Am I doing enough for SEO? How do I navigate algospeak? What even is shadowbanning?
Creating sexual health content can feel like an uphill battle. Luckily, at SHA’s “Sexology & Media Summit”, I had the opportunity to hear from Alex Hall who has years of experience in reproductive rights content creation and now runs The Bottom’s Digest alongside his husband. The event also featured Nikki Mars Messick of NikLovin’ who specializes in bringing sex education to the content space in a comedic and approachable way!
Both shared compelling insights from their own experiences in the realm of social media and content creation. As an aspiring sexual health professional who is just beginning to dabble in content creation, I found learning about their experiences and the advice they offered to be really helpful! Let’s get into it.
The Differences Between Creators and Influencers
At first glance, everyone that posts on social media looking to gain an audience might seem the same. Nikki called it out for what it is, saying there are influencers, and then there are creators.
For influencers, their life is the content. They are selling a lifestyle, meaning that their following comes from people who want to be them. Creators, on the other hand, are “selling” solutions and education. Creators’ audiences want to learn from them, not be them. It is important to remember that when thinking about how best to engage in sexual health content creation: focus on educating your audience, not your bottom line or brand deals.
The Truth About “Being Shadow Banned” For Sexual Health Content
Being shadow banned refers to when a platform quietly restricts how visible a user’s content is without notifying them. It’s a pretty controversial term, and not everyone believes that it really happens. Alex, for example, proposes that it could just be your content coming up short.
He emphasized that a few important questions to ask yourself when evaluating your sexual health content:
Does this post interest me?
Would I skip this post?
Is this post offering any value?
Would I send this to a friend?
Sexual health content is more likely to get flagged or taken down when compared to other forms of educational content (for more on this, see here). When creating sexual health content, it is important to be proactive about censorship, but also to focus more on “What makes this valuable?” instead of “What if I get banned?”
Alex pointed out that reach usually has patterns. Instead of defaulting to the assumption that you’re shadow banned, take a look at your content data. With reels, for example:
A high skip rate might indicate a bad hook.
A low share rate might tell us the content may not be all that relatable.
A low save rate tells you the audience may not find it valuable enough to come back to.
A low repost rate might mean that your content is not starting a conversation.
Reach and Finding the Audience for Your Sexual Health Content
Both Nikki and Alex pointed out that you need to have an identified audience. If your content is too broad, the people who could benefit from it the most might just miss it. But how do you find your target audience? Nikki encouraged creators to “niche down” and consider how they would complete the sentence:
“I help [specific person] who struggles with [specific problem] to [specific outcome].”
Another way of thinking about niching down is through what Alex calls “Pillars.” Your business and content should be made up of a few core pillars. With that framework, creators can then brainstorm ideas under the pillars which helps to maintain an audience and not get caught up in the menial weekly trends.
Creating Sexual Health Content Without Burning Out
We’re done subscribing to the idea that you need to post everyday, multiple times a day to gain any traction. Sometimes, less is more. Alex used the phrase “dashes not dots” to refer to the amount of social media story posts that someone should post. The bar at the top should have a few dashes, not be so clogged that it consists of a bunch of small dots.
Another piece of advice he offered is to slow burn the content to avoid burning yourself out. Stay focused on the long-term and keep up a cadence that is actually manageable for you! Posting just to post will lead to burnout, and if you’re worried about your audience noticing your absence, don’t. No one is thinking about you as much as you think they are (no offense)! Your audience could be excited to see you when you pop up again, but it’s unlikely that they are at home thinking about how you have not posted today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I Use AI to Create My Sexual Health Content?
Alex and Nikki don’t recommend it. It can come across as inauthentic and makes for bad PR. Show your audience that you’re a real person that is trying to connect with them, not just more AI slop.
Should I Delete a Post if It Doesn’t Do Well?
Both Alex and Nikki highlighted the importance of data, even if the statistics you get don’t tell you what you want to hear, you can learn from it. So, even if your post flops, that does not mean you should take it down. Also, there is always the possibility that it just takes a moment for it to reach the right people.
Are Hashtags Important for Creating Sexual Health Content?
It’s clear at this point that hashtags are out and newer strategies like SEO are in. According to Alex, if you put a paragraph of hashtags at the end of your posts, the algorithm may actually flag that content as spam! So, focus on using keywords and creating quality sexual health content instead.
How Do You Navigate Algospeak and Censorship When Creating Sexual Health Content?
Algospeak refers to the coded substitutions people use online to talk about sensitive topics without triggering automated content moderation filters. But, even common algospeak iterations (e.g. “seggs” in place of “sex”) are beginning to get flagged.
Consider using emojis to censor your content, but don’t forget to use captions for accessibility! Alternatively, you can use sly phrases that communicate the same or a similar meaning instead of algospeak. Being more indirect with your language can also help you connect with an audience that isn’t as comfortable with anatomical or explicit terms (e.g., saying “bean” instead of “clitoris”).
What Other Events Does SHA Offer?
In addition to business and media styled events for sexual health professionals, SHA also offers “Sexual Attitude Reassessments” and “Sexceptional Weekends.” I have attended several other events, and I would recommend them to current and aspiring sexual health professionals! For a list of 2026 SHA events, click here.
Want to become an in-demand sexual health professional? Learn more about becoming certified with SHA!
Written by Jesse John, B.S.
Jesse is a clinical psychology doctoral student at Rowan University in New Jersey. Their research focuses on sexual decision-making, sexual violence, and relationship experiences. The author identifies as a Queer, neurodivergent, non-binary, white person, which informs the way they write and see the world!
