05/22/2026
I keep seeing people create a page, make an event, share it into a few groups, and then wonder why nobody showed up.
That's not promotion.
That's screaming into a void and mistaking the echo for engagement.
I've been on social media since the beginning. I had to use a college email address to create my first Facebook account. I've watched this thing grow from a digital yearbook into one of the largest communication platforms in human history.
I've been on both ends of the spectrum, too. I've used it professionally to build businesses, brands, and audiences. I've also spent my fair share of time being an absolute troll for the sake of a joke.
The reality is that social media is both things at once. It's where people share their deepest beliefs, strongest opinions, political takes, religious convictions, and personal victories. It's also where people repost memes they didn't create and laugh at jokes they couldn't be bothered to write themselves.
That's not criticism. That's literally why the share button exists.
But somewhere along the way, people started confusing posting with promoting.
Creating a page isn't marketing.
Creating an event isn't marketing.
Dropping a flyer into ten Facebook groups isn't marketing.
Marketing is repetition. Consistency. Relationships. Showing up over and over again until people recognize your name before they recognize your logo.
Ten years ago, social media made that easier. Organic reach was incredible. Ad dollars stretched further. A good post could travel farther than a small-town newspaper.
Then millions more people showed up.
Businesses showed up.
Creators showed up.
Everybody got a microphone.
Building an audience today is harder than it's ever been because you're competing with everyone else doing the exact same thing.
But that doesn't mean social media is dead.
It still works.
It still sells products.
It still fills events.
It still builds communities.
It still helps artists, photographers, writers, businesses, and organizations find their people.
The difference is that now it requires a plan. It requires consistency. It requires patience. And sometimes it requires doing the boring work nobody wants to do.
So by all means, make the page. Create the event. Share the flyer.
Just don't confuse the first step with the finish line.
The people getting results aren't posting once and hoping.
They're showing up tomorrow and doing it again.
—Jesse
