Beyond the Algorithm

Chapters

• 0:00 The Problem with Social Media Visibility
• 2:37 Introducing Sovereign Creator Network
• 5:20 Quality Relationships Over Viral Moments
• 9:45 Why I Left TikTok Shop
• 15:30 Building Something Permanent Through Collaboration
• 18:43 Join Sovereign: The Invitation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hi there Lita, goddess of Growth. So here's a flavour of what Spotlight Sovereign Spotlight is all about and let's get real Visibility. We join social media. There's how many millions and billions of people on social media around the world right now? Surely we should be all connecting with each other, growing from cultural exchange, but we join platforms. We join platforms with algorithms and what tends to happen, as much as we join to connect and extend our reach, we find that we end up in a bubble, a box, sometimes limiting our reach, especially if we do not have the resources to attempt to pay to leave the box that we're in. We attempt, as we're there, to curate our connection. We think we have control.

Speaker 1: 1:10

Some of us will go to grow rooms, set up community, often as much as we say otherwise, just a basic follow for follow, trend, and many succeed. What should we say for you? Many keep on going, hoping, almost like gambling, for that hit, that viral moment, that breakthrough. Some stay within the communities they build, some keep recreating themselves, their connections and plod on. We hope, whilst we're in the matrix, so to speak, to have built or to build a community that we can really genuinely connecting with each other. And that's where Sovereign comes into play. Sovereign is my very own creator network. I say it's a creator network. It's here to work with anyone that wants to create. This is not about just supporting you to be on social media. We're definitely coming together to do the old school kind of networking, but using the modern tools that are available to facilitate connection and growth without the algorithm, and it is my hope and desire that I will create a platform and a space that will encourage international connection, genuine connection, connection which will encourage us to listen to each other, to talk to each other, to connect with each other at times being able to be physically present with each other, if at all possible, without an algorithm tapping into our presence and maybe, let's say, unintentionally blocking our reach. We, I believe, as humans, need to connect with others in real time. We need to be able to hear each other in real time, whether it be that we build visibility on TikTok, on Instagram, on YouTube, whatever those platforms be and are. However we connect, our real connections are those that happen when we switch off our phones and our gadgets. Those are the ones that we tap into when social media has a blackout. Real connections.

Speaker 1: 4:47

I understand having a dependence on any platform is a risky way to do business. If we fall out of favour, there is no business. Something isn't right. There is it. We're looking at our cycles. We're looking at where we are in life. Often we are seeded with an idea that we would like to start a business, provide a service, travel, whatever it is that we're seeded with. Travel, whatever it is that we're seeded with. But if we don't know the season that we're in, we could be putting a lot of energy in that wrong space.

Speaker 1: 5:29

So sovereign is about talking about tapping into the time, the season, the cycle and, as you identify your personal season, guiding you, encouraging you to tap into that so that you've got enough strength, foundation to embrace the opportunity that you believe you're working towards. Sovereign is about creating a hub where people can actually come together without worrying about what onlookers have to say, because the importance is on the community, the connection is in the community, a hub that exists outside of social media, that can come together to strategize, to make being on social media okay. Make being on social media be a space where you have support and friendly faces, you're encouraged to progress and connect and and grow online and offline in real terms. Sovereign is my, as they say, brainchild and it is my intention that Sovereign will be here. Beyond the trends, beyond the algorithm algorithm connecting people in the creative industries and beyond there's so many gaps and spaces on social media platforms cannot fill human need of connection and, regardless of the grow rooms that we all go to on occasion, regardless of the communities that we attempt to build, eventually it comes to light that real community isn't on social media at all. Social media is just the space to highlight, to spotlight what we're doing, and that's where Sovereign comes into place. Through the Empowerment Diaries podcast, I will be spotlighting the story of all those that join the network. There'll be an opportunity to share stories, share details for services, products, ideas amongst the community. We joined social media so that we had more opportunities to do well in our business, and we joined social media to find that social media was blocking our connection, our way to connect with each other.

Speaker 1: 8:26

Going viral. You may make money from doing so and you may get thousands and millions of followers. The question is, how many of them you genuinely have a real human connection with, other than their like and their message? I was in a meeting once because I did a lot of uh, let's not exaggerate, but I did the tiktok shop. I was in a group and I wasn't making too many sales. I had made sales, but not too many, and I was a bit down about it not, um, you know, a bit fed up with the situation and I read a post or a comment by someone that was in attendance that they had had thousands of views on their posts and zero sales and I was getting something like 200 views and making sales, and it brought it home to me that actually my task was not to be on these platforms to get thousands of people to connect with me so I can showcase I have a lot of connections.

Speaker 1: 9:39

No, it dawned on me, my focus is on building quality relationships in small number, really working on building quality rather than quantity. The quantity will come because, yes, we do need to. If you want to thrive in business, more people need to know about it, to be able to buy your service or your product right. But quality, building real relationships, taking time out to do the one-to-one, the group sessions, hear each other's voice, having opportunities whether it be once a month, once a quarter to come together and support each other, have communication, q&as, and that's what I'm here to present An opportunity for us to come together and do some old school networking and support each other to grow, leaving the algorithm at the back door. There is a value in having a hub that's focused on building visibility individually and collectively. Understand this.

Speaker 1: 10:56

Regardless of how successful these platforms are, they're temporary. Often they give us opportunities that's for a short period of time. I've seen too many a story of successful, let's say, creators getting a lot of views, going viral and so, and overnight the algorithm doesn't like something and before you know it, their views have gone down. The money that they used to make whilst they do live streams have gone down, like careers are ended overnight.

Speaker 1: 11:37

One of the things that helped me make my final decision to walk away from TikTok was I created a post, which I still have a screenshot of, detailing how people can apply to join my network, and in that post I detailed clearly how they could join and, if they didn't want to join, what else they could do. And that post was initially given a violation mark. And when I questioned the violation mark, by the third time I had this email. Oh, I'm really sorry. Apparently I was told I was permanently banned. I was like so shocked. So but to be fair, inside of me I was fine. I was in disbelief. Let's just say I've heard about people getting banned and so, but I never experienced that experience. Until that point, and for something that wasn't a violation, I knew something wasn't right and I had heard by this time quite a lot of people talking about themselves getting violations and banned and for not doing anything. So I was actually going through this myself. Anyhow, the ban was overturned. I never actually experienced the ban because I could still get into my account, etc.

Speaker 1: 13:05

There was just like a warning on the screen which I took a screenshot of, and eventually the person that supported me in removing the ban notice or the warning explained that they're leaving the violation to remind me of. I've got the screenshots. It was such a strange cryptic message. Basically, as much as they removed the idea that there was going to be a ban for which I actually didn't get a formal notification, only an email as much as they'd removed that, they were still keeping the violation on my account, even though it wasn't a violation, I was in disbelief. I'm not in disbelief now. I was in disbelief but I sat there and I thought this isn't for me, so I had to. It was within a few hours of getting confirmation that it had been removed from my account that I then gave my notice, taking screenshots of everything.

Speaker 1: 14:04

And this is how careers are ended. We've got people going on social media hoping to make money. Maybe they're in financial stress or strain, or maybe they just want to create a new career and then one day, someone in an office, somewhere on an algorithm, decides actually this doesn't quite suit what we want you to do at this time, so we'll put a violation on it and actually, if you question it, you'll be banned anyhow. Such is life. I do believe when we go through these examples, it's life pivoting us to where we are supposed to be, because had I not taken on the creator network opportunity, I would not have actually got this far to decide. I need to have my own space and platform to support creators, people in business, people that want visibility, and here I am. Platforms are temporary. I am building something that's permanent Permanent to the extent where, if these platforms crashed, we still have our network and community that we can tap into. Old school I am really keen to build.

Speaker 1: 15:33

Suffering on partnership, collaboration. There is a difference between partnership and collaboration With TikTok. It was a partnership and I was left to my devices to make the partnership work. Collaboration is about us coming together to work towards shared goals and agreeing what we will do, collaboratively Coming together to make sure that we've got mutual growth. To make sure that we've got mutual growth no silent partners, people actively coming together to grow.

Speaker 1: 16:23

I am looking for partnership with collaboration, people that understand that to progress, effort is needed. It's not just a case of showing up. Actually, this was the message that many told me in the early days of social media just keep showing up, just go live, and this opportunity, that opportunity would come. No, it doesn't happen like that. Yes, I was invited as a creator network manager. Yes, I did the TikTok shop. Yes, I did live streams and got to meet people and connect and yes, all of that. But the real pivot, the real strength, the real strategy is to have a strategy behind the strategy and then let go, let go, let let.

Speaker 1: 17:10

God Sovereign is here and it's all about tapping into the sovereign within. And if this resonates with you, I'd love you to join me. You've been listening to Lita, goddess of Growth. I am in the process of building my website. If you look up Lita, goddess of the Growth, you should be able to find me on Google. Anyway. Sovereign, I should be opening the doors to soon. I understand the season that I'm in is a season to build foundations, so I'm not expecting great attention and growth immediately. Attention and growth immediately. I do need to do some better testing, which means there will be some lower entry membership fees, so that I can build the service exactly how it needs to be. Please do take the opportunity to come on board now and help me make this service one that we can all be proud of, one that we can all benefit from.

Speaker 1: 18:20

You've been listening to Lita, goddess of Growth. I'm introducing you again to Sovereign, and this Sovereign is the space that we will fill those needs that we were not able to fill on social media, and it will start constructively by focusing first within. We're not asking you to show up as anything that you're not. We're asking you to come forward and tap into your own story and make your story the focus for your transformation, your growth and your moment to shine, to be visible and to come full circle, because, as you're visible, when you're then on social media, it will be easier to connect with others who have had the opportunity to connect to your story, and they would have had the opportunity to connect to your story because they're not looking at little clippets and snippets of a story. We'll have a podcast where we can sit down and relax and truly get into some level of depth behind the person that is on social media. You've been listening to Lita, Goddess of Growth, today. Do come in, do join me.