thatryanbarnes

[thatryanbarnes]

My Working Theory on Social Media Success

Scrolling through social media, it doesn't take long before finding content creators of all levels complaining about how the algorithm doesn't seem to be serving them like it does others. The assumption seems to be that when a user creates good, valuable content that the algorithm will recognize that and push it to not just their followers but other users on the platform as well. It's a common assumption that I use to have too, but that's not how this works. So I developed a working theory and social media planning philosophy I unironically dubbed "Follow The Money" which has worked for me so far when I apply it to my content.

What does "Follow The Money" mean?

As I said before, the most common misunderstanding is that the algorithm is designed to help creators. The algorithm is not designed to help content creators. The help content creators get is a byproduct of an algorithms true purpose. So how do we know how the algorithm functions and what it really wants? You follow the money.

"But I'm not paying the platform anything!" I hear you say... maybe. You are right. That's how I know they don't provide you with a service, they aren't obligated to. You are providing them with content and data they leverage and use in their algorithm.

"Ok, but they aren't paying me either so I don't serve them." Is something you might also reply with. Right again. And you are not obligated to use them. You can jump ship whenever you want and use someone else. You can even stay with any given service and use others at the same time. You have complete freedom of movement and so do they.

"Huh. But if I don't pay them, how do they make money?" That is the question that begins this journey! There are many answers to this question but the most common way and the one we will focus on here is display advertising or, as I like to call it, selling ad real-estate. So now we can take a walk and follow the money.

How an algorithm serves a platform (probably).

So we have started to determine that a social media platform more than likely makes its money from display advertising and selling ad real-estate, but what does that have to do with the algorithm? In a word: everything.

Platforms want to stay relevant and advertisers want to get the most bang for their buck. So a really smart way to do this efficiently is by designing an algorithm that watches the users and leverages their traffic and content for the purpose of creating highly targeted ad space to market.

If you have been around as long as I have, you probably remember when raw numbers like follower/subscriber count, and likes were where it was at. Reason being: more likes/followers -> more human eyes -> push content to keep users on platform, increase likelihood of clicking targeted ads, profit.

Then the algorithm changed because the numbers were being inflated. This happened partly due to bots and to practices like "follow for follow" where the numbers grow bigger but not the amount of active, engaging users consuming the content. This in turn means that the ad space that's being sold as is, is losing value and the platform is at risk of losing sales.

To prove human interaction, algorithms have largely been redesigned to look for not just likes and follower counts but also how are users engaging with the content (i.e. sharing and commenting). So the reasoning now goes: more engagement, likes, and follows -> more actual human eyes -> greater chance of clicking ads -> push content to keep users on platform, increase value of targeted display advertising space, and profit.

It's easy to see that users can benefit from this time to time. But, again, that's a byproduct of the algorithm. The purpose isn't to push your awesome video, it's to make revenue from display advertising. This is also why a lot of people's feeds look like feedback loops or echo chambers: it keeps you on the platform longer in the hopes you will click an ad.

Bottom line: the algorithms right now only really care about human/user interests and traffic for the purpose of profiting from advertising and marketing ad space.

No matter what the algorithm evolves into in the future, if you follow the money, you can get a really good idea of what it’s looking for.

What are we, as content creators, to do?

I, for one, am cautious to welcome our new robot overlords with open arms. However, for better or for worse, they are here to stay for the foreseeable future. I also don't think all hope is lost and there is a lot that content creators can do to better work around and with the algorithm.

Start by flipping the script. Don't worry about the algorithm, worry about how to attract people to your page.

"How am I suppose to do that if the algorithm won't push my content," I think I heard one of you say and the answer to that is stop relying on the algorithm to do the work for you. By all means, keep using tags and good social media optimization. It really helps in the long run for organic growth. The algorithm isn't preventing you from sharing your content to other platforms where it can bring more eyes in. The algorithm isn't preventing you from going to network events where you can talk about the stuff you do and share your content with others. The algorithm isn't preventing you from connecting with your local creator community who work together to help each other grow organically. The algorithm isn't pushing your content because you haven't built enough public awareness. If a brand new social media platform came out today and everyone rushed to it, it's easy to assume that everyone is starting fresh but they aren't. People with public awareness that isn't solely reliant on social media (think basically any and all verified accounts that weren't paid to be verified) will be able to pull a higher percentage of their followers to the new platform than a small time creator because the small time creator had limited their public awareness to one or three social media platforms. It's your brand, business, content and you are ultimately responsible for increasing public awareness to it beyond the social media platforms. So here are some ideas that have helped me do just that:

Be aware of the algorithm but don't rely on the algorithm in your strategy. I described how the algorithm most likely works and its purpose. All proprietary stuff but, if you follow the money, it makes sense. The value it is looking for isn't necessarily the same value you should be focusing on for your content and audience. Forget the algorithm, it'll notice eventually.

Don't just post it and forget it, you need to share it! I feel like many creators just post to, say Instagram, and then wait for the robot overlords to notice them. Those days are long gone. Share the post to your stories (IG, Facebook, Snapchat, whatever), share it in your microblog (Threads, Facebook, X/Twitter), make a short form video (IG Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts) announcement for it, share it as a post in an online community (Reddit, Facebook, etc.), anywhere and everywhere you can that's appropriate for the content. It's important to LINK back to the original content whenever possible so that the traffic is going back to the first platform which attracts that platforms algorithm. Whenever you can't or it doesn't make sense to linking back to the original post, upload it to the platform that won't let you link back and add in the captions or text that it can also be found on Instagram. I use instagram as an example but this also works for TikTok, YouTube, and Blog posts (like what I do with my Tumblr blog and DeviantArt Journal) Instagram is also a great example for sharing content because you can post a video and it doesn't make it to all of your followers in the feed alone. Of those followers who didn't get the video in their feed some may enjoy checking out IG Stories (or even Facebook stories if you have those connected) and because you announced a new video to your stories, they now are aware of it! Of the followers that didn't get the video in their feed nor do they check stories out, they might be made aware of your new video because the IG Reel trailer you made for it DID hit their feed and now they know and go watch the full video! Remember to POST & SHARE your content.

Start with grassroots movement (in your local community). Just like you need to cross post and share your content online to increase brand awareness, you can also let people around you know what's up too. Don't spam people and if someone really isn't interested, don't push the issue, but there are a lot of casual ways one can talk about what they do or increase public awareness in their local community. Talk with your friends about some of the cool stuff you have been posting, talk about it at dinner with the family, find and join a local creator community, go to the library and see what events are posted that you might be able to go to or be a part of to share what you do. Heck, you might be able to post a flyer for what you do on a community board too.

Stay human, stay authentic, stay organic. We already have enough fake people and establishments in the world. What will help your content flourish is human connection and that's what most people want when they are scrolling on social media is some semblance of human connection. Stay grounded in what you do. If you attract people, you will inevitably attract the algorithm to. You could do what the platform hopes you do and pay for display ad space and that isn't a bad idea in and of itself. Just make sure you stick to your values, stay authentic, and stay human. Ads, I feel, can also push people away. But you can still use organic growth practices and pay for ads at the same time.

Use Beacons.ai to track useful audience and content data. I use Beacons for a lot of different things but one of the things I find most useful about it is the media kit function. Like, we all know that engagement is what algorithms track now but it's not a data point readily available for us to see. When I go to my media kit I can see that as of righting this I have a 15.9% engagement rate on my instagram, none for Facebook (I don't post much there), 14.7% for TikTok, and none for YouTube (again, haven't posted much there). This helps me know that for the content I produce, I'm not doing too bad. I can also compare who my target audience is with who is actually in my audience and be able to use that to help me strategize my content better whether its to shift gears towards who my audience is or to make things that attract who my target audience is. All that said, Beacons has been a very useful tool for me in this and many other regards and I cannot recommend them enough, #notsponsored. However, I do have a referral link if you want to try them out, use their tools, and help support me and the content I make: https://beacons.ai/signup?c=thatryanbarnes. The service also provides a Link-In-Bio, email marketing tool, digital good store platform, and more. It even has a comment of creators who want nothing more but to help each other grow and be successful.

The biggest take away...

Remember, you want HUMANS to interact with your content and support what it is you do. Just like how bots don't click ads, algorithms won't buy your merch, services, or increase your engagement. Have a human centric content strategy, share it with everyone and anyone willing to hear it, and the algorithm will take notice eventually. By the time it does, you'll have learned that you didn't need it to help you grow in the first place. Focus on humans, not robots.

[thatryanbarnes]

This Silly Doodle Started Everything

I shared this image over on my threads account and was going to thread threads together (Is that the right nomenclature? What is the official threads lexicon?) but I've been meaning to blog again and share my journey so here goes my first post in a long time. If this is your first time seeing me or vaguely remember me: Hi, I'm Ryan! Visual artist, you can learn more about me here. Ideally after you finish reading this post.

I was going through my journals I could find of my time as a Soldier in the U.S. Army that I could scan and submit with my VA claims. Something I didn't think I could do until I recently attended Operation THRIVE and learned a new way to approach trauma and regain mindfulness and self (a story for another post). I found this sketch of the water tower in Grafenwöhr, Germany, my first duty station and the prelude of this artist journey I have begun.

I was just fresh out of training for my job in the Army and going through a difficult time that, in the months to come, would only get worse. While I did believe things would eventually work out in the end (they did nearly an entire year later after some serious teeth pulling and being a squeaky wheel asking for help), I needed something to get me by and help me recenter.

At this point, I had not really drawn in years. Other than doodles, I hadn't really taken it seriously since I started university in 2015 where I studied filmmaking and production, graduating in 2018, enlisting that same year, and finally arriving to Germany in spring of 2019. I though back to some of the, at the time, more difficult times of my life (being bullied in school, my mother's untimely death) as well as some of the happier times growing up. I always enjoyed crafting and making art.

I left my barracks, walking to the post exchange across the street. I bought some fairly cheap sketch pencils just to see if this is something that would help. Began walking North, where the parade field was and the best view of the water tower and I began to sit down and draw.

After I was done, I did feel better. I now had something I could look forward to on the weekend and something to share. Later in the journal there are old sketches and ideas for logos for a "Draw With Me" channel, philosophies for art and operating a studio, a detailed account of when I submitted some artwork to an Art Walk later that year, and just about everything else that was the beginning of what I am building today as a Veteran for myself, wife, and my first child (who's first birthday is coming up too).

I'm doing… ok. Like, I'm stable. I have the aforementioned Operation THRIVE, a team of lovely veterans, volunteers, VA, and of course my wife, kid, support poodle Blackberry, family, and friends to thank for that. I'm making connections, going back to school, and making the life I always wanted. I'm on an artist journey and a healing journey. It's important to me to be authentic and true to my feelings, true to my core, and I want to share that as well as this journey. Hopefully, it'll help inspire others as well, no matter what they are going through. But I couldn't think of a way to start until I could get a level head. At least level enough that I could look through my old journals again and find this sketch.

[thatryanbarnes]

Leaving Twitter and Lighting a Beacon

This post was originally published here on my website.

I have been a long-time user of twitter (since 2015) and I've used the platform for personal social media as well as for professional and networking purposes. It has connected me with many awesome and amazing people, friends, peer content creators, you name it. But then April 2022 happened the platform was placed under new management, and has been unstable for many to say the least. So I kinda slowed my roll on twitter and kept my thumb on the pulse to see what was going to happen.

Nearly a decade since I started my account that grew into @thatryanbarnes and over a year since the change in management, I am leaving the app indefinitely with no current plans of returning. This past year has served as a stark reminder for all that one should not put all their eggs in a single basket (pun ABSOLUTELY intended) because one does not know what the future entails. I don't think anyone could have predicted what happened over at Twitter 2 or more years ago.

"Where Can We Find You Now?"

Of course, you can follow my blog here and favorite my website. But, I’ve also been working on another exit strategy, looked at various services, and even tried to apply for some beta services to be a part of. ((Bluesky, I'm still waiting with an eager heart.)) While I can sit here linking every platform I am currently on only having to update it later, it’s a lot easier to just point you towards my Beacons website.

Calling Beacons a link-in-bio service doesn't do it justice. It is so much more than that. As a service, their mission is to help creators create the best version of themselves online and they do this by providing awesome tools and having an amazing blog that teaches creators and influencers of all levels how to up their game online. Their service is worth of a blog post in and of itself so I'll just leave it at that and encourage you all to check them out for yourselves. Many of their services that make them awesome are NOT behind a paywall, though getting a pro account can help them keep doing amazing work. [Editor’s note: this article isn’t a sponsored article, I just really like their service and believe in the company and their mission.]

The main takeaways here are that I’m leaving Twitter indefinitely, you can find all my other social media links on my Beacons site, and also I highly recommend their services to all content creators for reasons that will come in a future post.

[thatryanbarnes]

Happy to finally be back in the studio drawing after a week of focusing on my own health and some work stuff.

[thatryanbarnes]

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Finished the self portrait mural I wanted for the cover to my online portfolio (link in bio)! I had a lot of fun with this one and am super happy to be drawing and illustrating again.

[thatryanbarnes]

A little sketch I worked on this morning towards a larger project.

Trying to get into the habit of posting something everyday, even if it's small and no-effort content to my professional pages to help encourage growth and engagement.

[thatryanbarnes]

Kinda curious how tweets look on Tumblr for SEO and SMO reasons…

Also begs the question of when posting Reels and TikToks, do I share the Reel or the TikTok? Last thing I want to do is spam timelines with both. Then again, the algorithm might prevent that too.

Hmmmm…

… might delete this later…

[thatryanbarnes]

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I have been getting back into more crafty tactile things and bullet journaling to help with my content creation and it has been good for my mental health. I tend to map out the week ahead either Saturday (today) or Sunday.

If y'all are interested in doing your own bullet journal or want to see the products I prefer to use you can check out my Amazon page here. Get yourself something nice and help support me and my content at the same time at no additional cost. It's pretty dope!

[thatryanbarnes]

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Made 4 unique illustrations for the back of my business cards as little print freebies when networking. Love them!! Can't wait to do more!

[thatryanbarnes]

My Travel Art Kit

Whether I am going on a trip to visit friends and family, getting away for a weekend, going to work, or just running errands, I am always traveling with my own little portable art studio. Keeping things simple so I don't bring absolutely everything (why would I bring all my gouache, watercolors, and alcohol markers?) I have narrowed my supplies down to the bare minimum for my travel art kit.

A quick note before I get into the details, everything I talk about in this post and more is available on my Amazon page.

Starting with the pencils, I pack my 0.7mm Pentel Quicker Clicker mechanical pencil with 2H lead refill, my 0.5mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead refill, and eraser refills.

The 0.7mm mechanical pencil is filled with 2H lead for quick, light sketches and thumbnailing. The 0.5mm mechanical pencil is filled with 2B lead for rendering the sketch and adding more details.

What I like best about the Quicker Clicker model is that the button for extending the lead is in the grip instead of at the end of the pencil. This allows me to stay in the zone longer because I don't have to change how I hold the pencil to extend the lead.

I bring several different erasers all with their own purpose.

I use the Faber-Castell kneaded erasers (not pictured) for lightening a sketch. I get the normal gray ones. In my experience, the color ones are a little messy.

For erasing large areas, I use Staedtler Mars plastic eraser. They do the job nicely and clean compared to most other erasers.

Sticking with the Staedtler brand, I also carry the Mars plastic eraser stick holder and two refills just in case.

For more detailed and smaller erasing, I use Tombow MONO Zero Eraser Round Tip and Square Tip.

I have a couple options for inking that I bring with me and use depending on how I feel.

If I feel I want to do a more traditional, manga style line art I have my Sakura Pigma Micron Fineliner Pens to help me achieve that.

If I want to fill in some dark spots or just have a painterly, brush texture I use my Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip Brush Pen. This pen is very versatile too and is practically all the Sakura Pigma Micron pens I have in a single pen.

Sometimes, gel pens feel like the right choice or I need to sign something or make a quick note and don't want to use my art supplies for it. So I also pack my 0.7mm Sharpie S-Gel and 0.38mm Sharpie S-Gel pens (not pictured).

Lastly for highlights and what not, I have the Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen. This gel pen goes on fairly thick and doesn't pick up the pigment underneath as easily, although some alcohol marker pigments will require a few coats.

Bonus: sometimes, while doing gesture drawing, I like the emphasis my favorite sketches using highlighters. For added fun, I bring an assortment of Sharpie Highlighter colors.

Finally, all of these things fit in my large capacity pencil case (as seen in top photo). This soft case fits everything I need and then some. It's double zippered so I keep my pencils and erasers on one side and all my pens and things on the other. I'm curious to know what your guys' go to travel art supplies are. Digital, traditional, or both? Let me know as a reply or reblog!

[thatryanbarnes]

A comfort illustration I did for October. Made in Adobe Fresco.

[thatryanbarnes]

Did a little mini-review on Sanjoki Alcohol Markers Vs. Copic Art Markers.

[thatryanbarnes]

Another Inktober illustration! This one is also available as a mini print in my shop.

I took some inspiration from the Bouquet prompt but didn't actually include the flowers. I'd just get hyper fixated and then the whole illustration would be lost. It only happened like 3 times. Maybe 4. lol So here sits a Ghost Bride.

Making this one was fun. I did it in Adobe Fresco for iPad and moved it to Photoshop for PC for some final touches.

[thatryanbarnes]

With this latest inktober post, I also have to mention that these illustrations are also available as mini prints on my recently opened shop! As I keep posting illustrations, I will update the shop with the new mini prints.

Happy inktober and happy arting everyone!

[thatryanbarnes]

I'm spending this Inktober working in different digital software, playing around and seeing what I like and what works best for me.

I made this in Medibang Paint and, if you are just starting out or on a budget, I highly recommend this program. It's free with ads but also not too expensive to make those ads go away. IMHO it isn't as good as Procreate/Photoshop/Clip Studio Paint, but it gets the job done and has it's own art social media platform too.

I might go back to it later as features get added. I just rely too much on features that are present in photoshop and clip studio paint.

[thatryanbarnes]

Thought I had my Tumblr set up to start posting this stuff... oops! Heya! So inktober has already started and if you have been following me on my other social media accounts, you might have already seen this. Haha ^///^

My account will be going back to posting regularly as I build a routine but for now, a fast art dump.

[thatryanbarnes]

Inktober 2022 is here!

In case you guys missed it, the new Inktober prompts are here! You can get a head start on your illustrations now and schedule them for posts later helping alleviate that social media stress of posting same day.

This also builds that healthy social media habit of not rushing to fill your feed every day but to plan out content ahead of time and post it. Just because you finished an illustration TODAY doesn't mean it can't wait till next week to be live.