Just a little over four months ago we had the Great Facebook Blackout! (...and Instagram) Monday, October 4th, 2021 ....This affected everyone, but we quickly emailed our membership, and messaged on Twitter, that TheTarotGuild.com was up and running! We suggested they grab their Tarot Friends and all join the platform!
Now concerns have arisen, this time specifically aimed at Tarot and Astrology, regarding access to social media, in a different way. For the last few days rumors have been circulating about an impending "Ban" on Tarot and Astrology content, on Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok.
As an organization for Professional Tarot Readers, we were naturally concerned and investigated. The social media posts and on-going gossip has gotten so big that even mainstream media is picking up the story!
It seems that the confusion is over a recent change to Meta's (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) policy regarding keyword targeting in PAID advertising. Late last year this change was announced, to be implemented January 19th, 2022.
The announcement said the company would be removing “Detailed Targeting options that relate to topics people may perceive as sensitive.” Specific categories to include “referencing causes, organizations, or public figures that relate to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, or sexual orientation.”
Mainstream media outlets have reported contacting both Meta and TikTok, and representatives of both companies say there are no plans for their platforms to ban Astrology or Tarot content! So the short answer to the question posed in my article title is "NO!", but read on for more details and best practicies....
Although general content is not "banned", some professional Astrologers, for instance, are reporting that they are no longer able to target potential clients in their paid ads, with keywords, such as: "horoscope", "zodiac", individual zodiac "signs", or even the word "astrology".
However, some professionals have been able to pivot to using keywords associated with "personal development". This seems to have worked well, and most businesses haven't been affected negatively.
Why Meta would want to no longer allow us to use keywords to target potential customers who have already indicated they are interested in "Astrology" or "Tarot" remains a mystery to me. But this should serve as an eye-opener in regards to social media!
If you have any Tarot Friends and/or Tarot-Influencers you Follow, be sure to follow them on multiple social media platforms, as well as their website, and Tarot Guild page, if they have one. That way, if anything happens with one platform, you won't lose contact.....
As we all experienced, back on Monday, October 4th, these platforms can go down at anytime. And, our access to them are subject to whims of the "Facebook Gods" (...or Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc)! You could lose access to your content, as well as your Followers, at anytime!
The algorithms on these platforms change frequently, and if you rely too much on any one social media platform, again, your business could be massively impacted..... So be sure to "diversify"! 😉 💜 Make sure you are on multiple platforms, and not overreliant on just one.
In addition, you should store all of your content off of social media, so it can't all "disappear" overnight! Post to your own website, then to social media. If you don't have your own website, use ours! That's right! No need to create a website, if you don't want to! ....You get your Own FREE Customizable Webpage, right on TheTarotGuild.com, when you sign up! Check out my recent Post on it: Your Own FREE Webpage!
Also, invite all of your Tarot-Friends to come sign up here on the Tarot Guild's website. It's FREE to sign up and use - and a great place to hang out with your Tarot Friends, and not be inundated with ads and distractions!
It's like "Facebook for Tarot", with all the same great feature as the big social media websites, but it's "ALL Tarot, ALL the time"! ...and none of the "negative" stuff.
Bright Blessings!
~ Dax
Comments
This country is tilting toward the evangelical/fundamentalist/authoritarian, and while I was hoping we would merely be seen as "bread and circuses," that might not be the case. It's been wonderful to be above-board since he 1950s, but we may need to be ready to return to the true meaning of the word "occult" -- as in hidden.