The Reality of Growing on Social Media - Part 2

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Welcome to another issue of Passionate Income.

In Part II of this week’s Three Part Series, we’ll be discussing the reality of growing a social media following in 2024.

If you didn’t see it, Part I - which discusses YouTube and TikTok - is here.

In today’s issue, we’ll cover Facebook and Instagram. And in Part III, we’ll conclude with X and LinkedIn.

Let’s dive in.

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In our previous issue, we discussed the Pros, Cons and areas of opportunity for growing a following on YouTube and TikTok.

Today we’ll dive into Facebook and Instagram, which fall somewhere in the middle relative to text-heavy platforms like X and LinkedIn.

If you have an Internet Marketing background, the idea of marketing on Facebook may seem a little cringe. A little 2018ish.

In reality, however, FB users have more disposable income than any other social media platform. Why?

Because Facebook is made up of Boomers, Gen X’ers and Millennials. Which as you likely know, have much more spending power than Gen Z’ers.

Further, while Gen Xers and Boomers aren’t as active on Instagram, the fact IG appeals to older Gen Z’ers means there’s serious potential to grow a following.

With that said, here’s our breakdown of each:

#1 - Facebook

Difficulty Level: 7/10
Expenses Involved: $ - $$$$$
Skills Required: Writing, Photography, Photo Editing, Filming, Video Editing
Leverage Points: Reels, Groups, $5 per Day Ad Strategy
Value of Followers: 4/5

What makes Facebook different from the other platforms on this list is that it’s come full circle. Or put another way, it’s completed a full cycle.

See, in the early days of social media, Facebook was the place to be.

• You could run ads for $0.01 / click

• Pages could attract hundreds / thousands of followers per day (for free)

• Posts got massive organic reach

But by the late 2010s, marketers ruined it.

Facebook Groups were a dime a dozen. Posts on Pages and Profiles got virtually zero distribution. And the timeline was packed with scammers running ads to high ticket funnels.

For better or worse, it got so hard to market on Facebook most Internet Marketers gave up.

And IMO, that’s precisely what Facebook wanted: A purge of epic proportions.

Fast forward to 2024 and the OG social media site is a totally different beast.

First, instead of Groups being launched so a guru can sell their thing, today Groups pop up organically around topics people are interested in.

Second, while almost no one (except Gary Vee) is talking about it, Reels on Facebook are getting HUGE organic reach (think IG in the early days of Reels).

Third, while ads are still expensive, most of the “Get Rich Quick” Internet Marketers have moved on to greener pastures. And because of that, there’s less competition in the verticals that used to be dominated by guru types.

Admittedly, I wouldn’t recommend trying to build an organic following unless you’re willing to boost your content with ads. And unless you already have a Page with lots of followers, your Reels probably won’t get huge exposure.

However, if you’re an expert of some sort - and willing to engage with people inside a Group - Facebook can be a goldmine.

Further, if you’re willing to put some money behind your content, a lot of people are seeing incredible results using a $5 per day ad strategy.

#2 -Instagram

Difficulty Level: 8/10
Expenses Involved: $ - $$$
Skills Required: Photography, Photo Editing, Filming, Video Editing
Leverage Points: Decreased need for paid shout-outs
Value of Followers: 3/5

As someone who earns a full-time living from a faceless Instagram theme page, I won’t deny I have a soft spot for IG.

But that doesn’t mean I’m blind to the realities of how hard it is to grow there.

As for the negatives, Instagram’s not nearly as easy as it used to be.

Not only are you going up against Pages from all across the world, the IG algorithm is configured to show content anywhere from 3-4 months ago.

Meaning, you’re not just competing against what everyone else posted today. Instead, you’re competing against what everyone else posted over the past 120 days.

On the good side, while there are tons of Pages posting content, Instagram as a business model is not nearly as competitive as freelancing, e-commerce or coaching.

Mainly because running an IG Page is not a quick cash grab, and requires both patience and an eye toward the long-term.

Fortunately for us, this reality scares the “get rich quick” types away (while nudging them into hyper-competitive industries like freelancing and coaching).

Further, while it’s hard to wrap your head around the sheer number of people Instagram serves, the truth is there’s more demand for content than there are new posts published to the timeline each day.

Which is precisely why Instagram has to serve content from weeks and months ago: The public’s voracious appetite for content outpaces the supply of new posts by a long shot.

Last, while paid shoutouts from other pages used to be the “Go To” growth tactic, today they’re not nearly as relevant. Translation: Attracting followers today isn’t nearly as expensive as it used to be.

And because of that, it’s still possible to build a following on Instagram if you’re willing to put in the work to create high-quality, high-engagement content.*

*Which is precisely what I teach people how to do in my faceless IG theme pages training. Click here to check it out.

That’s it for today’s summary.

In our final installment, we’ll discuss X and LinkedIn.

Which - if you struggle on camera - is where you will likely need to focus.

But more on that next time. Stay tuned.

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💡 Takeaway: Similar to what we said last week, both Facebook and Instagram present unique challenges and opportunities. But if you’re willing to put in the work and be patient, the payoff can be massive.

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