Social Media Trends

Social Media Trends

Social Media Trends

 

Social Media Trends – Does the ever changing face of our society leads us to reassess our social media habits?

 

Social Media Trends on WhatsOnLincs, what's on Lincs, what's on in Lincolnshire by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBloger

 

It’s been a while since I put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) so I thought I ought to post another blog. Despite what many might think, I’m really not a social media guru. In fact, my background is in health and fitness.

 

Like many others I’ve found social media to be an incredibly useful tool for connecting, advertising and marketing. As a result I’ve become reliant on the platforms to aid my business.

 

Social Media Trends – Our Favourite Platforms

 

Social Media Trends on WhatsOnLincs, what's on Lincs, what's on in Lincolnshire by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBloger

 

 

Until recently my preferred platform was Twitter.  However, since it has been under the control of its new owner there has been a market change in the platform. Gone is the ‘fun’.  It seems to have been replaced by toxicity and selfishness. It wasn’t too long ago that people (small and large businesses, charities and organisations as well as the general public) used to share experiences and support each other.  That has changed now! Many larger companies employ other companies to look after their social media. As a result, the ‘personality’ has been removed from those companies and friendships have been cast aside in favour of ‘posting content’ to get views.

Smaller businesses and charities have followed suite and much of the camaraderie has been lost.  Where ‘share and share alike’ used to be the norm, it’s now ‘post, post, post and me, me, me’.  It’s sad to see.  The question in my mind is ‘why’?  Why have so many forgotten the benefits of working closer together and looking after each other that we learned during Covid?

 

Social Media Trends – Which Platform?

 

Social Media Trends - X on WhatsOnLincs, what's on Lincs, what's on in Lincolnshire by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

X (Formerly Twitter)

 

 

My experience has largely been shaped by Twitter.  Facebook works for many people but I personally find the platform very confusing.  I have a personal page (mandatory) and three business pages.  Linked to those pages is Messenger, Instagram and Threads.  When I get a notification telling me that there is a post for me I spend far too long trying to find it!  Some of you may have noticed that companies are now using the tag ‘@followers’ on Facebook posts which sends a notification to all followers that there is a message for them.  In reality, it’s just a way of pushing an advert to you.  Again, the personal touch has been removed.

 

X – AI capturing

 

For those of you who didn’t know, X is now using AI to capture and analyse your posts.  The information gained is being used to sell on to third party organisations for advertising and goodness knows what else!  Huge thanks to Steve (one of my X followers and friends) who highlighted this for me. If you are an X user, here is how you can help to protect yourself against this intrusion:

 

  1. Go to your ‘Settings & Privacy’
  2. Select ‘Privacy & Safety
  3. Scroll down to and select ‘Grok’
  4. Turn off the switch and delete previous conversations
  5. Go to ‘Data Sharing With Business Partners and turn the switch ‘Off’

 

Preventing AI intrusion on X by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

 

 

Social Media Trends - Threads on WhatsOnLincs, what's on Lincs, what's on in Lincolnshire by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

Threads by Meta

 

Threads

In my quest to find a replacement for the toxicity of X I’ve been looking at Threads.  Yes, it is a social media platform that is based on ‘chat’ much the same as X.  However, it lacks the facilities which are provided on X.  There is no facility (at the time of typing this blog) to have group chats based around hashtags.  That means there can be no special ‘Hour’ for hobby or group chats.  That rules out its usefulness for the #LincsConnect Hour that I run on Monday evenings.

Unfortunately there are no facilities for creating lists either. As a result, it’s not possible to organise followers into trade or location lists.  That’s the backbone of #LincsConnect so Threads is a non starter for me.

The Threads App is linked to Instagram.  On a positive note, anything posted on Threads can be shared on Instagram.  That’s handy but…

Threads, Instagram and Facebook are all owned by Meta.  I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of one company controlling all of my social media and having access to all of my information.  As we know, ‘information’ is money.  I have absolutely no doubt that Meta will be harvesting my information to sell on the open market!

 

Social Media Trends - Bluesky on WhatsOnLincs, what's on Lincs, what's on in Lincolnshire by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

Bluesky

 

Bluesky

 

For those of us who have been using social media for some time, we’ll recognise the platform instantly.  The reason for its familiarity is because it is run by Jack, the former owner of Twitter.

I signed up to Threads as soon as I heard about it.  Unfortunately, in its infancy, it didn’t provide the facilities that I need.  However, following some undesirable changes to the X platform I decided to give it another try.  I was really pleasantly surprised.  The platform is now instantly recognisable as the Twitter of old.  All of the facilities that I need for #LincsConnect are in place so I’m now in the process of moving all of my accounts across from X.

 

Bluesky Security And Privacy

 

Unlike X, Bluesky prefers to keep its users secure and free from misleading accounts.  This used to be the best feature in the old style Twitter.  all X followers will know that the current ‘freedom of speech’ has been taken to the extreme so pretty much ‘anything’ is allowed on the platform.

 

It’s refreshing to see that Bluesky has a more robust reporting system.

 

Bluesky reporting by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

 

Bluesky Feeds

 

I think I may have become a Bluesky fan!

On the left side of your bio page you’ll see some tabs to help you navigate the site.  Click/tap on the ‘# Feeds‘ tab then select the subjects that interest you the most.  These feeds will be shown at the top of your page so that you can quickly skip around your chosen subjects at will.  It’s a brilliant idea and is certainly worth exploring.  Here is an example of the feeds that I’ve selected at the moment.  I’ll be adding more as I use the platform more regularly.  You’ll notice that there is a search bar towards the bottom of the picture so that you can search for additional subjects that interest you.

 

Bluesky subject feeds by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

 

My favourite # Feed so far is ‘Only Posts’

 

Conclusion

 

Based entirely on my own experiences and requirements my preferred platform is now Bluesky.  From what I’ve experienced so far it is very much a ‘personal’ platform.  So far I haven’t experienced any professional social media companies trying to turn it into a corporate platform of ‘me, me, me’ posts. I really hope that it stays that way.

 

If you would like to join me, just follow these links:  @MandarinLeisure and @LincsConnect

 

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Mandarin Therapies provides a bespoke mobile complementary therapies service in Lincolnshire and surrounding area. Call 07966 174 878 to book

 

Until Next Time…

 

M. Martin Thomas, LincsConnect in Lincolnshire

 

Further Reading

 

 

 

 

LincsConnect in Lincolnshire

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Advertising In Lincolnshire

Free Advertising In Lincolnshire

Free Advertising In Lincolnshire With LincsConnect

Free Advertising in Lincolnshire by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

Free Advertising in Lincolnshire – #LincsConnect – Make it your ‘go to’ hashtag

 

This is probably the shortest and most important blog you have ever read!

We all like something that’s ‘free’ but we probably also know that nothing is truly free! Twitter – that’s free! Facebook and Instagram are also free too so where’s the catch? Simple! If you want ‘free’ advertising/exposure on social media you’re going to have to invest your time. By investing your time your posts are more likely to be seen and acted upon. Would you like to know how to do it?

 

Ditch The ‘Like’ Button

Lincolnshire Free Advertising by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger LincsBlogger Ditch the Like Button on Twitter

Free Advertising in Lincolnshire – Ditch the Like button

 

 

Free Advertising In Lincolnshire with LincsConnect – Ditch The Like Button

If you’re using X (Twitter) I highly recommend that you ditch the ‘Like’ button. Rules vary from Twitter to Facebook/Instagram but it is now official that the ‘Like’ button on X is pretty much redundant.

Twitter is an interactive platform so your best results will come from interacting with your followers. That’s one of the main differences between Twitter and other platforms. What does the ‘Like’ button say about you on Twitter?

  • I don’t have time for you so I’ll just press the like button instead of saying ‘thank you’ or interacting.
  • I’m not that interested in you so I’ll just press the Like button and hope that you read my posts.
  • I don’t understand algorithms and how they work so I’ll press the Like button and hope for the best.
  • I can’t be bothered to talk to my followers.
  • I don’t want to share your post with others.

When scrolling down your twitter timeline you will see tweets from people you follow, sponsored (paid advertising) tweets and tweets that have been retweet by your followers.  You’ll never see a ‘Liked’ tweet!

The ‘Like’ button does have its uses though.  It’s a good way of saving tweets for future reference. Beyond that, I’m struggling to think of a good reason to use it on Twitter!

 

Free Advertising And Social Media Interaction With LincsConnect

I’ve said it many times before; the clue is in the name. ‘Social’ media should be exactly what it says in the title. Actually ‘talk’ to your followers.

There’s a TV advert for a room freshener implying that the character has gone ‘nose blind’.  In social media terms, if you post, post, post with no interaction your followers will see your posts but they won’t register in their mind.  However, if you ‘talk’ to your followers they’ll remember you as that nice person/business who takes an interest.  Obviously talking to your followers doesn’t mean telling them how good you are and what you have to sell them.  Instead, you need to show an interest in other people to let them know you care about them. Given time they will ask you what you do and what you have to offer.  As a result, you don’t need to do the ‘hard sell’.

 

#WhatsOnLincs – New To The LincsConnect Website

WhatsOnLincs is the new web page for sharing What's on in Lincolnshire posts by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

“…WhatsOnLincs is the new community web page on the LincsConnect website. You can use it to post free adverts from markets and car boot sales to charity events and entertainment, jobs, volunteering plus much more. You can even include pictures as well as links to websites.  It’s all FREE so be sure to use it to find out What’s on in Lincolnshire…”

 

Take a look at the blog link below to read the full #WhatsOnLincs blog. Don’t forget to recommend it to your friends and out of town visitors too so that they can discover what’s on in Lincolnshire.

 

Helpful?

It’s probably my shortest blog ever read but I hope you find it useful.

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Additional Blogs By LincsConnect:

 

Don't Rely On Algorithms by Lin csConnect LincsBlogger

Don’t Rely On Algorithms

WhatsOnLincs is the new web page for sharing What's on in Lincolnshire posts by LincsConnect the Lincolnshire blogger, LincsBlogger

See the #WhatsOnLincs blog in full

 

That’s It For Now

I hope you found this Free Advertising blog useful.

#LincsConnect putting the social back into social media

“Putting the social back into social media” #LincsConnect is always here for you. eMail martin@lincsconnect.co.uk