u/CarefulEmployment428

Was averaging 40k views per reel organically.

Ran ads for 6 weeks. Stopped.

Reach dropped 80% the next day and never recovered.

Tested it twice. Same result both times.

They let you taste real reach. You spend money to get it back. You get hooked. Classic.

Anyone else notice this pattern?

No live chat. No phone number. No real human review for most accounts.

Just a form that feeds into an automated system that quotes the same guidelines back at you.

Any other industry with this level of customer support would lose users immediately.

But TikTok knows you're not going anywhere because your audience is there and nowhere else.

So the support stays broken because fixing it isn't profitable.

That's the whole story

For almost 4 months my YouTube channel was growing really fast and I was gaining around 300 to 500 subscribers daily. Views were climbing consistently too. But over the last few weeks everything slowed down hard even though my upload style hasn't changed much. New videos barely get pushed compared to before and subscriber growth dropped massively. Has anyone experienced a sudden plateau like this after rapid growth on YouTube?

I always thought getting the first few thousand followers would make things easier, but honestly my reach feels even more inconsistent now. Some videos still do well, but a lot of uploads barely move even with an active audience. It almost feels like TikTok expects creators to constantly level up or it stops recommending them as much. Curious if other mid sized creators noticed the same thing once growth slowed down a bit.

My Instagram reels have been stuck in the same low view range for weeks now no matter what I try. I changed hooks, tested shorter videos, different posting times, trending audio, even improved editing, but most reels still stop around the same numbers. The frustrating part is that a few months ago similar content performed much better on my account.

Has anyone here managed to break out of low view cycles on Instagram reels recently, or is this happening to a lot of creators right now?

Feels like creators on YouTube can't just be normal anymore because the platform rewards louder reactions, bigger emotions, and constant excitement. Even genuine people eventually start exaggerating things to hold attention longer. Do you think YouTube slowly pressures creators into becoming exaggerated versions of themselves, or is that simply what audiences enjoy watching most now?

A lot of creators put insane amounts of time into editing, scripting, thumbnails, and analytics just for a chance to grow on YouTube. But if nobody could publicly see subscribers, views, or popularity, do you think creators would still push themselves this hard? Curious whether most motivation comes from creativity itself or from visible success and recognition online

A lot of creators spend weeks making detailed videos that barely move, while others upload constantly and dominate recommendations. It's starting to feel like staying active matters more than making something truly great. Do you think YouTube now favors creators who feed the algorithm nonstop, or can high quality slower uploads still realistically compete today?

I spent two months thinking I was just bad at making content.

Rewrote captions. Changed my posting time. Tried new sounds. Filmed in better lighting.

Nothing moved.

My views had fallen off a cliff and I had convinced myself I just wasn't good enough anymore.

Then someone in a comment told me to check my hashtags.

Pulled up three hashtags I had been using in almost every single post for months.

Searched them directly in TikTok.

Two of them showed almost no recent posts. One had a "learn more about community guidelines" notice sitting right there.

Banned hashtags. Used in dozens of my videos. Quietly suppressing my entire account.

And here's the part that actually got me.

TikTok doesn't publish a list of banned hashtags anywhere.

There's no page. No email. No warning when you type one in.

You can use a banned hashtag and TikTok will just silently tank your reach without ever telling you why.

I removed every hashtag from my last 6 posts and took a 3 day break.

Came back and posted one clean video with no hashtags at all.

The FYP reach came back within a week.

Three months of thinking I was the problem.

It was a hashtag I'd been using since day one.

If your views have dropped for no reason open TikTok right now, search every hashtag you regularly use, and look for the ones with weirdly low post counts or no recent content showing up.

That might be your entire answer sitting right there.

A huge part of motivation on social media comes from visible numbers, likes, followers, shares, and views. Without them, content would only be judged by genuine interest and discussion. Do you think most creators would still stay consistent if nobody could see public metrics anymore?