The Power of Organic Growth in an Instant Gratification World
We live in a world that desires quick fixes and immediate results, and freelancing is no different. Get-rich-quick schemes create get-rich-quick mentalities, where the allure of instant success easily overshadows the reality and satisfaction of gradual, hard-earned accomplishment.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of instant gratification. But as a freelancer, it’s important to enter the field and pursue realistic and sustainable growth, which is often the opposite of instant gratification.
So in this blog post, we’ll talk about the profound power of authenticity in an inorganic world.
The Rise of Inorganic Growth
In the age of the internet, anything can be bought, combine that easy access with the social pressures to succeed quickly, and voila! The rise of inorganic growth.
Inorganic growth refers to artificial growth or growth that isn’t real. Think buying likes, followers, views, and other dubious methods that artificially inflate your online presence.
The Pitfalls of Inorganic Growth
In the pursuit of inorganic growth, it’s easy to overlook its pitfalls. So let’s look at one common method of inorganic growth: purchasing subscribers on YouTube.
Nowadays, purchased subscribers can be both bots and human users. These “viewers” view just enough to register a view. That’s where the problems begin.
When this happens, your channel’s metrics suffer. Watch time, the number of re-watches, audience engagement, retention, and the average view duration all take a hit. All of these work together to signal interest in your content. So when subscriber counts skyrocket or views dramatically increase, but the other metrics don’t, YouTube knows what’s up.
The same principle applies to other social media platforms. Purchasing likes, followers, or views can temporarily inflate your metrics, but it doesn’t foster long-term authentic, organic engagement. So while the easy and immediate payoff of inorganic practices may be tempting, consider the long game for you as a freelancer and your client. Chances are, they want what’s best long-term.
The Impact of Inorganic Growth Practices on Genuine Service Providers
Let’s linger on this idea of inorganic growth affecting freelancers and their businesses, specifically freelancers who follow organic growth practices.
When experienced professionals build a firm foundation, it takes time, whether that foundation is on Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, or some other platform. It’s easy for clients to overlook the hard work and dedication that goes into this foundation when they see competitors experiencing what appears to be rapid success. Unfortunately, the reality is that real growth in the digital world is not a sprint.
Content-based SEO strategies often take months and even years to get off the ground. And your client might not see meaningful, measurable results for months. When others resort to inorganic practices and gain rapid but artificial success, it skews the perception of how our industry works. That creates unrealistic expectations for clients and undervalues the efforts of service providers like you and me, committed to facilitating genuine, long-lasting growth.
Moving Towards and Stand up for Authentic Growth
In a high-speed digital age, it’s important to stand firm against pressure for immediate, low-quality results. Hold onto authenticity, educate your clients about organic growth, and show them the tangible value of your past successes. Realistic expectations are critical, so if you don’t have your own experience to back you up, feel free to cite case studies and industry research.
Transparency in your work builds trust and reinforces your commitment to genuine, long-term growth. Resist the allure of quick fixes and embrace authentic growth and the satisfaction that comes with it.
