SwipeTown Academy

Social networks can become anyone’s best or worst ally, and play especially against us if we are exposed to millions of people who follow our content every day.

The Instagram version for influencers has not yet materialized, which has opened a door to new profitable alternatives, more private and with less algorithmic control in the feed.

EscapeX is a clear example of this, being a booming platform, in which more than 350 celebrities are uploading daily content. What do they gain by betting on this service? Privacy, an escape route from the Instagram algorithm and of course… money.

The “new wave” of EscapeX, the refuge of celebrities

EscapeX is a platform that offers individualized applications for artists.

Among the list of celebrities who have opted for it we find Jeremy Renner (it may sound a little more if we talk about Hawkeye, in Avengers), the singer Prince Royce or Alexander Ludwig (actor and singer who plays one of Ragnar Lodbrok’s sons in Vikings), among hundreds others.

Celebrities with millions of followers who publish content in their own application, which can only be accessed by paying a subscription.

Do not depend on the Instagram algorithm, immediately monetize the content, control over the application… Celebrities find in EscapeX apps a more than viable alternative to Instagram.

The “magic” of the applications that EscapeX creates is that, apart from the immediate monetization of it, the artist makes sure that all the content they uploads will reach his fans, without depending on the Instagram algorithm, which can hide or show the publications at will.

Apart from this, the feeling of community created is greater than that of Instagram. In the social network owned by Facebook you are just one more person, followed by millions of users who can follow as many others. With EscapeX the application is yours, they are your fans, they literally pay to see what you upload to the feed.

The platform apps, combined, have more than 20 million users. Of these, in the United States, 12% subscribe paying an average of 6 dollars per month. According to the media, users of this type of applications see them as “a safe haven”, a place where they can interact with their audience in a more intimate way, in a much smaller and closer circle.

“It is emotionally and psychologically impossible to know all my followers. In this application, it’s great to have so much familiarity. I can start getting to know more people and hear their stories.”

Osric Chau.

A club

But what about users? Why are they willing to pay for content that they might well see on Instagram? According to the users interviewed by Fast Company, everything can be summed up in that they pay to access a club, a community of users in which they feel integrated.

In these artist applications, fans can comment, give “fav”, re-post the publication, or even publish their own content within the so-called “Fanfeed”.

In this, we can access the users profiles who have subscribed. Thus, EscapeX apps become, on the one hand, a monetized escape route for the artist and, on the other, a platform for fans who share content related (or not) to the artist.

EscapeX apps are well thought out. The more you use them the more rewards you get, and if you don’t get rewards for lack of time, you can always buy them.

The more you interact with the app, the more points users earn (points that, by the way, can also be bought by spending money). These points can be used, for example, to highlight comments and make sure that the artist will see the post. To top it off, we have a fan ranking, whose positions are scaled by interacting more and more with the application.

A circle of use and reward characteristic of social networks, which makes these applications a great tool to get money and loyalty (even more if possible) to users of it.

Instagram, a double-edged sword for influencers

Instagram has become over the years a tool of constant public exposure, and whose algorithm has gradually become a “tyrant” that forces us to upload constant content, at a certain time and on a certain day, so that the reach of publications is not impaired.

On the other hand, our privacy at Instagram is practically nil if we have thousands of followers. Although the social network gives the option to have a private account, this considerably reduces the scope and growth of it.

The Instagram algorithm has penalized thousands of users, who have seen the scope of their publications reduced. Removing this algorithm from the equation and having control over your app is enough incentive to try different alternatives.

The above reasons for using EscapeX, as well as the reluctance of many artists to rely on Instagram algorithms or advertising campaigns for profit, are the main causes of the boom in this trend.

This puts on the table a proposal for the future in which the content is increasingly private, dependent on subscription, and away from algorithms that have full control over the content we decide to upload.