Remember when you could just post a link on Facebook and get real traffic?

Last week, a client asked why their page posts get maybe 50 views. Three years ago, that same post would have reached a few thousand people easily. I was looking at some old campaign data from 2021, and the organic reach numbers were almost ten times higher. Now you have to pay to boost almost everything just to get it seen by your own followers. It feels like the game changed from building a community to just renting an audience. Has anyone found a social platform that still feels like the old days for small businesses?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_nguyen6d ago

Got me thinking about my uncle's bakery page. He used to post a photo of a fresh croissant and get a line out the door from locals who saw it. Now he says the same post just sits there unless he throws twenty bucks at it. Feels like the platforms pulled the rug out from under the little guys who helped build them. I've been poking around some smaller, local-focused apps, but nothing has that same mix of everyone already being there and the feed actually showing you stuff.

wells.morgan6d ago

Yeah my buddy runs a record shop and it's the same thing. He'd post a new vinyl find and people would sprint over. Now his posts hit like five people unless he pays. He tried one of those neighborhood apps but it was just people selling old couches and lost cats. Feels like we're stuck choosing between a pay-to-play mega app or a ghost town.