Instagram/YouTube Algorithms and The Doom to Fail Feeling

PlushToys on 23/07/2023 - 20:23
Last edited 23/07/2023 - 20:24

Good evening OzBargainers,

This is just a random topic about Instagram and is also strongly applicable to YouTube as well. How long have these platforms turned to cow dump? With regards to Instagram, getting followers and getting noticed is impossible unless you collaborate with someone who has a lot of followers or you waste your money 'boosting' your post. Even when you look at those accounts with high followers, the like to follower ratio is laughable and does not seem to mean anything. Similarly with Youtube your search results always involves vloggers and those 'influencers' who have a stupid tick next to their name. Back in the good old days involving the 2008 era, your search results on Youtube shows results from every day people. Lastly, hashtags on YouTube and Instagram have an almost negligible effect on allowing you to reach a wider audience. YouTube even explicitly states while you upload a video that your hashtags 'does not assist in creating a larger reach of audience' (something along those lines).

Overall, why even try?

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Comments

  • CrispyChrispy on 23/07/2023 - 20:47
    +3

    Confused as to what you're shaking your fists at OP

    The success of others? YouTube's business model of pushing high traffic videos to maximise the amount of advertisements watched?

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 23/07/2023 - 20:47
    +1

    it is incredibly difficult to become a full time professional youtuber/streamer/influencer - it is literally 1 in a 20 million

    ill talk youtube becuz it is probably the breeding ground for raw talent [or was]

    Youtube in-particular has made it hard to get started as they do not 'really' support independent artists anymore….. they are simply a shill for big corps these days - bar there 'big names it is impossible to get any traction on youtube alone

    you kind of need to 'have a bit of a following' prior to starting, these kind of things snow ball but you need probably 15-20k to start with, people already interested in what you have to say - people like Andrew Tate, True Gordie, Logan Paul, Angry Joe, Mark Goldbridge, Jermay Jahns etc all have there niche and all have there target audience.

    I know some of these guys where streaming/podcasting/post for years becuz they made a decent amount of follows and then once they hit a few 100k they exploded.

    I was watching Goldbridge when he was sub 200k followers he now 1.6m on United Stand and his secondary channel has almost 1m……

    Angry Joe has over 3m subs i remember watching the show almost 10 years ago when he had a few 100k and his content was just himself and some low budget but entertaining green screen he now has multiple guys working for him and has expended from games to movies, shows, other pop culture etc

    it takes time dedication, a hell of a lot of luck, commitment and most of all you got to 'know your target audience'

    Im not saying you have or dont have what it takes but just know it is probably harder then winning Saturday lotto

    one bit of advice i have, work with other people or 'team up' with people who already are doing well - even if you have to 'pay for that support' initially it can be the best way to boost your reputation then cross boost your brand via being active on socials rinse and repeat until people start tuning to listen to you

  • SBOB on 23/07/2023 - 20:56
    +3

    Perhaps you're just not that interesting?

  • 7ekn00 on 23/07/2023 - 21:05

    Youtube (and I am guessing IG) aren't interested in independent/small creators, the companies get paid to advertise (so push ads to the videos with the most eyeballs already) and boost (ie mainstream media pay mega $$ to have content promoted above independents) …

    Anyone coming up the ranks that vaguely says the wrong things also get demoted by the algorithms (try saying "leave the kids alone" or "learn to code" in anything on youtube, facebook or Instagram to see the affects)

  • Benoffie on 23/07/2023 - 21:17
    +3

    Constantly have to have this conversation with students. Influencer is not a valid or realistic career choice.

    What is interesting is the number of corporates now dumping socials.

    Will social media jobs even still be a thing in 10 years? I suspect yes but maybe driven by AI.

    At the end of the day, it's all just another advertising medium and they will always prioritise paid content over free

    • CommanderCrumbcake on 24/07/2023 - 07:33
      +1

      Students are seriously considering ‘influencer’ as career?

      • pegaxs on 24/07/2023 - 10:03
        +1

        Yep. I volunteer at a local school to help kids with different things… and I am always asking "so, what do you wan to be when you grow up??" and I swear, most of them say something in the infuencer/content creator fields… "Instagram model" or "Minecraft streamer".

        I had one kid one day, that I almost held out hope for… he said he wanted to be a scientist… When I asked why, it was so he could make cool explosions for his YouTube followers and he wanted to invent "edible Tide pods" so kids dont get sick making ShitTok videos…

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 23/07/2023 - 21:23
    +2

    Tip: be attractive
    Also tip: don’t he unattractive

  • mapax on 23/07/2023 - 21:25
    +1

    your search results on Youtube shows results from every day people

    It still shows that for me, I mainly watch hunting and car content and plenty of the recommendations are for channels with only a couple hundred to a few thousand subscribers.
    Maybe the algorithm knows you’ll likely fall for the clickbait.

  • Malik Nasser on 23/07/2023 - 21:25
    +2

    For YouTube, if you consistently put out quality content, you will eventually get a following, it just takes time.
    I stumble across good content creators occasionally, and when I check their content listing, they have generally been around for a few years.
    The issue today is, there are so many more content creators today than back in 2008, that it is getting harder to stand out.

  • AustriaBargain on 23/07/2023 - 21:50

    My bubble at the moment is showing me retro video game videos and coding tip channels. Some popular videos from obscure and non active users have a million likes even though they have like 3,000 subscribers. Also YouTube keeps shoving new and very low subscriber videos in my face, I guess the algorithm is giving new and stagnant users their shot. Usually they all suck though, like my god so many people want to make it big and are just clumsily copying popular YouTubers. Worst is the ones doing it off the cuff, they don't seem to realise the big YouTubers plan their videos out with a script.

  • Protractor on 23/07/2023 - 22:14
    -1

    LOL, humans decrying exclusion by sh*t like this. Then starting a thread about it.

    Someone call Dr Dennis Leary.
    QUICK!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffrOovd741s

  • Chaddy on 24/07/2023 - 02:43

    Google / Alphabet and Meta Instrgram Facebook etc, are just advertising platforms now a days that is all they care about, as that is where the revenue mostly comes from.
    So unless your spending money on ads with them you get no where as that is how the money is generated its all about the shareholders.
    The internet in general has gone this way over the last few years. Its become commercial.

  • EightImmortals on 24/07/2023 - 06:36

    The internet is dead, long live the internet.

    https://corbettreport.substack.com/p/the-internet-is-dead-lo…

    And just cos you mentioned 2008, here was the prognostication from that year. :)

    http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode046_the_internet_is_…

  • Cheaplikethebird on 24/07/2023 - 09:14

    Instagram is a bit whatever as I almost exclusively use it to share stories with friends. The Youtube algorithm is indeed annoying AF now with search results almost entirely being filled with high subscriber accounts, videos gaming the algorithm (I.e. outdoor related videos that tease NSFW content) and 'suggested' videos that are completely irrelevant to my search terms. It's to the point now where I will just use Google to search for Youtube videos.

  • CrowReally on 24/07/2023 - 09:30

    It's a content sharing service that has hardly any barrier to entry (you need to be able to record videos, that's about it). Lots of people are going to publish to it, especially when they see that you can 'win the lottery' and end up the next MrBeast/PewdiePie/AnnoyingOrange/HowStuffWorks. And because people have incomplete data (how big is it anyway) and are bad at math, they overestimate how easy it is to win the lottery.

    So it's a market flooded with an abundance of content. The algorithm will do some sorting (recommendations, subscribes, people who liked this also liked) but the numbers are still against you to get enough people stumbling into your channel. And of course, once they've done so, you have to have good enough content to make them stick around.

    It's great to be able to create and publish for the love of the craft, but it's not a career path.

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