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- The Reality of Growing on Social Media - Part 1
The Reality of Growing on Social Media - Part 1
The cold hard facts about growing on YouTube & TikTok
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1,242 Words | 5 min 11 Sec Read
Welcome to another issue of Passionate Income.
In Part I of this week’s Three Part Series, we’ll be discussing the reality of growing a social media following in 2024.
In particular, we’ll break down each major platform based on its difficulty level relative to previous years, potential areas of leverage, and where you should focus.
Let’s dive in.
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In previous issues we discussed the Pros, Cons, and cold hard reality of building certain types of businesses. In particular, Faceless Instagram Pages, Amazon KDP, and Newsletter businesses (with Part II here).
Today, however, we’ll discuss the vehicle responsible for driving both the business models above and the ones we haven’t discussed yet:
Social Media Marketing
With a handful of exceptions, social media drives the majority of “online businesses.” Especially as it relates to the types of companies run by most digital nomads, creators and online entrepreneurs.
Meaning, regardless of which business model you choose, there’s a very high likelihood you’re going to have to market it on social media.
And because of that, it’s in your best interest to understand the facts when it comes to organic social media marketing. So let us be clear:
Growing a following on social media has never been harder than it is today.
Period. Full stop.
Does that mean it’s too late? Or that you shouldn’t try?
No.
What it does mean, however, is that you need to understand what you’re going up against. Both for your sanity, your wallet, and so that you don’t throw in the towel when you’re mere inches from success.
So, to that end, here’s a breakdown of today’s top platforms and what you need to know about each one.
#1 - YouTube
Difficulty Level: 10/10
Expenses Involved: $$ - $$$$$
Skills Required: Filming, Video Editing
Value of Followers: 5/5
In marketing, it’s said a prospect needs to spend seven hours consuming a company’s content, ads, or interacting with a salesperson before they’ll make a purchase. While this is a broad generalization with a million exceptions, generally speaking, it’s true.
Combine this with the fact “People do business with people they know, like and trust,” and YouTube is by far the #1 platform for generating high-quality, pre-sold customers and clients.
And because of that, most social media experts agree 1,000 YT followers are worth tens of thousands on other platforms.
On the downside, growing on YouTube is known to be painfully slow. To the point you should expect to post videos for 12 months before you see any remote level of “exponential growth.”
And unless you’re running a Faceless Channel, you’ll need to be charismatic on camera, have a high-quality filming setup (studio/home studio), and pay for (or know how to do) serious video editing.
Are there exceptions to the above points? Yes.
But generally speaking, competition is too high to cheap out these days.
With competitors spending 4-6 figures on their studios/equipment, and paying top-notch video editors, it can be hard to capture attention if you’re filming on some four year old iPhone with a $5 lapel mic.
With that said, Content is King.
If what you have to say is entertaining, insightful, educational or all of the above, people will overlook a lower-quality studio setup and subpar audio.
The key is being honest with yourself - or requesting honest constructive criticism - so you know where the blame falls if your content performs poorly.
#2 -TikTok
Difficulty Level: 6/10
Expenses Involved: $ - $$$
Skills Required: Filming, Video Editing
Value of Followers: 2/5
On the upside, the fact YouTube is a long-form video video platform makes it great for building trust with your followers. On the downside, filming and editing long-form video is a ton of work.
With TikTok, however, the game gets much easier.
First, your everyday TikTok, Instagram Reel or YouTube Short is anywhere from 5 to 60 seconds. In fact, until recently (and depending on the platform), it wasn’t even possible to post vertical videos longer than 15 seconds.
This is good for marketers because filming a vertical video on your phone negates the need for a high-quality background/studio setup (in most cases).
Further, it’s dramatically easier to film a 15 or 30-second video without having to write and memorize a script (let alone set it up on a teleprompter). And because of that, it’s exponentially to “freestyle” TikTok vids.
Which, in turn, makes it way easier to create content.
On the downside, getting someone to consume seven hours of your video content spread out over 15 and 30-second videos is a massive challenge.
On YouTube, you can achieve the above with 14 half-hour videos or 21 20-minute videos.
But with TikToks, we’re talking about someone needing to consume between 70 and 280 videos to get them to the seven-hour mark. And because of that, it’s much harder to build trust on TikTok.
Further, anecdotal evidence shows TikTok followers just aren’t that valuable/do not convert as well as visitors from other platforms.
There are multiple theories as to why.
First, some believe it’s because the demographic on TikTok is younger, and because of that has less disposable income. Second, some argue the fact it’s a bite-sized video platform has destroyed its users’ attention spans, making it harder to convert them once they click away from the platform.
In terms of what kind of time commitment you should expect, it’s hard to say.
On the one hand, you can go viral on TT faster than any other platform. And because of that, it’s easy to build followers.
On the other, viral posts almost rarely lead to sales.
And because of that, it’s easy to get trapped chasing engagement (which last we checked, can’t be deposited at the bank).
Despite the downsides listed above, there are both creators and brands that have made an absolute killing on TikTok.
Further, in terms of video platforms, anecdotal evidence shows it’s still - even in 2024 - easier to grow on TT relative to Instagram or YouTube.
Meaning, if you’ve got the skills and it makes sense for your target audience, TikTok could be a gold mine.
That’s it for today’s summary.
In Part II, we’ll discuss Instagram and Facebook before ending Part III with a discussion of X and LinkedIn.
Despite being “boomer” platforms, there are some serious opportunities on all of the above. Especially with how many marketers bailed on Facebook over the last five years.
But more on that later.
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💡 Takeaway: Both YouTube and TikTok present unique challenges and opportunities. But as is the case with every platform we’ll be discussing, if you’re willing to put in the work and be patient, the payoff can be massive.
I'll leave you with this quote…
"Pivoting is not the end of the disruption process, but the beginning of the next leg of your journey.”
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