You’re Not Shadowbanned (You’re Just invisible): The 2026 Reality Check
You post. You wait. You refresh. Crickets.
It feels personal, doesn't it? Like there's a guy in a hoodie at Instagram HQ specifically toggling a switch that says "Make Laura invisible today." We've all been there—paranoia creeping in, convinced we've been slapped with the dreaded Shadowban.
But here’s the thing—and honestly, it’s a bit of a jagged pill to swallow—Brock Johnson is pretty convinced we’re hallucinating.
In this episode of Build Your Tribe, Brock tears down the mythology of the shadowban with the precision of a surgeon, or maybe a mechanic telling you your car isn't broken, you're just driving it wrong. He claims 99% of us aren't banned. We're just... victims of supply and demand.
The "Secret" isn't a Secret
Let’s get the definition straight because words matter. A shadowban is when a platform secretly limits your visibility. Key word: secret.
Brock points out something fairly obvious that I—and probably you—habitually ignore. Instagram literally gave us a diagnostic tool. It’s called Account Status.
- Go to Settings.
- Find Account Status.
- Look for green checks.
If you see green, you aren't shadowbanned. Period. If you see red, well, you probably posted something spicy (guns, politics, or that "Make Money Online" Ponzi scheme vibe) and you need to appeal it.
But if you have the green checks and your views are still in the toilet? That’s not a ban. That’s the market speaking.
The Math of 2026
Here’s where the episode gets a little depressing before it gets helpful. The internet is full.
Think about it. Every single month, millions of new creators join the fray. Small businesses are posting more than ever. The supply of content is at an all-time high. But the demand—our attention spans, the hours in a day—has plateaued. We aren't growing extra eyes.
So, if the algorithm feels harder, it’s because the "fair playing field" is actually just a crowded stadium. Followers matter less; content quality matters more.
The Golden Nugget: "A level playing field is also a more crowded playing field... If you have 300,000 followers, you have to work just as hard as that person with 300 followers to go viral."
Breaking Out of the 200-View Jail
Okay, enough doom and gloom. If we accept that we aren't banned, just ignored, how do we get loud again? Brock lays out a strategy that feels counterintuitive because it involves slowing down.
1. The "Re-Engagement" Carousel Forget Reels for a second. I know, blasphemy. But the data suggests Carousels trigger better engagement from current followers.
2. Stop Educating (Seriously) This one hit me. We are obsessed with "providing value." We want to teach. But Brock compares our feeds to a local library—full of valuable textbooks that nobody checks out because they're boring as dust.
- Entertain first.
- Tell a story.
- Be vulnerable.
- If you have to educate, wrap it in a story so good nobody notices they're learning.
3. The SHARE Framework He uses a clever acronym here, but the "S" is the most critical: Simple.
Marketing has this concept of the "Drunk Grandma." Can a drunk grandma understand your post in three seconds? If not, you're losing the scroll war.
The "Don't You Dare" List
I’m going to bold this because some "gurus" are still peddling this snake oil: Do not mass-delete your followers.
It sounds logical, right? Delete the ghosts, boost the engagement rate. But the algorithm just sees you hemorrhaging followers and assumes your content sucks. It’s a death spiral. Just let the ghosts haunt you in peace.
The Nuclear Option
If you really, truly believe you are stuck—and you've tried everything else—Brock suggests the "Break In Case of Emergency" post.
Call it out. Make a post asking, "Am I invisible?" It’s a desperate move, sure. It might annoy some people. But it usually jolts the algorithm awake because people start commenting to reassure you.
Just don't do it every Tuesday. That's just sad.
Look, the reality is that 2026 social media is a grind. It’s a slog. But as Dory—and Brock—remind us, the only real failure is stopping. The algorithm isn't a person. It doesn't hate you. It just needs a better reason to pay attention.
Listen to Build Your Tribe | Grow Your Business with Social Media: https://podranker.com/podcast/build-your-tribe-grow-your-business-with-social-media