Random Thoughts

It’s been a chaotic week here; among other things, we’ve had car troubles and a near miss from a tropical storm that still managed to give us widespread flooding on Tuesday. So, I don’t feel like I’ve got a unified theme to talk about this week. Between what I’ve already mentioned and a busy work schedule, I haven’t had time to think this week, much less formulate a blog post. However, I am dedicated to posting every week, so I decided to give it a go, but it’ll probably be more of a loose collection of thoughts than a consistent essay.

Is Social Media on the Decline?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been told that Social Media is the number one most important thing for a business or brand. But is that still true? When TikTok first burst onto the scene, I jumped on to see what all the hype was about. I was amazed at how many followers you could gain in a relatively short time. I also loved the enormous amount of reach my posts could get. At the time, the algorithm was on point and showed me things that I was into. As long as I curated my feed properly with likes, it worked like it was supposed to until it didn’t. At some point, the algorithm changed. Instead of showing me things I like, it shows me things designed to irritate me. I’m sure it’s doing it because they’ve discovered that making people outraged gives a much better engagement rate than people agreeing with things. The problem is that I don’t go online to be enraged. In fact, if all I see is rage bait, I’ll log out and be less likely to look at it later. Then there is also the “Will TikTok be there in six months” conundrum…

The other thing is, I’m not always sure Social Media is necessary. I’ve been in digital marketing for over fifteen years, and Social Media has always been viewed as an essential marketing channel, but a lot has changed since I started. For starters, a lot of Social Networks throttle your organic content. Meaning, most of your followers don’t see your content. This is by design. The Social Network does this to drive you to pay for ads. The other thing is that most networks are oversaturated with users and content; it is now easier than ever for your content to get lost in all the noise. And I know some of you will say, “But it’s for branding.” However, if no one sees your content, are you really branding?

I’ll be honest: I get far more results and good ROI on ads than I ever have with organic Social Media. For the first six months of 2024, I turned off my ads and tried to make a go of it with only organic social engagement. The result? My book sales plummeted like a rock. They absolutely cratered, even though I was getting the best social media engagement I had ever gotten. A month before the release of my new book, “The Silent Death,” I created new ads and turned them back on. It took a few weeks of tweaking, but my book sales roared back, and I had a very successful launch of the new book. Now, I know results may vary, but to me, that suggests that spending more money on ads and less time on posting on social media could be beneficial. Time is a precious commodity to an author, so less time posting for small results on social media could mean more time for writing or creating. Right?

Never Enough Time

So, when The Silent Death came out, I said I was going to continue to write and not take a break. Today marks one month since the book came out, and I haven’t written a thing. But that hasn’t been by choice. It’s been the result of a chaotic schedule combined with a heavy workload at the day job. I’ll be honest, it drives me batshit crazy. I end up feeling guilty because I’m too exhausted at the end of the day to do the writing that I actually want to do. I know it’ll be fine, but it amazes me how much time I spent feeling guilty because I want to write, but life gets in the way so much. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found time for some creative endeavors, such as the new t-shirt designs I floated around Social Media this past weekend. They will be coming soon. But I still feel bad because I haven’t started writing again. That’s on top of some light editing I’m doing to Tears of the Dragon as I prepare to create an audiobook version. I need about ten more hours a day and unlimited energy…

No Time and Yet…

I know I just finished writing a paragraph complaining that I never have time, and yet lately, I’ve been feeling a familiar itch that needs scratching. In fleeting moments of free time, I’ve taken to playing songs again on my guitar. I originally started doing it because I had thought about doing a live set on TikTok or FB once a week. Now, I find myself considering whether or not to attempt to play out again. For those who keep track, my last live performance was in November 2019 in Wichita, KS. At the time, it was my last show because my wife and I were moving to Brownsville, TX. Little did I know the pandemic would snafu my plans to play music in this area, and by the time it passed, I was thoroughly into my author gig. Now, I’m considering playing at small establishments on acoustic night again. Why would someone with no free time want to add another thing to the cluttered schedule? I honestly couldn’t tell you. My only reasoning is that I’ve been a musician for most of my life, and I find playing music for people therapeutic.

Also, I’ve been thinking that part of the reason I stopped playing, other than the lockdowns of the pandemic, was because I didn’t feel worthy. I’ve been through a lot of stuff mentally over the past six years or so, and maybe at some point, I stopped believing I could do it or that I was even worthy of doing it. Maybe this itch to play is a sign that I’ve healed, and it’s finally time to get out there and try again. I really have no clue. I’m in uncharted territory. I always said I had no intention of playing music in my fifties. Of course, that’s easy to say when you’re younger. When you’re in your fifties and feel the urge, it’s a lot harder to deny it. As I said last week, you can’t go back, but you can evolve.

Anyway, that’s enough for this week. If these random musings have touched on you, drop me a line and let me know. I’m always interested in what you’ve all been up to. Around here, it’s already the pregame to spooky season, so my wife and I have started watching scary movies. It’s always my favorite time of the year. In any case, have a great week and we’ll talk soon.

– Ryan