You can curse the algorithm, or you can rise to the occasion.

Once upon a time, social media was the Wild West.

For anyone on a mission to gain popularity or customers, it was possible to amass new connections and followers with ease, no algorithms to police your visibility or limit your growth.

But long gone are the days of the social media free lunch, when you could open up a page for your business, post your content, and get real people to see, like, and click on your posts - much less become actual paying customers.

It’s a brave new social media world out there, and the rules have changed. A lot.

Just like Facebook, which became a void of noise, ads, and algorithms, Instagram too has suffered a similar fate.

It used to be possible to rack up massive follower counts and, if you so desired, become an ‘influencer’ even without any prior real-world influence. The platform was pretty much designed to make this possible, at least at the time.

But the bubble has burst. The saturation point is here.

If you’re like most, you’ll decry the staggering drop in engagement, impressions, and views. Maybe you’ll wonder what you did wrong to put yourself in Instagram’s bad graces.

But before we can fix this, we need to level-set on something important.

Instagram’s purpose is not to help your business make money. They are here to help themselves make money.

And that means creating the best experience possible for users, so that those users stay.

So now is the right time to ask: What are we trying to do here, really?

Most will say that they want to influence people:

Influence others to buy their stuff, become a client, or whatever else is in their commercial interest.

But it’s important to understand something very simple, but very important:

The creation of real influence does not happen ON Instagram.

Those who are still racking up followers organically on Instagram are doing so not because of something they’re doing inside of an app.

In most cases, these are businesses and individuals who are consistently providing value and building real influence both online and offline.

They’re actually doing big things in the world that are worthy of attention, that create value, and that help or serve others.

Things like aligning your entire company with an altruistic mission or cause, then backing that up with action, sincerity, and transparency.

Or writing books, creating valuable podcasts, speaking on stages, hosting events, or otherwise showing up in person to build offline relationships,

Developing a unique point of view and then sharing that openly, with the genuine goal of helping others in your field. Things that are potentially worthy of media attention and press.

People who succeed on Instagram seek impact, not influence.

It’s like high school: the thirstier you are for followers and fans, the more it shows, and the less likely you are to attract them.

If you’re living your life and running your business from a place of genuine authority and service, and you’re not afraid to be consistently open and public about your mission, you will build true influence.

And when you’re actually influential, people want to follow you. They will come to Instagram to find and follow you.

Actually, this is just what real leadership looks like.

Leaders don’t worry about what the masses think when they have true conviction in their mission.

Leaders laser-focus their energy on the people they wish to serve and those people only.

They are driven to make an impact, whether that’s launching a disruptive new product line that shakes up their industry, or breaking fundraising records for a cause they care about.

They seek to change the conversations we’re having about an important issue, in a way that moves us all forward.

True leaders build engaged, loyal communities, not just passive crowds.

So when you’re planning your social media strategy for 2020, I encourage you to think bigger. Step back and see beyond the tactical.

What’s your larger mission?

How can you and your team more fully step into a leadership role at your company to make bigger, better things happen?

How can your business assume a more meaningful, impactful role in the lives of the people it ultimately serves?

Focus on creating real impact, and the followers will come.

Do you follow?

Good.

The way I see it, you have two choices.

You can keep complaining about algorithms, never getting anywhere on the platforms you’ve already invested countless hours into.

You can focus endlessly on how many likes or followers your competitors are getting compared to your own, even though their budget for ads may be infinitely larger and unwisely spent - or they may having inflated numbers from shady “growth” tactics.

Or, you can take a different tack:

Instead of worrying about your place in a mathematical pecking order, you can choose to take the highest road, worrying only about the wins that matter to you.

You can invest in a mission that really changes lives, even as a for-profit company, and therefore spreads well beyond any circle of influence you may have begun with.

You can consistently show up and publicly share your story, and find ways to make that story stick in our minds.

You can trust that the right people will find you on social media because of the work you do in the real world.

You can rise to the occasion.

Which will you choose?