Patreon continues its crusade against algorithmic feeds by looking at the latest Create Report, creator economy trends based on internal data, and is an effort that allows creators to fall behind.
In a survey of 1,000 creators and 2,000 fans, the membership platform reported that 53% of creators find it more difficult to reach out to followers than they were five years ago.
This is no surprise. Celebrities are fighting Instagram’s video-centric algorithmic feed, making it difficult for the Kardashians to reach out to fans as well. And if Kylie Jenner struggles to connect with her audience, that’s even worse.
Fans are unhappy with the shift to short form videos and “For You” feeds on social platforms. According to Patreon’s Survey, fans say they see shorter content on social media than long-form content, but 52% of fans feel that long-form content is more valuable, and overall He said he was more willing to pay. For that. Additionally, as the platform continues to struggle to monetize its short content, it tends to generate more revenue through its ad revenue share on YouTube.
This is the fundamental tension in today’s creator economy. Platforms like Tiktok have made it easier to build audiences than ever before, but the vast amount of content provided algorithmically means creators keep it up when they pay attention to their fans This means it’s difficult. If fans follow Tiktok or Instagram creators, they may not be able to actually see the majority of posts from that creator, as they own in posts from people they don’t follow.
So, as creators told Patreon, they now prioritize quality and deeper connections with their fans around metrics like follower counts, likes, views and more.
“When focusing on a platform that mitigates the relationship between creators and subscribers, what you essentially do is give the platform the responsibility to decide who and what to send.” Instagram, 2022 We have made major changes to the algorithm feed. I’ve spent years building a community on these platforms. ”
With more creators than ever trying to make a living on the internet, a clear path to connecting with their fans is essential to monetizing their business. However, the advantage of algorithms often interferes with its pathways and forces it to adapt content to platform preferences. In fact, 78% of report authors admitted that they influenced what the “algorithms” created, discouraging 56% from exploring their passions and interests.
These challenges are exacerbated by the wider instability of the social media platforms themselves. With Tiktok at legal risk, creators are irritated by the current state of social media as Meta overhauls content moderation precedents and presents X-Platform Fringe Extremism. Consumer content platforms like Patreon, Substack and Onlyfans have made it easier for creators to control their content and make money, but it’s becoming more difficult to connect with people who want to pay for their content in the first place.
“The ‘algorithm’ doesn’t measure what people want,” says Karen X. Chen, creator of Patreon, in a study. “It measures what people pay attention to.”