I'm an artist. I'm a designer. I am not a social media guru. My understanding of algorithms is meek at-best, but I've definitely noticed that there's been an extreme shift in my spaces.
I feel like I'm always battling this invisible algorithm. It has so much control over everything I want to share with the world. It has some imaginary rules that no one understands. Some days, the algorithm blesses me with exposure, with link clicks, with getting my art in front of people. Most days, I whine incessantly that no one sees my work. I want this poor vision from staring at screens and this back-ache from being hunched over to be worth it. Don't we all?
So everyday I've had this regimen. Engage Engage Engage. I mash the heart button on everyone's work. I comment, I share, and I've even built multiple communities, localized and internet-wide for my niche brand of fiber arts. In my thought process, I thought that maybe by throwing myself out there, into the wild internet, and engaging with all my fellow fiber artist's work, that the algorithm would bless me in some way. I have gained many internet friendships this way, and also found amazing artists that make me want to step up my game.
And this is where I am now, in 2024. I feel like my designs are finally recognizable. A person who cross stitches modern designs will see a pattern and think 'oh, that has to be a BAD Stitch design,' which is every designer's true dream… to be recognizable. It's hard to be recognized in this over-saturated industry, and I think after years of using weird palettes and subject matter, I can stand on my own. And I'm on the cusp of many great things. I have big things in the works that could potentially launch me into actually being able to survive in this economy as an artist.
The algorithm doesn't think so, of course.
I read some posts on Threads from creators that have been removing followers that are inactive, ghosts, bots, or spam. It makes sense, trim the fat. What I'm posting is not pertinent to someone's Instagram account for their gerbil. Seriously, I had so many pet accounts following me, and I have no idea why. So by these creator's theories, by removing these inactive accounts that don't engage with you, your content will actually go to your desired follower-base, especially if you've been engaging with them. And it also makes sense that if you follow someone, you should be able to see their content in your feed - but I think we all know this is far from the case. If someone is following 5,000 accounts, there's a high chance they aren't seeing you. They probably forgot you exist.
So I've been culling followers. Trimming the fat. And it's relieving. I don't need a high follower account. I covet that engagement, I want to connect with stitchers and designers, and not have to fight all the gerbil accounts who are stealing my exposure.
Some interesting data: In April 2024, my Instagram was at 12,961 followers at its peak. I'm currently down to 12,310. It's taken me 3 months to individually cull 650 inactive accounts. It's very time consuming, but if I see a bot/spam/pet/influencer account follow me, they get the boot real fast.
If you're a cross stitch designer like me, here's some insight on my process:
You can get a spreadsheet from Meta with all your data, including followers. (On Desktop) https://accountscenter.instagram.com/info_and_permissions/
Instagram announced this year that they'll be showing your content to Non-Followers first, and maybe… just maybe your followers will see your stuff. https://www.instagram.com/p/C6YxvSXgFxp/
Don't ever do Follow for Follow trains. Though people may mean well, you'll have all sorts of people who aren't in your niche follow you. This is why so many dog accounts are following me, probably.
If a profile has no avatar, no description, a username that makes no sense, no posts, set to private, and following 5000 people, they aren't there for you. A combination of those things is also a red flag for me.
If they've been following me for X amount of years and never liked one post, bye.
I will continue to do my part to help other artists be seen and validated for their work. But I'm just one person and the big social media companies don't care about me. Social media is changing, people are looking away, and as a business and artist, I have to evolve with the times. It's ingrained in my Gen X upbringing, adapt to make it work. So this is why you're seeing this blog. Thank you for being here. If you like what I do, feel free to subscribe to blog updates! I love validation! Click me to submit your email address!
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