Have you observed a sudden decline in your social media engagement? Are you no longer seeing your content in public feeds?
If this is the case, you might be experiencing shadow banning.
While social media platforms have publicly denied practicing shadow banning, they have acknowledged that their algorithms affect content prioritization.
Although platforms may not officially implement shadow banning, their algorithms could still be reducing the visibility of your content in the public sphere without notifying you.
What does shadow banning mean?
Shadow banning refers to the blocking or restriction of your social media content without any explicit notification.
The concept of shadow banning gained prominence around 2018 when conservative account owners claimed to be victims of shadow banning.
How to determine if you're shadow banned
Engagement on your content has decreased. If you've noticed a sudden drop in likes and comments, it's likely that fewer people are seeing your content.Your posts are not appearing in public feeds. If your posts are absent from explore pages or hashtag searches, you are missing out on potential engagement and new followers.
How to avoid being shadow banned
Adhere to the terms of service. It is easy to overlook the terms of service, but if you suspect being shadow banned, review the terms to ensure compliance with them.
Avoid spamming content. Social media algorithms are averse to repetitive content. Experiment with different types of content and themes.
Review your hashtags. Ensure that the hashtags you use are relevant to your content and do not include any banned hashtags.