifested skin that is clear, pristine, beautiful, and youthful, free from wrinkles, smile lines, and skin creases. The skin tone I got is complemented by a rosy pink undertone. ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮🐾🎀 ⋅ ☆ Standing at 4’8”, I manifested a tiny body frame. I got a low BMI with a petite waist and small shoulders. I manifested a flat chest, cute heart-shaped thigh gap, and slim calves. I also got thick, soft thighs and small feet. ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮🐾🎀 ⋅ ☆ Lastly, I manifested a blush on joints, shoulders, and knees.

If you want to know anything else about how I did it, just send an ask! I can also send my playlist! (I need to revamp it, since some of the creators got deleted wwwww… ⸝⸝ •́  ࿁  •̀ ⸝⸝)

[navigatingthedigitalage]

Week 4 Post 2

After reading the article "Three reasons junk news spreads so quickly across social media" from the Oxford Institute, I agree wholeheartedly with the three reasons they had given for fake news spreading so quickly. Algorithms, advertising, and exposure.

Algorithms are a powerful force that keeps us chained to our phones and the specific apps that utilize extreme ones. https://mindfultechnics.com/manipulative-algorithms-and-addictive-design-summing-up-whats-wrong-with-social-media/

Mindful technics speaks on the algorithms manipulative nature and the way that apps are designed to keep us scrolling and interacting with the content for hours on hours. Personally, I find the algorithm on TikTok to be particularly addicting as it is just endless videos that are of interest to you based on what the algorithm has gathered from your personal information.

Advertising and exposure are huge on the internet especially social media. Everyone is looking to make a quick dollar, or start a new business etc. so we are constantly bombarded with ads and exposed to new products. We as consumers can select and choose what we want to be exposed to, however, that just means that the ads will simply change to something the algorithm believes that you are interested in.

Businesses and consumers must both be aware of what information the algorithm is taking, what demographics is is showing your content to, or what demographic the content being shown to you is placed in. Customers must also be aware that there are often junk store sites on the internet that drop ship clothing or items from china for a large up charge. In response to these conditions, businesses and consumers alike can call for stricter regulation on advertising and what personal information the algorithm is taking so that they can protect their privacy as well as helping to stop the spread of junk news and junk sites.

[theswanexperiment]

The Beginning

Hello,

My name is Swan. I am FASCINATED with a lot of alt cultures and art movements, and have been since middle school (and probably before that). I never considered myself anything (though I would simply refer myself as ‘alternative’) because I never resonated with any of those cultures and movements.

This is where my personal problem begins. I never liked that despite there being a lot of groups that have a very distinct style, personality, and aesthetic, I couldn’t really see myself belonging in any of them. The closest group I have been associated with is the scene crowd and club kids. I always loved the bright colors and extravagance that comes from these groups but I never really thought that these could be my personal style. I guess what I am looking for, in this project, is to find myself. I am going back to college after dropping out and I am using this time to figure out what all this could mean for me. I always loved Swans, the animal. They’re supposed to be a symbol of elegance in western culture but they’re far from it. They’re terrifying and chaotic and dangerous. I always loved how swans behaved despite of their symbolism. I am trying to find aesthetic beauty in a chaotic lifestyle. Not to say I am a party animal, I am quite introverted, I do however yearn for more in this life. I don’t want my life to be disorderly, but I do want to be excited. I am afraid to die in the same place I grew up, I am afraid that my boyfriend wants to stay here after we move in, I am afraid that I won’t leave. I am afraid.

I have been feeling lost and when I see people on the internet find themselves, I am genuinely envious of how easy it is for others to figure that out. Not to say I don’t know myself, I just know there’s more soul searching that needs to be done. I think with the rise of tiktok, there’s this new wave of anti-intellectualism with so many young folk who will refuse to dig deeper than what is presented to them. The “the-curtains-could-just-be-blue” mindset has genuinely ruined me. I do blame that mindset for how I am today and I want to take responsibility of how utterly (blissfully) ignorant I was in the last few years.

I miss being pretentious, I miss having discussions with my college age peers, I miss being told ‘it’s not that deep’. I want it to be, I love it when it is. The whole point of philosophy and discussion and criticism within the arts is that, if you want it to have meaning, you most definitely can give it that meaning. You’re supposed to be challenged and you’re supposed to think and question about what you know. That’s what I’m doing now. I am thinking about my actions, and my mindset and the media I have consumed in the past few years and what I can do to changed them to something I am 100% proud of. Not to say I wasn’t involved with content that required critical thinking. Since I dropped out, I have been listening to “the best albums I can find”, and this means listening to a lot of pretentious albums. I do genuinely believe that music has kept me up float, “intellectually”, and if it weren’t for these albums I don’t think I would’ve been able to critically think my way of my state of blissful ignorance. …Just a quick side note, I have been OBSESSED with art pop music (think Kate Bush, Bjork, Spellling, etc) and art punk/rock and post punk/rock albums (think bcnr, viagra boys, squid and yes, swans, etc). There’s something about these two genres (pop and rock) that are known to have been experiencing records lows as of recently and having a more pretentious and snobby sisters (post/art/prog ____) that is proving despite being an overly saturated genre, that there’s a lot of artists that shows that there’s still new and promising ideas, daily. But I digress.

Anyway, Within my friend group, I stand out because I am the most colorful out of all of my friends. I have a lot of 90s clothing and a lot of colorful pieces within my wardrobe but I want to do more. More as in (and yes, I am taking inspiration from punk culture and drag culture) I want to create more of my clothes. I know how to sew. I have a sewing machine. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is figuring out something that I am proud of. I am a perfectionist, I am trying to let that go. I need to figure out how to make art that I’m happy with that won’t force me to absolutely destroy my soul when I create it.

Starting now, I will track my progress and I will be documenting, in a series of posts, my discoveries that I have found in my own personal aesthetic and style. I just want to be pretentious and I just want to be able to discuss my beliefs and ideologies. I don’t want to be apart of the “mind empty”, silly little guy 😛 lifestyle(?), I miss being able to participate in a intellectual conversation.

[tiktokbots-blog]

THe Difference Between Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing

tiktok automationIt uses an range of digital stations such as SEO (search engine optimisation ), social websites and PPC (pay-per-click ) to lure audiences to your potential brand. Digital advertising utilizes net as the center medium of advertising that could be obtained using digital gadgets such as computers, notebooks, tablet computers and tablets.

Online advertising techniques like search engine optimization (SEM), e-mails form an essential component of digital advertising. What's more, in addition, it has non-internet channels such as short messaging service (SMS) and multimedia messaging service (MMS), callbacks, etc.) These different stations form an integrated portion of electronic advertising. Digital advertising is known as a BTL Below-The-Line advertising as it aims a much smaller and more focused group and operates on forming faithful clients and generating conversions.

SMO or (SMM), on the other hand, is a branch or subset of electronic advertising that excels in advertising utilizing social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. It makes using social media with the intention of promotion. Social networking is based heavily upon the interaction of their consumers, sharing info and forming a network of types and hence includes a'social' component to it. It uses the invention of artistic material that is presented so to lure the viewers towards your merchandise or services and generate a brand after.

In accordance with Zephoria Digital Marketing Consultants, you will find around 1.71 billion yearly active Facebook users globally. This usually means that mathematically Facebook is too large to ignore and thus, should be a very important part of your interpersonal networking marketing approaches. Online video intake on these platforms has been on a constant increase and can be the upcoming huge thing concerning advertising approaches. SMM can also be a BTL Below-The-Line advertising as it pertains to segregated groups shaped over shared interests on interpersonal networking platforms.

Firms seeking to tackle their advertising needs have to select between a digital advertising agency or a professional agency. If you're interested in somebody to plan out your complete advertising plan, then an electronic marketing and advertising agency could be a fantastic option. But if you're interested in somebody to only take care of the social networking facet of your plan, then you're far better off working with an expert agency.

With the intense popularity of electronic media, individuals are more prepared to integrate digital marketing in their everyday way of life. In accordance with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) report, the Internet advertising revenues in the United States reached a staggering $27.5 billion from the first half 2015. It has opened up many job opportunities . There's a high need; nonetheless, we encounter a dearth at the skilled work force as individuals are still coming to terms with the fast development of digital networking.

To satisfy the rising requirements of gifted people, there are numerous online lessons in electronic advertising available. A quick Google search on this subject will enlist a plethora of institutes offering the mentioned classes. The classes run for numerous times where all of the associated subjects under the umbrella of electronic advertising are all addressed. Pupils gain invaluable insights to the topic that lets them carve a niche for themselves.

The electronic advertising class consists of fundamental comprehension of advertising and marketing concepts and basic understanding of analytical and statistical tools. They're also given detailed details regarding email advertising, SEO/SEM, pay-per-click, mobile advertising, online video amongst others.

Social networking marketing classes incorporate a comprehensive comprehension of the essentials of social networking, important social networking websites, social networking strategy and quantifying social websites. It features a look to the advantages and weaknesses of their social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., and delve deeper to the most recent trends surfacing on societal media.Social networking is a necessary portion of electronic media plan. SM platforms have been leveraged with the intention of advertising of a good or service since it gives a more interactive moderate open to get a two-way dialogue. Digital advertising is much more applicable concerning creating brand recognition, advertising or standing administration. Though they have distinct online software they serve the larger function of new advancement and client conversion to sales and leads. Consumers are becoming brand conscious of active involvement and many spoilt for choice with all the abundance of alternatives available on the market. Their share in the general advertising strategy has increased manifold making traditional approach techniques obsolete. The pace at which electronic media is progressing, it will not be far fetched to imagine that a near future where virtual reality has ever shrunk to each part of our presence. For more information click tiktok automation

[jentlemahae]

I know it's a bit contrarian of me, but the more I see posts about how terrible it is to market books based on tropes and character archetypes etc., the more I start not hating that type of marketing that much after all... I'm joining the fight on booktok marketing on the side of booktok marketing lol. Here's my point of view:

1. The way I see it, this type of book recommendation and marketing is only prevalent on tiktok, insta reels and other short form video platforms, and I think it's very efficient in that context. And the second I uninstalled tiktok and started looking for recs on book blogs, in booktube videos, in literary magazines, I realized I was blowing this "problem" way out of proportion. You won't see Booker Prize finalists making that type of tiktoks about their books. There is plenty of marketing that focuses on the content and themes of the books. You just need to cut tiktok out of your life to see it.

2. Now, this is gonna be really controversial, but I actually think starting a book with prior knowledge of nothing but the tropes can be incredibly fun. Hear me out. You ever hang out with your friends and do writing contests, where you guys generate random prompts on a website and then write short stories based on those prompts? And at the end, you get to see how each one of you interpreted the prompt? To me, taking book recommendations from tiktoks can be kind of like that. Reading "3 thrillers with <<good for her>> energy" might lead me to a book I hate with my whole being, a book I think is kinda okay, and a book that blows my mind. And, in the end, I get to think about this set of books and compare them, to gain some understanding of how the three writers see the world, what their feminist ideas are etc.

In the end, I know posts like the one you reblogged are more so meant to put our frustrations about the state of the world on a group of writers and readers whom we perceive as being less intelligent than us, and that doing this can be very cathartic, so I understand if my point of view is not welcome here. But I thought I'd give it anyway.

mmh i think this (like basically anything else) depends a lot on the personal preference of you as a reader/consumer, but also on the personal preference of a writer. personally, i think that boiling down books to such bite-sized reviews is reductive in regard's to the author's work, and also i don't feel like it gives me enough information to be able to decide whether i want to read a book. but as i said, to each their own!

however, addressing your first point - the problem with these quick reviews on tiktok is that they can be very misleading, in a way that can endanger its users by leading them to read books that will cause them distress and may negatively trigger them. you may like going in blind, but it can have negative repercussions on certain individuals. and given that the biggest audience of booktok are adolescents, that is a problem. and yes i absolutely agree that everyone should uninstall tiktok and look for more substantial sources, but even if you yourself are not on the platform, booktok is still impacting the book industry as a whole. so i think it goes beyond individual experiences.

moreover, i think the biggest problem of the popularization of this marketing is its spillover on the book industry. books with no real literary substance and meaningful essence apart from relying on flashy tropes are booming on the market - personally i find that disheartening, but it's totally understandable if you disagree (as i said it's personal preference). just my thoughts <3

self-promoting but if u wanna read more of my thoughts on this, i wrote an article on the impact of social media on the book industry that i can post! <3

[alexablisssource]

How a Social Media Marketing Agency Can Change Your Business Returns

For a successful business, it's far essential to do right advertising, in particular while on-line. There are a few surely powerful advertising methods, which offer notable effects if carried out. Due to big opposition in on-line marketplace, every enterprise proprietor tries to use distinctive and precise techniques to get treasured consumers to his/her website. To get this new and innovative alternate many companies have followed an excellent manner of social media advertising (SMM) to boost their products/services sales online tiktok reseller panel.

Social media marketing services are a proper way to produce actual effect on ones' enterprise. Because of quick and powerful results, quantity of business owners taking assist of social networking experts has been growing relatively each day.

Social media marketing: what's it?

SMM essentially approach an approach to promote a business enterprise or internet web page via various popular social media channels along with fb, twitter, linkedin and so on. This tactic of enterprise increase has redefined globe of conversation. moreover, with right SMM services, you have got all probabilities to drive massive quantity of site visitors in your internet site.

How SMM works?

Hiring social media advertising enterprise is a constructive idea via which agencies can sell and provide all information associated with their objects within huge collection of networking. Numerous innovative proposals are raised thru such broad networks to reach prospective customers in a big manner.

Advantages of SMM for business growth

Running a blog

An excellent social media advertising organization takes up the venture of making a blog for your website and updating it often. Blogging can be formal and exceedingly informative that is used to force large traffic in your internet site. For this reason, it's miles extraordinarily critical to ensure if the SMM company does this venture successfully.

Micro-running a blog

That is yet another important provider provided by means of right SMM companies on line. Micro-blogging refers to tiny snippets of records despatched on a micro-running a blog website. Popular micro-blogging web sites are twitter and tumblr. Those websites permit users to ship and study ordinary updates from 'fans'. You are free to submit updates on any subject matter which include industry information and trends, advertising of emblem etc.

Social networking internet sites

Normal updates and statistics approximately modern-day trends in your internet site can be posted on various social networking web sites, which can be visited by means of hundreds of thousands of traffic in ordinary. You could also comprise relevant pix, content, discount coupons, website hyperlinks and even videos for commercial enterprise promoting.

As a consequence, there may be no scarcity of social networking websites to popularize your commercial enterprise. But, it's miles recommended to rent a expert SMM team for the same to manipulate things flawlessly to your business promoting and increase your returns as a whole.

[buyforone]

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant (VA) is a person who provides support to other businesses from a remote location. Thanks to high-speed internet, the ease of online document exchange, and cheap conference calling systems, virtual marketing assistant is in high demand from entrepreneurs and online businesses who need help but don't want to hire full-time staff in one location Specific.

Having someone help your business remotely gives them more flexibility, has less overhead, and offers the ability to increase and decrease work hours based on business needs.

Simply put, as a virtual assistant you will be asked to perform office and administrative tasks from a remote location. The tasks to be carried out will depend on the size of the company and its needs.

The best part of being a virtual assistant is that you can get the job done remotely. Whoever hires you is not interested in knowing if you do the work from your home or from a paradise island, as long as you comply.

What does a virtual assistant do?

A virtual assistant is really anyone who can help with tasks from a remote location. You will offer services to your clients from day to day. The needs of your clients will depend on whether they are a company or personal brand, the size of their business...

One company may simply need someone to answer their office phones a few hours each week, while another may need someone to do media outreach for their next product launch.

Each virtual assistant can offer different services. The best thing you can do, especially when you are starting out, is to specialize in a niche and offer your service to a specific type of business.

By becoming an expert in your niche, you can also receive higher pay for work - in the long run.

Some examples of services you can specialize in are:

1. Email management

Managing email is a basic skill that many aspiring virtual assistants don't know exists, but are fully trained to do. It is also one of the biggest problems that busy entrepreneurs need to solve.

Managing email administration, the famous inbox, implies that you will access your client's email inbox (or inboxes) and organize and manage things for your client. It may be that you have to configure folders for the client to use them. For example, folders such as:

   read

   need an answer

   FYI

If something comes up that you can process, you will process it, such as renewing a subscription, approving a comment, or confirming an appointment.

You can even take on some customer service responsibilities by answering common inquiries, processing refunds, and doing those kinds of tasks.

Many of us are inundated with emails. When you manage email management, you make it much easier for your customer to see only what they need to see, and you take care of the rest.

2. Blog management

If you are familiar with WordPress, or even if you are not, but are a fast learner, you can do all kinds of blog management tasks. Many entrepreneurs and small businesses who hire virtual assistants run blogs on their websites, and there are many daily administrative tasks that go into managing the blog.

Much of this is time consuming, but not high-end stuff, making it perfect for outsourcing to a virtual assistant. These tasks could include the following:

   Review drafts

   Approve and respond to comments

   Format posts (add headings, etc.)

   Add links to the posts

   Set pins for Pinterest, graphics, and images within the post

   Writing new publications

   Add information (like adding the keywords in an SEO plugin)

   Schedule posts to run when they're ready

   Plugin update

   Organize and update past posts (add categories and tags, etc.)

There really is no limit to the work that could be done on a blog, but these are some of the tasks that are suitable for a beginning virtual assistant.

3. Graphic design

Many people who are in the online business understand the importance of good graphics, but have no idea how to create them. If you are trained in the design area and/or you know free graphic design services such as canvas (it is quite intuitive and you don't need to be a professional graphic designer). If you can make a real difference by offering graphic design for your clients, add it to your virtual assistant profile.

Good graphic designers are hard to find, and extremely good ones are also very expensive. If you have a knack for visual design, enjoy the creative process, and can create good graphics with relative ease, there is a huge market for you, even if you've never been paid for that service before.

The key to getting a job doing graphic design as a virtual assistant is having a portfolio ready to go. Once you understand the types of graphics your ideal clients will need, you can make 2-3 samples for each of them to create a solid image for them, relatively quickly.

So what are these graphics that are in high demand? Here are some things where you can start designing:

Featured blog post images (including post title)

 Pin to circulate on Pinterest

 In-post ads that entice the reader to click

 Facebook and Twitter cover

 Instagram posts (this is HUGE in some markets) and other social media posts

 Facebook ad layouts

Take a look at one of your favorite blogs and see what types of graphic design elements are used. If they're the kind of thing you can look at and say "I could totally do this!" then you may have a marketable and a sought-after virtual assistant skill ready to go.

4. Transcription

As more and more entrepreneurs do things like live videos, podcasts, webinars, and courses, the need for transcription services is growing.

Transcription is something many people can do - no specialized skills are required. Although you will do better if you can write quickly and know how to use some useful transcription software like oTranscribe or Transcribe.

5. Customer service

Customer service is a HUGE area to work from home, whether you want to work for a business or start your own. Customer service skills are what many people naturally possess, and there are tons of online sales-based businesses that need customer service representatives.

This is a big reason why companies decide to outsource a virtual assistant.

When you provide customer service as an assistant, most of it will be done through emails.

You may need to answer product questions, help people troubleshoot problems accessing or managing their accounts (resetting passwords and so on), and you may even need to process refunds.

6. Social networks

If you like social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, and feel like it has the ability to produce posts that are interesting, you might be interested in adding social media to your virtual assistant service offering.

It's something that many business owners feel they should be doing, but few have the time to do it consistently, which makes it a great opportunity.

There is a strategy for using social media effectively, and social media marketing is a solid niche that you can choose from if you decide that you really like it and want to focus on it as a virtual assistant. But many times there are clients who just need you to post to a platform regularly, and they will even provide you with the content or give you guidelines on what to share. 

   Plan content for social media

   Posting in the different media

   Reply to comments on social media

   Content creation

   Communication plan

7. Content production

If you love creating, selecting and editing videos or beautiful images, you could start a virtual assistant business as a content production creator.

Creating content is time consuming, and most companies don't have the time to dedicate themselves to this and will be looking to outsource these tasks.

You can offer your services to help with:

   Write blog posts

   Research content ideas

   Create charts

   Take product photos

   Edit images

   Create Videos

6. Finance

If you have any prior finance and accounting experience, this could be a pretty lucrative virtual assistant niche. You could offer services like:

   Accounting

   Creation of invoices

   Payment processing

   Payroll

These are just a few examples, there are many more services you can offer!

Why work as a virtual marketing assistant?

Once you've decided what niche you want to work in, you'll need to set up your virtual assistant business. Some good reasons to start a virtual assistant business are:

   It's quick to set up and inexpensive, especially if you already have the skills and equipment to get the job done. You just need a laptop or computer and a fast Internet connection.

   You don't need specific licenses or college degrees to get started.

   You can create your own hours and work as much - or as little - as you want.

But before you start, you should also consider the downsides of starting a new business as a virtual assistant:

   Unless you already know someone who needs a virtual assistant, finding your first clients can be challenging.

   You must be aware of current technology and trends in the services and industries that need virtual assistants.

   You will have to compete with other virtual assistants abroad who can offer much cheaper rates. To compensate for this, you should offer a higher level of service, and ideally place yourself in something more specialized, which may require specific technical skills.

How much does a virtual assistant earn?

The median annual income for Virtual Assistants in the United States is around $ 60,000. Your earning potential will be largely determined by your skill set and whether you choose to work for a company to enter or go into business for yourself.

Working in an entry-level position for a medium-sized business will pay you roughly $ 12 to $ 15 an hour. If you have a more specialized service, you can charge $ 20 / hour, $ 30 / hour or even $ 50 / hour depending on the market. Tools for virtual assistants

As a virtual assistant, you will find that there are some great tools to help you stay organized and maybe even increase your productivity and profits. Here are some tools that I have used as a virtual assistant:

 QuickBooks: excellent platform to invoice and accept payments online. It also offers time tracking and project management.

 Google Drive: Google offers an open source version of common software such as Word and Excel. These alternatives are not only perfect, but you can easily share files with others as well.

Trello - This is free software that will help you stay organized and even allow you to share folders with clients.

Dropbox: Dropbox is a great alternative to Google Drive. I use both. I mainly use Dropbox to store and share photos.

Grammarly: this is an incredible online tool that will help you with the correction of your texts. There is a free version available.

Lastpass: platform to share passwords securely with clients.

 Freelancers Union: This site offers contract templates that you can use for free.

WiseStamp: never miss the opportunity to report on your services again. This tool will add an attractive signature to your outgoing emails that includes your image, contact information, and more.

Google Voice: In general, giving your cell phone number is never a good idea, even to customers. Inevitably, one will show up that you feel deserves 24/7 access, regardless of whether it finds you in a doctor's office, on vacation, or at your child's birthday party. Google Voice is a great alternative and provides voicemail service.

How to become a virtual assistant?

If you want to become a virtual assistant, here is everything you need to know to be one:

 Determine your skills and service packages.

Create a website or landing page that describes your service packages and your experience.

 Establish your target market: Who is your ideal customer? What industry are they in? What is your budget? What are your struggles? How can you help?

Find your market - Where are your ideal customers?

Establish yourself as an expert: If your ideal customer is hanging out in the forums or Facebook groups, take the opportunity to offer helpful advice in a way other than direct sales.

 Apply for virtual assistant jobs and submit pitches to your target market.

 Take an online interview to determine if you are a good professional.

Sign a contract that outlines the job description and payment terms.

To work! Deliver results and meet deadlines.

Who is your ideal client?

Before starting to offer your services, ask yourself who is your ideal client. It is important that you know who you want to work with. Everyone has their own preferences. Take a pencil and paper and start thinking about who your ideal client would be.

Here are some questions for you to ask yourself:

Age: What is the target of your group? Are they older or younger than you?

 Experience: Do you prefer to work with start-ups, or with people with more established companies?

Niche: Who can you offer your expertise to? Do you prefer to work with coaches, other virtual assistants, influencers, a specific sector? Or maybe you prefer to mix the online world with the offline one?

Communication preferences: you prefer to communicate by phone, email, Skype... This detail seems insignificant, but it is very important.

Hours: set a few working hours. Depending on the services you perform or your communication preferences, time differences may come into play.

 Level of participation: Do you prefer to work with clients who want to see each of your steps, or do you prefer that they do not do any type of micro-management?

Once you have your answers on paper, you will have a clearer image of your ideal client and you will know where to start looking for them.

[jorjathomas]

Lifestyle trends based on my target audience

When research gaps in the market, I began to think of ways I could get as much content in my zine. Although I had my own personal advice and tips, I also need some content that would help enable more engagement. This is why I have began to look at potential lifestyle trends from the website LSN so I could use in my zine. I also looked into my target audience and how they are researched to behave so I can understand my target audience better. My age group will be people aged 16-24 meaning currently, most of these women fall into Generation Z.

Article 1: How Joy scrolling can uplift brand storytelling (March 2021)

The first article I looked into explains the new aesthetic for story telling. As the pandemic hit, there was a lot of bad news surfaced. Artists took a step forward to create uplifting news and advice that can help distract society and focus on the good temporarily. Ives seen this surge of design all over the internet and a lot of news has been produced in an artistic way to make the articles easier to read. This is a less intimidating approach to new which i like and want to follow for the magazine however i am also weary of the dangers of this. I don't want to distract or wash the important information with pretty art but influence it to be more visible. This article helped influence my decision as this way for creating has become popular in society. A lot of this style seems to be digital however I hope to move this movement into physical consumerism to aid the popularity of magazines.

Here are some examples which were published on the LSN article. (March 2021)

Spreading this positivity across social media has created a lifted and conscious internet algorithm and i think has broken the dark internet cycle of having to look perfect and be ‘amazing’ all of the time. Getting rid of this influencer life and spread important events and news that could educate a person is much more important than having to look a certain way to feel accepted. I wish to do this with my zine and these examples validify my urge to change and create a positive society.

When completing trend research, we looked at trends for the summer and there seemed to be a lot more colour plastered onto life. I can see this now coming into action with this new approach to news by adding sketches and other forms of art into important messages and advice. Just like the Trend project, I hope to bring a euphoric feel and uplift a reader with the assistance of bright colours.

Article 2: Need to know (11/02/21)

The second trend article i looked at involved a lot of information which became popular over the new year. The most distinctive article was about post pandemic self-care. As you should know already, this subject is heavy within my concept so I was interested to see what has changes when taking care of yourselves pre and post covid lockdown. This LSN article states that-  ‘Many US citizens plan to continue engaging in the self-care routines they've established during the pandemic.’

The Need to know article also reports that- ‘According to a recent survey conducted by OnePoll for US wellness software company Vagaro, two-thirds (67%) of people agreed that the routines they developed during the pandemic have become a permanent part of their life. Meanwhile, 69% of respondents say they plan to dedicate more time to self-care in 2021 than they did in the previous year.’

I am happy to see this occurring within peoples life as this is the perfect opportunity to use my zine to spread this awareness. My zine should produce self- care tips that can help them to continue this dedication. Although this is my sole purpose of the zine, I also think I should add personal and education information that can assist the zine in becoming more personal and enjoyable to read as there is more than one category.

Article 3: Reading Market (March 2021)

This was probably the most informative article from the four I looked at on LSN as I was able to understand how much demand there is for reading. There's a obvious increase in digital media so I am interested to develop ideas that could help these statistics transform into the physical media outlets. The LSN articles says that- ‘According to Nielsen, time spent reading books among UK consumers has nearly doubled – from an average of three-and-a-half hours per week to six hours.’ Knowing that there is a growth in reading eases my worry of my magazine not gaining any recognition especially since I plan to print physical copies. They also state that- ‘As well as offering solace, comfort and helping to bolster knowledge, the reading market is adapting. It's embracing digital acceleration through new interactive formats, while also tuning in to the desires of younger generations, namely their ethical mindsets. For brands, media outlets and publishers, even greater disruption awaits a sector that has long been bound to tradition.’

‘We were expecting possibly to see a spike in comfort reads, like cosy crime or light comic novels,’ says Jess Harrison’

From this information, I can see there is a demand in books and most importantly pivotal media. The drastic change from fiction books decreasing and non-fiction becoming popular, proves the fact that people want to become more educated about world matters which they may not have had to do previously. I must remember to add in important information about specific matters I’d like to cover to aid the increase in monumental reads. My only dilemma is the competition with digital reads as screen time as plummeted this past year. Publishing physical copies carries a lot more problems. For example; when I’d publish I would want the copies to be long term for readers, having content that they can keep referring to rather than quick consumption. This would help reduce the carbon footprint of the magazine. I would defiantly want to be a sustainable zine, having more authentic materials that would not only benefit the planet but also add texture to the brand. The article states that- ‘Publishing house Penguin, meanwhile, is taking an environment-first approach to bookselling, targeting the 65% of readers who prefer the tactile experience of a physical book while addressing the impact on the planet. Its Naked Books are printed on demand, use recycled paper, eschew cover art in favour of a simple manuscript, and are delivered using carbon-neutral transport.’

Following up with the digital competitors this fact proves this point. Despite this I can use technology to my advantage when I would publish the book. For example using YouTube or TikTok to improve new customers with the help of algorithms etc.

Above is a digital book company which would be my competitor along side Audio books and Kindle. These have grown in the past year as there is a wider platform for smaller authors to get their books known.

Article 4: Anxiety Rebellion (2018)

Despite this trend report being slightly older than the others, I thought it would be intriguing to see if this article has come into play in the more recent years or if my magazine could do this instead to make this trend more long lasting. This article was under the macro trend category on the content page of LSN meaning this should still be present within todays society and I can apply it to my work. This article provides a insight on the new generation and how they are more diverse in comparison to Millennials creating a new wave of life. I looked into this survey by IPSOS MORI below to get a better understanding of my target market of gen z’s.

This video was attached to this article and it was brought to my attention quickly as I think it perfectly portrays my ideas and thoughts around my idea which you may not have seen yet. The next post will be the full advertisement of this video which was made by ASOS. This advertises Collusion which is a brand created by ASOS that offers clothing and accessories for the new generation. They spread positivity and urge consumers to invert their own style.

Gen z:

A quote from IPSOS- ‘For previous generations of teens, anxiety could be attributed to teenage angst – a temporary cocktail of the hormones and emotions that come with growing up – but Generation Z are fighting this stereotype. Rather than allowing themselves to become trapped in a web of anxiety, teens are speaking out against practices that cause them unnecessary pressure and turning their worries into productivity. In September 2018, a 15-year-old student tweeted ‘stop forcing students to present in front of the class and give them a choice not to’, garnering more than 130,000 retweets and nearly half a million likes.’

As seen from previous events from the past year, teenagers are becoming more vocal on specific matters important to them. I am pleased by this as I think they are breaking this preformed ways of living, how to behave and creating a new and more expressive society.  IPSOS Mori’s recent survey found that, ‘contrary to many clichés about today’s young, our new survey data and analysis reveals a better behaved, more trusting, socially minded and less materialistic generation’. There are many prejudgments about teenagers however, everyone has been one at some stage of their life. The common personality assumptions are laziness, rudeness and anti-social behaviour. Seeing the survey data results and proving these judgments wrong is refreshing. Teenagers actually are more motivated than ever and I hope to give them help. The survey also states that Generation Z are showing new attitudes to their placement in the world. for example, improved self-care solutions, spiritual healing practises, cleaner lifestyles, future-proof financial systems and a new entrepreneurial mindsets. These features have defiantly broke the judgments and are radically different from the actions of the former generations. As you can see in the states on the post- ‘Which noted that illicit drug use by US teenagers, including cocaine and heroin, fell from 22.6% in 2007 to 14% in 2017. The study also found that teenagers are having significantly less sex.’

To conclude this post, researching current lifestyle trends within the current youth market has further developed the urgency for a demand of zines like this. I am excited to begin some creative processes now and really make these ideas come together with the help of this trend research.

[myfirstdigiaddblog]

How to Optimise Your Digital Marketing Strategy for Christmas in the Corona-virus Pandemic.

With Christmas creeping up on us as it always does, we need to accept that as marketers this year it has been a strange time for us all. With the Covid-19 pandemic influencing the entire world for most of the years, we’ve seen lots of changes in what we’ve had to do and indeed what we’ll be doing for the remaining of the year, especially in the lead up to Christmas.

While you might won't feel exceptionally happy right now, individuals are now doing their looking and looking for Christmas on the web.

Here's our lists of tips, fast successes and guidance for your digital marketing leading up to Christmas 2020.

1.Get The Most From Your Marketing Budget.

Not all organisations have the kind of cash for spending on their Christmas retail marketing. With lots of organisations fixing their budgets this year, it's important to ensure that you're getting the most from your allocated spend.

Social media marketing services, is an incredible and to a great extent free tool in your weapons store as a marketer. Keeping your social profiles active doesn't cost anything aside from time, which whiles still important won't touch into your budget. There are additional instruments out there like Facebook's Creative Hub which is ideal for assisting you with arranging all the more interesting and engaging content to get the most from your time. Social media is ideal for drawing in with your clients in the lead up to the Christmas time frame.

2. Do Your Digital Marketing Research.

It's absolutely key to ensure that you're researching your market and keeping in the know regarding changes in trends, the Corona virus outbreak and how it influences you, online shopping, your clients, and their necessities, social media stages, and a large group of different things which will help you and your business to flourish and succeed as we move into a key purchasing period.

The old adage of “measure twice, cut once” is similar to digital marketing for what it's worth to carpentry, besides in this occasion you're estimating unending client information and possible targets, while your 'cut' is spending your marketing financial plan.

3. Take A Gander At New Audiences For Targeting.

It's always important to make sure that your marketing attempts are centred around the correct crowd, yet significantly more so as online movement keeps on expanding during the Corona-virus pandemic.

When the pandemic is finished, it's protected to say there is a much bigger objective market online for you if your business or items are equipped towards customers, everything being equal.

3.It may sound straightforward, but it can be a quick win for you to fix technical things on your adverts and product pages that these increasing users report as giving a negative user experience when they’re searching online.

Social Media Is The Best Way For Christmas 2020

An expansion in online deals, social media engagement and virtual client service are everything to pay special attention to this year when updating your digital marketing plan. Here are our best 5 hints for helping your business prosper online this festive season.

1. Start your Campaign Today.

The sooner you start your digital marketing campaign – the better. Everyone is in need of something to look forward to right now, so how about we look forward to Christmas! Individuals may have blended emotions about Christmas lights toward the finish of October, or Santa Claus Gifts have been put on your social media. In any case, this year, the festive season will be a warm greeting to those in need of some seasonal happiness. It is important for SMEs to stay aware of the occasion digital marketing campaigns of bigger aggregates – and starting the campaign early is pivotal to competing.

2. Embrace Social Media Marketing.

It is so significant for businesses, presently more than any time in recent memory, to embrace social media as a basic marketing tool and to use it as well as could be expected. Individuals are investing more time in their phones, utilising new platforms, for example, TikTok and etc connecting content more with brands by means of their social stages. May be a 12 Days of Christmas social media campaign would assist with getting your adherents in the happy soul? Or, on the other hand, a video campaign with a Christmas topic? Whichever thought you choose to go with, make it engaging in, pertinent, and inspiring. Regardless of whether you're utilising Creative Social Media strategy to pay for advertisements, team up with influences or to improve the status of your social records, make sure to remain dynamic and have an arrangement set up. Start your social media campaign today to be prepared for Christmas.

3. Online Shopping – Adjust Your Website Accordingly.

Online shopping has soared since the pandemic started, which implies that online Christmas shopping will be more well known than at any other time. Consumers are getting increasingly conscious of supporting their local businesses, and reports have indicated that clients are glad to help local businesses who sell online. This means that you need to make sure your site is completely open to online customers, as though they experience any issues along the way, they may turn somewhere else. Check where along the online buying measure your clients are exiting and this can assist with improving your methodology and streamline your site. This is additionally an open door for businesses who as of now don't sell online to branch into the universe of the Internet business or offer a tick and gather alternative.

4. Christmas Competitions.

Competitions are a great method of increasing your social engagement all year round – especially around the holidays. Giveaways can be great for businesses who were especially influenced by the pandemic, for example, hotels and cafes. Whatever you choose to set available for anyone, make sure you direct the opposition such that it will expand your social media engagement. For example, requesting that customers like, share and remark on an Instagram post to participate will increase the amount of exposure your brand is getting and will also improve your SEO ranking. Good quality social media competitions can frequently become famous online, which opens your brand to a lot more likely purchasers – so make sure to reward your customers this Christmas with an exciting competition!

5. Improve Your Virtual Customer Service.

While we may not be speaking with customers. It is as yet essential to offer as much customer support as we can online. Reacting to messages, tweets and direct messages is significant in keeping up good customer service, especially around Christmastime when customers can be busy and worried. Answer the customer questions expeditiously and effectively can be done with ease by using social media platforms, for example, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Christmas 2020 will be unique. Yet, don't let that prevent your prosperity with regard to promoting your brand. Change your methodology, think positively and work with a receptive outlook. With the correct methodology, anything can be achieved. If you are interested in turning your business online, get in touch with Evolution Digital today.

Connect with Experts.

We all have short time on our hands and sometimes it helps to outsource your time to an agency to help you manage all the above, and more. This can be helpful not for smaller businesses that will frequently have more restricted budgets and want to get the absolute most out of them but also for larger brands who may search that they’re branching out into unexplored territory and need support in their.

The Best Digital Marketing Agency will work together with you and carry their combined experience to your business to drive you advance and get the outcomes. They explore the advantages of re-appropriating a few or all of your digital marketing to a group of dedicated experts. It may very well be the difference between hitting your targets and not in 2020 and past.

[entrepreneurnut]

Free Traffic Sources For Affiliate Marketing

New Post has been published on https://entrepreneurnut.com/free-traffic-sources/

Free Traffic Sources For Affiliate Marketing

As an affiliate marketer, one of the most important pieces of your business is being able to drive targeted traffic to your offers.

When it comes to traffic, there are basically two types: paid or free traffic.

There are pros and cons to each, but a good way to approach traffic is dependent on your skills and resources.

For example, if you have more money than time then you may want to learn how to drive paid traffic.

If, on the other hand, you have time on your site, but not money, then free traffic will be the way to go.

Regardless, over time as your business grows you may want to work with a mix of both free and paid traffic.

If you’re just getting started as an affiliate, or if you’re looking for more free ways to get targeted eyeballs on your offers then here are 10 great free traffic sources for affiliate marketing.

9 Best Free Traffic Sources For Affiliate Marketers

Here are 9 of the most effective free traffic sources that I’ll be covering in this article:

SEO & Blogging

TikTok

Pinterest

Facebook Groups

YouTube

Twitter

Quora

Reddit

Medium

Niche Forums

SEO & Blogging

The first free traffic source, which is also one of my favorites methods, is SEO & blogging.

In case, you don’t know what SEO is, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.

With this method, you basically build a website (often a blog), write content based on your target keywords, add your affiliate links in the content, and optimize your blog to rank in search engines like Google.

When someone searches for related terms, lands on your website, and starts reading your articles, then you have a chance to make some sales.

There are also other ways to make more sales with your blog, like building an email list, using banner ads, popus, etc.

When it comes to writing articles for your blog, you should aim to have a nice mix of both commercial and information content.

Examples of commercial content would be articles based on keywords like:

Product Name Review

Product X vs Produce Y

Top 10 Landing Page Builders

10 Alternatives To Product X

These types of keywords often have high buyer intent.

For your information content, these articles usually revolve around either teaching people how to do something, or sharing your results with something, a case study, and so forth.

SEO and Blogging Pros:

You are building a true asset that you own and can potentially sell for a large amount of money if you want to

Most people come to your blog because they are searching for info that you have

Long-lasting/Evergreen (If you follow the right strategy)

Scalable – Once you start earning, you can hire writers and link builders to scale

Passive Potential – Your website is working 24/7 so can also be fairly passive

SEO and Blogging Cons:

It’s slow compared to other traffic methods

Can be quite overwhelming for beginners to learn

TikTok

To my surprise, TikTok is not just for teenagers who want to share silly dancing videos. There are actually quite a few affiliates who are actually CRUSHING IT right now and making a lot of money on TikTok! More on this in a few minutes…

Despite TikTok being a relatively new app, it has been downloaded over 1.5 billion times. This impressive figure makes it the seventh most downloaded app of the 2010s.

TikTok videos are also known for going viral easily which means you may be able to reach a decent amount of those 1.5billion users.

As an affiliate, you can benefit from this by sending lots of visitors to your landing pages, blog or YouTube channel, for example.

Basically, all you would have to do is create short 15 second TikTok videos and get them in front of the right eyeballs.

TikTok is new, it may be here to stay, but it is too early to tell at the moment. In case it does disappear, you can protect yourself against it dying out by using this platform to build your email list, or by directing the audience to another platform like your blog, or YouTube channel.

TikTok Pros:

It’s fairly easy

You only need to make 15 second videos

Lots of viral potential

You can build an audience

TikTok Cons:

Lack of buyer intent – people don’t go on TikTok with a product in mind, like they may do on platforms like Pinterest

It’s a relatively new app, meaning you don’t know whether it will die out soon (Remember the app “Vine”?)

Regardless of these cons, there’s a massive opportunity here, that not a lot of people are jumping on right now.

How To Get 15-Sec Free Leads!

A lot of marketers are saying TikTok is probably the fastest and easiest way to get free leads. You can find out EXACTLY how to do it for yourself here.

Exactly How To Get 15-Sec Free Leads Here

Pinterest

Pinterest is a traffic source that can work well really well for affiliate marketing inf you’re in the right niche.

Quite recently we covered the top Pinterest categories here on the EntrepreneurNut blog. Feel free to check that out if you are interested to learn which niches do the best on this platform.

The reason Pinterest works well is that many people use it as a way to get inspiration and ideas before purchasing a product. So, a lot of users go to the platform with buyer intent.

As an affiliate, you can benefit from this, which is why I particularly like Pinterest as a traffic source.

Plus, unlike Instagram, every pin (post) has a clickable URL, so it can generate traffic, either to your blog, landing page, or even directly to an affiliate offer.

Yes, you can link your Pins directly to affiliate offers. At the moment, Pinterest doesn’t mind you doing this. However, I would advise to send people to a landing page first as you will get a much better conversion rate.

Top Tip!

Top Tip: GrooveFunnels is my top recommended FREE Landing Page Builder. You can get yourself a free account here.

Get a FREE Landing Page Builder Here

Pinterest Pros:

Viral potential

Fairly easy

Works exceptionally well in some niches

You’re also building an asset

Pinterest Cons:

Can take some time to gain traction

Doesn’t necessarily work well for all niches

If you want to know more about using this popular social media channel then I recommend you read our article here to learn how to drive traffic with Pinterest.

Facebook Groups

Next on our list is Facebook groups.

Facebook groups can be extremely effective as they are laser targeted, as you can join groups based on interests.

For example, a weight loss Facebook group will have members who are looking to lose weight, so you can tap into a group of highly targeted people.

Facebook groups are a quick and easy way to connect with people interested in a niche. Most groups will probably not allow you to post affiliate links directly, but you can try messaging people from the group and then building up a relationship with them.

Some groups may let you share a landing page with a lead magnet, YouTube video, or blog post directly in the group if it provides a lot of value to the members, and you get the group leader’s permission first, of course.

Make sure you always check the group rules before posting.

A more effective way to leverage FB groups is to start a group yourself and build up your own audience. When you own the group, you can set your own rules, and promote any product you like.

a great way to start building your own group is to network in other, similar groups and invite peopel to join you. If you run a blog, a YouTube channel, or pretty much any other traffic source for that matter, you can invite people to join your group from those traffic sources too.

Facebook Group Pros:

Easy

Quick

Targeted

Facebook Group Cons:

Not really scalable

You’re limited by other people’s rules

It can be quite a lot of effort to message people manually

It can become time-consuming

It can create a Facebook addiction

YouTube

YouTube is another great free traffic source.

In some ways, it’s similar to blogging, as you can get traffic from search engines and of course Google.

Like Google, YouTube is also search-based, as it is first and foremost, a search engine.

When you upload your videos you will also need to do a certain amount of YouTube SEO in order to help your videos rank.

The main difference, other than it being videos vs articles, is that you don’t own your YouTube channel (YouTube does), but you do own your website, assuming it’s self-hosted.

However, YouTube does have a few additional traffic opportunities as you can get traffic from YouTube’s search engine and suggestions as well as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, who also feature YouTube videos in their search results.

You can promote your affiliate links in your video description and invite your viewers to check out what you got with a call to action inviting them to click your link.

Just like with SEO & Blogging you can also target buyer-intent keywords for higher conversions.

Overall, YouTube is a great way to promote your affiliate offers.

YouTube Pros:

Passive potential

Lots of viral potential

You are building an asset

Long-lasting/Evergreen if you follow the right strategy and adhere to YouTubes ToC’s

YouTube Cons:

Can be slow (although not always)

You have to create videos – lots of effort

How To Blow Up Your YouTube Channel Fast!

Several highly successful marketers have quickly blown up their YouTube channels and MASSIVELY scaled their subscribers and views by combining it with a very specific, and little known TikTok strategy.

Learn The YouTube – TikTok Strategy Here

Quora

Quora is the most popular question & answer platform in the world. It has over 300 million users which means it covers pretty much any topic you can think of and there are always users interested in it.

The way you would generate traffic to your affiliate offers is basically by answering questions.

However, keep in mind that on Quora, you’re not allowed to use affiliate links in answers, so you’ll have to link to a blog post, YouTube video, or landing pages instead.

That being said, some people seem to get away with it by using cloaked affiliate links, but it is against the Quora rules. 

In most cases, it will improve your conversions to send traffic to an optimized article video, or landing page anyway, rather than linking directly to an offer. This method also allows you to collect email leads as well, so it’s definitely the better way to go.

You can also look for questions that are getting visitors from Google for additional traffic potential.

Pros:

Pretty easy

Fairly-well targeted

Can be quick (sometimes)

Cons:

No direct linking

Can be quite dependant on questions being asked

You can get banned/restricted quickly when sharing links (even non-affiliate links)

Reddit

With over 430 million users, Reddit is the biggest forum on the internet, and also covers pretty much any topic you can think of. This means you can also use it to promote your affiliate links in almost any niche.

You can do this by joining subreddits related to your niche and then starting threads or joining in on existing ones.

Again, a lot of these will not allow you to share your affiliate links directly, but it all depends on the rules of each subreddit.

Something that could work well is to share a piece of content you uploaded to YouTube or posted to your blog. This way, it’s not as blatant that you’re using the subreddit to make sales.

On your blog post or YouTube video, you can, of course, include a link to your offer, and also encourage people to join your list.

Similar to Quora, you can also target discussions that are getting visitors from Google for additional traffic potential.

Pros:

Targeted

Fairly easy

Can be quick (sometimes)

Cons:

You’re a little reliant on the rules of the subreddits

It can be annoying to get started because you don’t have a lot of karma (points/experience/score)

Medium

Medium is quite similar to blogging in the sense that you’ll be writing articles. In fact, some people even use Medium as their primary blogging platform.

The benefit of using Medium instead of your own blog is that you have some domain authority right from the get-go. However, if you’re using your own blog then you will need to spend time building up your domain authority and gaining trust with the search engines.

While my preferred strategy is still to use my own blog, using Medium has another nice benefit in the way of Medium’s digests. You can use this feature to leverage extra traffic.

One distinct disadvantage of using Medium, is that you can’t use things like pop-ups, buttons, banners, or any other conversion rate optimization tools.

Still, it’s a great way to funnel more traffic to your blogs, videos, social channels, and landing pages.

Pros:

Can be quicker than regular blogging

Relatively easy (No need to handle the technical parts of a website)

Lots of traffic potential (social shares, search engines, Medium digest)

Cons:

Limited control (This is a big one – You can’t control the main website elements)

Full of suggestions of other writers (when people click around your blog, they stay on your site. On Medium, they go to other writers i.e traffic loss for you)

Niche Forums

Last but not least for this article, you can also leverage Niche forums.

In every niche, there will be forums that only talk about a particular topic. To find them, you can simply head over to Google and search for terms like “your niche + forum.”

From here, you can sign up for an account, and start promoting your affiliate offers.

That being said, most forums don’t allow direct linking, however, you may find some that will.

In most cases you will need to link your forum post back to a monetized property that you own, such as a blog, landing page, or YouTube video.

Each forum has slightly different rules, so be sure to read them first before posting so you know exactly what is and isn’t allowed on each platform.

It can be very annoying to spend time posting on the forums and building up a nice lot of helpful answers for people, only to find that you get kicked off the platform for something you did without realizing!

Pros:

Can be quite quick

Easy – No technical knowledge required

Very targeted (People in these forums will be highly-interested in the niche)

Cons:

Not really scalable

You’re heavily affected by the rules of each forum (i.e probably no direct linking in most cases)

Top Tip! – Leverage Outsourcers

Trying to be everywhere at once is impossible. You can quickly grow multiple traffic sources and scale up by hiring one or two VA’s to run your social accounts very cheaply.

Hire A Social Media VA On Fiverr

Free Traffic Sources – Final Thoughts

I hope you have enjoyed this article on the best free traffic sources for affiliate marketing. Now, you might be wondering which one is best?

And while I can’t give you a definite answer to that question, I can give you my opinion, which is would SEO and blogging.

The reason I say this is because of the levels of control you have over your own website, as well as the scalability and potential of growing it.

It might be a little harder in the beginning, but once you get through that initial stage, it has the highest potential from all the points of this list.

However, it really depends on your skillset and how you enjoy spending your time.

If you hate writing articles then blogging won’t be the best one for you. If you feel comfortable in front of a camera and you enjoy presenting then YouTube may be the best way for you to go.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that I may receive commissions when you click some of the links in this article and then decide to make a purchase. If you do follow one of my links and purchase a product, thanks! It means a lot to me, and any commissions I do make from this blog enables me to continue to provide you with all this awesome, free content. However, any commissions I do receive does not affect my reviews and comparisons. If I think a product is sub-standard I will either say so in the article or I will not feature it on my blog. I try my best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.

[tombentlecmpsongwriterproject]

Social Media Research / Development – Maximising Digital Engagement

Having launched my social media accounts and started attempting to build an engaged audience on digital platforms I felt as though I wasn’t utilising platforms like Instagram and Facebook to their full potential in terms of encouraging high levels of engagement with my content. To start with I was simply posting either images with short captions or short single release adverts with a short snippet of audio over a video of the single artwork changing colours. The primary focus of my initial social media marketing was attempting to get people from one platform (Instagram or Facebook) onto another platform (Spotify or Apple Music) in order to listen to my music. However, the people that were seeing these posts had no incentive to engage with the content and therefore weren’t buying into the overall brand to a great enough extent for them to want to switch platforms and listen to my music.

I decided that I needed to switch marketing tactics if I wanted to build an engaged digital audience on the key social media platforms. Rather than focusing on pushing people (who probably aren’t really that bothered that someone they’ve never heard of is releasing music) away from social media and onto streaming platforms, I felt it would be more effective long-term to focus on creating content that encouraged people to engage with me on Instagram, Facebook, etc. in order to grow an engaged audience who would be more likely to listen to my music off their own initiative because they enjoy my social media content.

Changing my approach to social media meant changing my approach to creating content. I’m confident that my use of hashtags is getting my content in front of the right people, it’s simply that my current content isn’t exciting enough for those people to want to engage with.

I’ve collected a range of online research sources that have helped inform my decisions as to what sort of content I should be focused on creating:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/content-idea-cheat-sheet/

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-ideas/

https://coschedule.com/blog/social-media-content/

https://coschedule.com/blog/social-media-content/

https://www.postplanner.com/blog/types-of-social-media-content

https://bandzoogle.com/blog/11-killer-content-ideas-for-musicians-to-get-more-fans-on-social-media

https://www.thecraftymusician.com/50-engaging-content-ideas-musicians-can-use-for-social-media/

Research Conclusions

·      Create content that focuses on me as a musician/artist - performance videos/photos, candid shots of me making music

·      Build a story for people to connect to – my influences as a musician, my creative processes, musical background, etc.

·      Create content that new audiences can instantly relate to

·      Write longer captions – longer captions means there’s more content for people to engage with on each post

·      Use captions with a call-to-action – asking my followers to comment their opinions or share my content with their friends

·      Create videos – videos are more engaging for audiences as they are both visually and sonically stimulating as well as giving audiences something to engage with for a sustained period of time compared to a photo that is instantly consumable

·      Utilise cross-platform marketing to encourage people to follow me on both Facebook and Instagram

New Content Ideas

I now want to focus on creating a series of performance videos in which I cover popular songs by the artists that inspire me as a musician. This will not only show off my talent as a performer but by covering other artists’ songs it creates a situation in which the focal point of the content is already familiar with the audience and they are therefore more likely to engage. Choosing artists who are stylistically similar to my own music will allow me to appeal to their fans who are likely to also enjoy my music if it’s similar. This will help me achieve my aim of growing an engaged social media audience that is more likely to actively engage with my content elsewhere.

By creating a series of cover videos, it will not only allow me to market myself to a range of fanbases will also create an incentive for people to follow me. If they enjoyed one of my videos, then they will want to follow my social media in order for them to continue engaging with my similar content.

I also plan on utilising the varied platform content formats to encourage cross-platform advertising. Instagram only allows videos of maximum 1 minute in length whereas Facebook allows videos of any length – posting the first minute of each video to Instagram gives audiences a snapshot of my content for those wanting quick engagement, but by posting the full video on Facebook it gives audiences wanting to see more an incentive to follow me on both platforms. The 1-minute video format will also appeal to a TikTok audience which could offer another platform to start growing an adjacent audience alongside my Instagram/Facebook followers.

I will utilise my video captions more effectively as well. I can write longer captions that give an insight into my creative processes by explaining why I chose each song and how that artist inspires my own music, therefore helping audience buy into my own artist brand. I will also focus on call-to-action captions that encourage viewers to comment with their opinions but also to tag their friends in the comments so I can make the most of sharing-culture to achieve organic growth.