I’m not on social media, because I don’t enjoy playing that game. I get queasy thinking about the impact algorithms can have on my life. Turns out there’s a term for that - algorithmic anxiety.

What it means for your marketing 👇🏻.

Do algorithms make you feel small? Powerless?

Have you ever felt grumpy, because the f*** algorithm wouldn’t show your posts in the main feed? You’ve already been a good boy/girl. You've shown it that you’re engaging and replying to all comments. You've fed the beast with a new content treat daily.

But, it won’t budge. Grrr!💥

It can feel alienating to have a nameless, faceless entity rule over your life.

When you feel anxious because of algorithms

There’s a term for the emotional stress from interacting with algorithms. Fittingly, it's called algorithmic anxiety.

When you face the ephemeral internet deity that is the algorithm, it can feel like any semblance of control over your life slips through your hands. And with good reason.

Most algorithms are opaque. We don’t know how they work. There are no rulebooks on how to deal with them. The best bet you have is to binge explainer content on what you should or shouldn’t do to appease the beast.

For some people that’s a fun game they want to crack. For others, it’s agonizing to cater to a nebulous authority that doesn’t appear to have rhyme or reason.

Algorithmic anxiety and your marketing

Algorithmic anxiety is unpleasant in every area of your life. It’s a mess, when you try to build a business while feeling it.

Businessing is nerve-racking as it is. There’s no need to remove another block from the swaying Jenga tower of being alive for the algorithm.

Algorithmic anxiety in marketing can look like this:

Bottom line: the frustration over marketing on social media and other algorithmic platforms you might feel is valid. It’s unpleasant to build your business on the shaky grounds of an arbitrary entity you have no say over.

I don’t think it helps to gloss over this and tell people to “be an adult” about it. Instead, let’s fix it.

Free your business from the algorithms

A low-anxiety life is a good life. Algorithm-proof your marketing like this:

The goal: If you want to continue to be on social media (which is not a necessity), your business needs a solid backbone that’s not dependent on algorithms.

Social media gets you exposure or helps funnel people into your newsletter. But it’s never, never the foundational channel to build your business on.

Do the above and you’ll have a solid business. Poof, algorithmic anxiety cut down by 99.9%!

Happy Marketing 📣,

Johanna

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