“Urghhhh” is really all I have to say on the matter of social media!
{insert visual here: Me wandering around kitchen, driving husband nuts, repetitively ranting as if each time it's a new revelation. The poor, poor man.}
More and more, I find myself sitting in a world where when I look outside of my mind, beyond my little plot on Earth, I wonder “What the fuck went wrong?”
When did we become so formulated? Hypnotically so. Hooked.
My dear friend, who I know will read this and my love for her almost has me not wanting to continue, was actually the final straw in a bubbling – almost to boiling point – explosion of my sanity these past months. Don’t get me wrong, she’s cute doing her thang and I know in my heart, she would be super happy for the creative process. I don’t wish to take any of that away from her… this is bigger than that.
So, what’s got my goat?
Social Media Marketing & Masquerading
I’m loathed to admit I’ve watched as many ‘how to’ webinars on social media marketing as the next Joe and could have a separate inbox for all the ‘buy this, try this, download this’ emails set to solve
socialitis; a feeling of weariness, sadness, apathy and general distress that many individuals feel when creating their online presence.
The endless tricks and tips to erect your social media empire and claim your patch amongst a gazillion others in the land of devices. The be authentic, build your tribe, filter this and filter that phenomena that bombards us as business owners and willing participants in the sea of selling the self.
I’m not a complete ogre and I can see the fun in some of it. Being a little silly, a bit cheeky, even kinda kooky. I get there is a level of inherent entertainment value. But when it becomes the only offering and it’s duplicated across every second person, in the same format, with same font, makeup, hairstyle, background, filter, (you get my point), I can’t help to feel a guttural urge to shout “WE ARE NOT LIVING! WAKE UP PEOPLE! WHERE HAVE WE GONE?”
Not Just a Pretty Face
The kick off of my current social dilemma (and for those who have not watched this doco, “Geez Louise, what are you waiting for?”), actually happened when I made one subtle change on my social media pages for Forest for the Trees.
When I launched on socials, I did so with an icon as a profile picture, green background overlaid with oak leaf on top. The oak leaf symbolises divinity, wisdom, strength and honour; a fitting frequency for the business I was in. So, I thought.
A few months later, having watched ANOTHER webinar about winning online, I decided that I needed to add a more personal touch. With my dread of doing video content holding me firmly seated, the least I could do was show there was a real person behind the brand.
The day I changed over my profile picture to my face, my Instagram followers increased more in that one day than they had in a month. On a quick calculation, the follows were predominantly male. Instantly I was put out. I wanted so much to believe that people would feel the energy of my words and gravitate for that reason alone, not because of what I look like. I had taken the bait – 101 in the formula for followers - and now I was part of the superficial soup.
False Eyelashes for Real {Followers}
For illustrative purposes, let’s run a lens over @iamladyscorpio, one of so many I could have chosen. She has a tonne of followers, a cool 60K. She’s ticked all the trick boxes, she’s notably attractive AND she has something quite engaging to say in her post on the topic of expression and transparency (ironic!).
Now, look at the comments below:
What about the amazing insights she had to share? It’s fine to comment on her impressive hair but give her a bit of credit with a “Totally with you, bae” tagged on the end.
Culturally or generationally, we seem to be overstimulated by visual imagery and underwhelmed by substance.
In my opinion, what perhaps begun as a generational construct is racing ahead as the cultural norm, as I watch 50 year olds prancing around online like 15 year olds, all in the name of click bait. This quite evidently goes beyond social media marketing and spurs on my ranty pants. Last week, I scrolled over a plumped and plucked young woman, posing with her infant son in such a seductive selfie my mouth gaped. And it was positively affirmed by so many of her followers. I truly don't have words for that!
Hypocritical Much?
Don’t fret…I see the irony of it all. Here I am, writing to my computer, to publish to you, to capture your interest in what ‘I’ have to say, in hope one day you may support me in return. I follow people to get followers. I dabble in advertising. I play the game… within limits. I’d say I lap at the shoreline of social media marketing.
I could go on forever about what I perceive is sorely off kilter with social media and our screen-thriving society. But the cold, hard truth which I sincerely struggle to reconcile is – it bloody works! The home-made mini flicks, the bronzed-up bods, the loud, attention-seeking, self-indulgent exteriors, the copycats, the fake eyelashes, the flashing filters and the fillers… all of it. Well, it works for followers, whether they lead to sales is dependent on many other things.
So I question, why? Why do we feed off insignificant nothings, off facades, off people in their lounge rooms, whom to any onlooker would appear to have gone mad, as they dance to their screens, fingers pointing erratically into the air? But pop that shit on a social media platform and voila – genius!
If I came dancing up to you with crazy faces in real life you’d turn and run a mile – unless there’d been a few mojitos and a dance floor between us :) So why do we find it so entertaining on a screen? Sadly, I don’t have the answers, or I’d be writing a ‘how to’ article myself! In an overly saturated online marketplace, the formulas for followers work to engage our psychological disposition. For me personally though, it’s not something I can follow. It is not only outside of my comfort zone but way off on my sense of self.
Consequently, when life in the physical doesn’t make sense to me, I write to my strongest off-Earth companion, The Universe, and his/her many guises. This is what my business is about after all. Channeling through higher guidance to gift a new perspective, be it for myself or my clients. I hope it helps you in some way, shape or form. Til next we meet on a social platform! (pun intended)
Here is a little of what The Universe had to say:
Social media is the vehicle to madness. It has the compounding force of ‘crackhead’ camaraderie that is never wholly present, alongside the delectable feast of the senses. It has all the makings of a drug induced coma waiting to happen.
Its power lies in the LIES it shares. This is foremost the insurgent problem that you as human beings take for granted. You are blinded by the nuances and privileges it pouts out. When in heavens name does a person get ‘paid’ for ‘pouting’? What does one do when the currency created on these social media masters is that of CHAOS, CRAZINESS AND CARELESSNESS?
It is crushing the souls of the younger generations that have the feeble minds to be bewitched by the pathogenic practices. Is it NOT OF SOUND VALUE.
That is bluntly put. So, does it have any redeeming features?!?!
It will one day when the horse has left the tracks shall we say. When humanity as a whole can peel their blinkered eyes from its grasp and wake up to look straight ahead.
What we do not dispose of is the collective nature it holds. The power to participate as ONE. This is the magic of social media. This plays into the greatness that will emerge in years to come.
And your thoughts on the ‘tricks and tips’? The formulated marketing ploys?
What can we say – hogwosh! This is the beast in true action. We cannot discourage this as it is creation in its own form and consciousness loves creation as you know, BUT COME ON PEOPLE – YOU HAVE WAY MORE TO GIVE EACH OTHER THAN MIMICRY AND FACADE.
Let everyone see who you are without pretence, without gaud and without feeling the impinging need to be someone else. A poster girl. A pin-up boy.
So how do we market our businesses/services to the world?
This is simple. By holding your energetic imprint IN YOUR HEART CENTRE AND DELIVERING ONLY FROM YOUR TRUTH. DO NOT WAIVER. DO NOT SUCCUMB. Your belief better be strong as it has a torrent of trash to move beyond.
Focus your business endeavours passively and it will breed positivity.
Is this for all? Some would say the likes of corporates are anything but passive?
On this we would beg to differ. There are MANY CORPORATES THAT PASSIVELY BREED POSITIVITY. They are not all angelic but neither all evil. Watch those that simply stay true to their soul purpose – yes, businesses have soul imprints. They will maintain momentum without losing themselves to distractive measures. They hold true to their values and ride the waves around them.
WATCH AND LEARN. STEADY YOUR SHIPS. COMPETING ON THE FIREY SEAS WILL ONLY GET YOU CAPSIZED AND WAITING FOR RESCUE. SAIL SLOWLY AND SAFELY… WANT FOR LESS AND RECEIVE MORE.
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Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash