Background
The Post Growth Alliance (PGA), an initiative of the Post Growth Institute, is a cooperative social media service and solidarity hub for organizations advancing well-being, economics, and systemic change. Since its founding in 2013, the PGA has provided a platform for members to share their content with aligned audiences, amplifying initiatives that challenge growth-centric narratives.
When I joined as Post Growth Alliance Manager, the coalition had been dormant for several years. I relaunched the program and confirmed membership in partnership with my wonderful team. We redesigned the alliance to meet the current needs of member organizations, ensuring their work reached the audiences it deserved.
Challenges
From the perspective of individual members, the challenges were clear:
Suppressed Content: Social media platforms disproportionately prioritize paid content, burying posts from organizations advocating for systemic change. Incredible work was being done, but it wasn’t reaching the audiences who could act on it.
Resource Constraints: Many organizations lacked the time and budget for sponsored social media efforts, leaving them with limited options to expand their reach organically.
These challenges meant vital initiatives went unseen while competing against well-funded, growth-centric narratives.
Approach
To tackle these challenges, I worked with my team to relaunch and redesign the Post Growth Alliance:
Relaunching the Alliance: We reconnected with former members, onboarded new organizations aligned with post-growth values, and expanded the alliance’s network. This effort strengthened the coalition’s diversity, focusing on amplifying voices from the Global South.
Program Refresh: We updated the PGA’s program design to address modern social media realities, emphasizing strategies prioritizing collaboration and algorithmic visibility.
Hacking the Algorithm: A central feature of the redesign was activating the PGA’s alerts system. Using email and WhatsApp, we notified members and public supporters to engage with posts by liking, commenting, and sharing.
Impact
The revitalized Post Growth Alliance achieved tangible results:
Increased Visibility: Member organizations saw their content amplified across social media, saving time and resources while reaching broader audiences who resonated with their work. On LinkedIn alone in 2024, our total clicks are valued at over $120,000 if we had paid for boosts. Over 25,000 clicks across five platforms. An average 10,000 people reached per post.
Stronger Collaboration: Regular meetings and strategy sessions fostered a sense of solidarity among members, creating opportunities for mutual support and cross-promotion.
Algorithmic Advantage: By leveraging coordinated engagement, the PGA successfully countered social media algorithms' suppression of member content, ensuring that post-growth initiatives received the attention they deserved.
Reflections
Relaunching a coalition that had been dormant for years into a vibrant hub of collaboration and solidarity required patience, persistence, and a willingness to build relational trust. One of the most rewarding parts of this work was seeing how a simple but powerful idea—hacking the algorithm—could level the playing field for organizations with limited resources.
It wasn’t just about amplifying posts or gaining visibility—it was about giving these organizations a platform to influence narratives and inspire action. Watching their stories resonate with wider audiences reminded me why I’m drawn to systemic change: it’s messy, slow, and often frustrating, but when it works, the ripple effects are wonderfully undeniable.
If you want to stay informed about post-growth happenings worldwide and participate in systems change, become a PGA Supporter. Every like, repost, comment, or share makes a huge difference.