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If you research marketing strategies, you’ll quickly see that in today’s world, “marketing” and “social media” are treated as almost the same thing.
Every book, article, and website about marketing focuses on how to have a compelling social media presence.
In the face of this relentless pressure to market on social media, one comic book company recently announced a rare and countercultural decision. Voyage Comics & Publishing is getting off social media completely.
In a press release called Why Voyage is sailing off social media, Voyage’s founder writes,
Initially I was under the belief that social media was the new “Areopagus.” A place where Christians could encounter the world and spread the good news of Jesus Christ, similar to how St. Paul encountered pagan philosophers at the Areopagus (see Acts 17).
However, it has turned into the “Digital Colosseum.”
This decision is consistent with the overall mission of the company.
Voyage creates positive, faith-filled entertainment formed by Catholic values that inspires people to live a heroic life. Through their products, the team at Voyage seeks to advance the truth, beauty and goodness found in powerful stories.
Their experience with social media convinced the Voyage team that abandoning their social media platforms would be best in the long run.
I had the chance to catch up with Philip Kosloski, Voyage Comics’ CEO, Founder and Writer (and my colleague here at Aleteia!). Here is our conversation.
Please tell me a little about the history of Voyage Comics.
I started Voyage in 2018 originally with only one comic book. I had no intention of creating an entire company. However, it soon became evident that I was fulfilling a need for quality, family entertainment. It's something that is becoming harder to find in our modern world.
Why did you decide to take Voyage off social media?
We believe social media has become an increasingly unhealthy place to be, both mentally and spiritually. It promotes negative interaction and we found that our positive messages were increasingly being lost. We found that it was no longer a neutral tool to be used for good, but a tool that can distract us from the important things in life.
Many people think social media is necessary to successful marketing. How would you respond to that for other entrepreneurs concerned about social media but not wanting to hurt their marketing strategy?
While social media is certainly a powerful platform, we should try to resist the idea that "social media is everything." Social media is still relatively new in the history of communication, only gaining popularity in the last 20 years. What did companies do before social media? Will social media always be there? There are many other means of communication and sometimes the most effective is word of mouth. If you create a quality product that fills a need in society, you will be able to find ways to market it. You might just need to spend a little more effort to do it.
What's the most important thing to know about your decision to get off social media?
Our decision to leave social media was made with much research and prayer. I'm not a person to make decisions based on emotions or knee-jerk responses. I encourage everyone to make that decision for themselves. I can't make it for you. Some may feel called to stay on social media and try to be a light in the darkness. That's perfectly fine. The key is to step back and think about your use of social media and if it is helping you become a better person, or if it is distracting you and making you angrier than before.
