"Diversifying Your Social Media Presence": "We can't rely on just one platform. I love TikTok just as much as the next person, but YouTube has recently well, recently, maybe in the last couple of years, launched YouTube Shorts, which gives that same feel with the, you know, the short form video." - Tonnisha English-Amamoo
I sit down with Tonnisha English-Amamoo, founder of TJE Communications, to explore what you should do when your go-to social media platform suddenly disappears.
With TikTok's uncertain future in the United States, Tonnisha discusses the potential impact on businesses and influencers who rely heavily on the app for marketing and branding. She stresses the importance of not depending solely on one social media platform to sustain your business, as digital landscapes can change overnight.
Together, we consider various alternative platforms such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Blue Sky, Fanbase, and Rednote, examining their potential to fill the gap left by TikTok.
Tonnisha encourages you to "get in there and try" these new platforms while paying attention to their audience's preferences and behaviors. She remarks on the need for marketers to diversify their strategies and points out that building communities on platforms you own, like through emails or digital forums, can offer stability in uncertain times.
We also touch on the unique resilience of LinkedIn as a professional social media platform, pondering why it remains largely unchallenged in its niche. Tonnisha highlights LinkedIn's focus on business as a strength and suggests that staying in one's lane can be an effective strategy.
Key Takeaways
Diversify Your Social Media Presence: Tonnisha emphasizes the importance of not putting all your digital eggs in one basket. Whether you're an individual or a business, relying solely on one platform like TikTok can be risky. Now might be the perfect time to explore platforms such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, or emerging spaces like Blue Sky, Fanbase, and Rednote.
Stay Informed and Adaptive: With TikTok's future uncertain, staying informed about new platforms and getting hands-on with their features is crucial. Reading their guides, exploring early adopter content, and understanding their unique offerings can give you a head start.
Build Direct Connections: The episode also underscores the importance of building direct connections with your audience through platforms you own, like an email newsletter or a personalized website. Social media should complement these efforts, not replace them.
Exploring New Platforms: We explore the nuances of emerging platforms. Blue Sky aims for a community-first approach, while Fanbase, a black-owned platform, and Rednote, similar to TikTok but with language hurdles, offer new arenas to engage audiences.
Each week, one of The Circle of Experts talks about critical aspects of growing your podcast. We focus on marketing, social media, monetization, website design, and implementation of all of these to help you make the best podcast possible.
Have a question or an idea for one of our episodes? Send us an email at podcasts@circle270media.com.
Welcome to The Circle Sessions featuring The Circle of Experts. Each week, one of the Circle of Experts joins me to talk about some critical aspects of growing your podcast. We focus on marketing, social media, monetization, and website design to help you implement all of these together. The circle of experts are Yasmine Robles of Rebel Marketing, Tonnisha English Amamoo of TJE Communications, and Don The Idea Guy. I'm Brett Johnson, My Podcast Guy from Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. This week, Tonnisha is here with the Circle of Experts. Tonnisha is on a mission to help small businesses level the playing field through digital marketing solutions. Tonnisha, thanks for joining me today.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah. Thanks for having me.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. You it's funny you brought this up before we had recorded that. You know, we've talked about TikTok a lot. Should we talk about it again? And I I I think we should. I I think, whether by the time this episode is released or somebody hears the episode, TikTok actually exists in The United States Right. In in its form, it it's kind of not necessarily a moot point, but it's the I think it's a good example of how social media and marketing is always changing, and players come into play and and and, the realities of what it means to rely on social media as a marketing tool. Let's talk a little bit about that. So yeah.
Brett Johnson [:
So as of today, TikTok still exists.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Mhmm.
Brett Johnson [:
It's only speculation on what it will be. No one knows the answer to this. So, yeah, how do you hold your breath and kinda go, what do I do with this? I mean, there was a mass accident
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:
Of of of people leaving TikTok and figuring out what they need to do, But a lot of people a lot of people stuck around, though, too. So
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah. I'm one of the people that stayed. I didn't delete the app. So, unfortunately, for the people that did delete the app, you can no longer find it in the App Store, at least if you have a iPhone. I don't know about Androids, but it's not in the App Store on Apple. So if you deleted it, you're pretty much out until we get a final say on what's actually going to happen. TikTok has had such a massive influence on businesses, even on individuals with influencers being able to grow their brand, which is them, through dancing or cooking or whatever the case may be. And so it's gonna impact a lot of people in in different ways.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
But something that I know I've talked about here and I've talked about in other places is just the importance of not relying on social media solely to build your business because things like this can happen. You can have the platform today, and it can be gone tomorrow. Right? So it's really important for, for us to really just keep that in mind. I mean, this is like a real life happening in real time. We don't know what's going to happen. And so to to give a little bit of background for anyone who isn't really sure what's going on, so, I mean, there's been a lot of conversation, I would say, over the last few years about whether or not TikTok would be allowed here in The United States due to, you know, questions about American user data and how it's being used and things of that nature. But I would argue that with any big tech, we don't really know what's going on with our data and how it's being used. But since TikTok is not currently in in a United States owned business, then that brings up a little more, you know, questions about how is our data being used, not just here in The United States, but also outside of The US.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Alright. And so there's been, you know, conversations, about what to do. As of right now, TikTok has been put on I believe it's, like, a ninety day, like, okay. Let's give it ninety more days to figure out what we're gonna do. So potential scenarios could be, a complete ban where it is forever gone. But what they are trying to do is get the company to sell to a US company, but we gotta figure out which one of the big tech bros can buy it and handle the algorithm, can handle how it works. I would argue that probably out of everybody, Mark Zuckerberg might be the best candidate of anybody that currently, you know, is in that space. But there could be some new people that we maybe don't know about or aren't as popular, if you will, that maybe could take it over.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
So yeah.
Brett Johnson [:
Exactly. Exactly.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
As we as we think about, you know, how you should prepare, I mean, it's really things that I'm a slap y'all on the wrist, things that you should have already been doing anyway. And so first off, we gotta, like, diversify our social media strategy. We can't rely on just one platform. I love TikTok just as much as the next person, but YouTube has recently well, recently, maybe in the last couple of years, launched YouTube Shorts, which gives that same feel with the, you know, the short form video. Of course, we have Instagram Reel. And then there's also new platforms. We were talking about Blue Sky. Fanbase is another one that I've heard of, and then another one called Rednote.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
A lot of people, when they left TikTok, they downloaded Rednote. I'm not there, but it seems to kinda have the same TikTok, you know, vibe there. It's also owned by China, so we don't know if that could also, you know, be the next app on the chopping block, if you will.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Well, let's take a look at, if so let's say, as a marketing, strategy, you do wanna diversify or you just say, you know what? I'm just I I've gotta leave TikTok. I'm just I'm done with it. That sort of thing. How do you go how do you approach looking at a new social media platform, especially when it's a brand new social media platform that doesn't have the years in of knowledge, how to utilize it the best, best practices? Let's put it that way. How do you go about researching how to do something on a new platform like Blue Sky?
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah. You know, social media, especially, you know, on these new apps, it's pretty much just get in there and try. Okay. Go play around. I know Blue Sky has done a really good job with creating, content to help people learn and understand the platform. Also, people who have been those early adopters of the platform. There's a lot of people out there, you know, sharing content as well. But the thing with Blue Sky, though, it works very similar to Twitter or x, if you will.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Pretty much the same thing. You know? Mostly words and memes and things of that nature. But what Blue Sky has done a little bit differently is that they have communities that are kinda prebuilt into the platform. So if you're somebody who, you know, is tired of getting, like oh, or getting overwhelmed with news and politics, you could completely, you know, exclude yourself from that community and not even see any of that stuff. If you're someone that only wants to hear about sports, you can completely dive into that community and only see content from that as well. And so with any platform, it's gonna be a learning curve, not just for you, but also for the platforms to learn what people want, how people want to use them. So I would just recommend getting in there and giving it a try. You know? And, also, look at your audience and see what they're asking for.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
I have a lot of clients that are in the social justice work, and a lot of our people are asking us to be on Blue Sky because they don't wanna be on meta platforms or they don't wanna be on x anymore. So listen to your people, see where they're going, and also think about what makes sense for you too as a as a brand or as a business.
Brett Johnson [:
Interesting. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I, we've always talked about ask where your audience where are they playing? You know? Where where are they comfortable in being as well too? Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:
That's interesting that they put together some onboarding video Mhmm. Knowing there was gonna be a big exit from a certain TikTok
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Right.
Brett Johnson [:
Platform Right. That they are trying to at least attract them even though they're not similar in nature, but at least it's an alternative. Yeah. Now you mentioned, Fanbase and Rednote. Can you give some nuances about what they are are trying to do?
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah. So Rednote is pretty similar to TikTok from what I've seen. It is owned by a China based company. So the only thing that I've heard negative so far about RedNote is that all of their terms and conditions are in Mandarin. So if you can't read Mandarin, you don't really know, like, what exactly you're agreeing to there. I would argue that's probably because majority of users were based in China. And now, you know, there's this big TikTok exit, and they will probably, on their end, work through those kinks and be able to open up the language to, you know, multiple types of people. Yeah.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Fan base is one that kinda came around really when Elon Musk took over Twitter slash x. And it is a black owned social media platform. There's been a lot of push for, especially with, you know, DEI programs being pulled back where a lot of people are really diving into community and wanting to, uplift black and people of color social media platforms. So Fanbase is one of them. Kinda works similar to Twitter as well. At least the last time that I was on it, I haven't really opened it in a long time, but it was kind of like the same concept. And with all these new platforms, they're really putting an emphasis on, people just being nice to each other, trying to eliminate the bots, eliminate the hate, and just get back to what social media was made for. It was made for us to connect.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
And so, there's a there's a lower tolerance to a lot of the negativity and, you know, hate speech and things like that, whereas, you know, other platforms may have a little more free range there. But with these new ones, they're they're really doing a pretty good job with, you know, keeping that type of energy away from the platforms. Of course, as they grow, this will become, you know, more difficult to do. So, I mean, we'll just have to see how it all plays out.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. You know, I hear a common theme that you're talking about with the the new platforms coming out. It's that return to being social. Return to interaction versus just coming out and shouting, hey. Look at me, what I'm doing today.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Right. Right.
Brett Johnson [:
That, okay. We're posting this. I do wanna hear what you think about it. You know, or let's have a conversation or what do you think? I I went through this today. What do you think kinda thing? So we may have a little bit of a mind shift when you go to a new platform to go, okay. The old ways aren't going to work here. We kinda have to go back backwards a little bit going. Remember when we used to do this on Instagram? Mhmm.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. You gotta have to do this now. That's that's interesting to to kind of shake it in your head a little bit.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Mhmm. Yeah. I think people are really I think on both sides, people are tired of like, as soon as you open the app, it's like, hate, hate, hate, negativity, negativity. Like, it's overwhelming. And it this the apps were not made to be that way. And so a lot of people are really looking for community, looking for positivity, looking for places to really encourage other business owners to cheer other people on. And so some of these new platforms are are doing a good job so far with, you know, curating communities that are really safe spaces for everybody to be a part of.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. Now you've been in it long enough. I I wanna ask this question. It just kinda dawned on me for all the competition that is Mhmm. Against each other in social media. Why hasn't a true competition for LinkedIn come about? You know what? Ain't that odd?
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah. Yeah. Very that's a very good question. I'm not
Brett Johnson [:
asking They they own it. They own
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
it. They own it. There's there's no one else, really looking to create, like, a digital platform for businesses in that way. I mean, I'm wondering if, it's not as lucrative for people to do that, or, you know, LinkedIn kinda just has it down. I mean, there hasn't been anything like it since.
Brett Johnson [:
Hell. Hell. Yeah. Exactly. It's just the oddest thing.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
And I don't even get a ton of ads on my LinkedIn timeline either. So, I mean, I'm not really sure. I I believe probably majority of their revenue comes from people having those paid premium accounts. Probably using it for recruiting, so you're paying for job postings and things like that. But, yeah, no one has come for LinkedIn. I mean, that could be the next best thing. Like, if you're really trying to get your foot in the door on on social media to create a a LinkedIn competitor, but no one's done it.
Brett Johnson [:
I know. Exactly.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
It's a good point. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. Now I and, again, whether they've done it perfectly or not, that I don't think that means that it is, but it's that but it Right. They kinda got it cornered. And and but they're so they're so slow to move to react to users' wants and needs, though, as well. So it's it's one of those. Not that not that they, are taking advantage of anything, but it's that you hear a lot of complaints about this, that, or the other about LinkedIn. And then they kind of like, okay. We can do this.
Brett Johnson [:
Okay. Yeah. We'll start to do this. We're gonna evolve a little bit because YouTube's doing this, so we're gonna do this sort of thing. Yeah.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
But it's
Brett Johnson [:
just it's it's just interesting how they've, how no one has come against them at this at this
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
point. You know, I feel like LinkedIn has done I mean, you see people maybe, like, hating on, like, you know, recruiters and all the bots and things like that. But I feel like because LinkedIn is so business focused and they haven't tried to be anything else, it's just worked. And I feel like, you know, maybe LinkedIn could be a prime example of what happens when you just stay in your lane. Yeah. We do business, and that's it. That's what we do.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. Yeah. Because I I definitely know for myself, it's a it's a refuge to get away from politics. You know? I know. And I go there, it's one thing in mind, what I want to do. And, I hear the the the pushback when people do post about or I'll I'll stop following people when they start to get a little political. It's like Yeah. I not that I disagree or agree with you, I I mean, I'll unfollow people that I agree with.
Brett Johnson [:
I don't want to see it in my
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
feed. Right.
Brett Johnson [:
This is not the place for it. I'll read about it or hear about you somewhere else. That's cool, but not here, please. This is where I want to connect with people. Read about things.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
People on LinkedIn have that same attitude. I think so. So when that type of I mean, even if somebody says something hateful and you comment to combat them, you're only amplifying their hateful message. So I think when when we think about how these algorithms work, it works based on engagement.
Brett Johnson [:
Mhmm.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
And so with LinkedIn, you see people if they do post something personal or political or things like that, people are quick to be like, no. This is not the place. Like, please don't do this. Yeah. And so when you get that feedback, it kind of, like, deters people from even going in that direction with the content.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. Which which is nice that people wanna protect that safe space where you don't see that in other platforms. Yeah. Right. Exactly. You just don't. You just don't. So what's the best way for a listener to to contact you that they, you know, they're looking at a different alternative to they're just whether it's getting away from TikTok or just like, you know what? Meta's just not doing it for me anymore.
Brett Johnson [:
I gotta look at this. I'm interested in going to Blue Sky or, you know, this this fan base you talked a little bit about. What would you know, that sort of thing. What's best way to get a hold of you to to, start a conversation?
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yes. The best way is going through my website, tjecommunications.com, and set up a consultation where we can kinda talk through some of these platforms. And I would also, you know, kinda just leave people with just a reminder to just diversify your platforms that you're using and bring people into spaces that you own. So if that's your mailing list, if that is a digital community that you're building, even, you know, communities like a Discord or Twitch and things like that where, you know, those platforms have been pretty consistent with with how they operate. You know, if you can find a way to bring people in, take them from social media to really, you know, owning those emails, those phone numbers, whatever it may be, I definitely encourage you now more than ever to find ways to really build community outside of social media.
Brett Johnson [:
Yeah. I agree. That's that's a that's a very good point of, you know, creating that, foundation for your castle, and it's probably not gonna be social media. It's the the old school stuff.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
Yeah. The
Brett Johnson [:
.the.coms and the newsletters or the email newsletter, you know, or the, capturing an email because, it's if you get somebody's email, you've gotten something that's very valuable to that person. They we don't give that away. We don't give away our phone numbers. It's the same. It's it's that even though we may have two or three alternatives to an email address, it's still important, you know, that when you get that from them that you respect it as well too.
Tonnisha English-Amamoo [:
But yeah. Yes. Yes.
Brett Johnson [:
And and I think the same goes for, you know, podcasters. We gotta take a look at what we're doing with our marketing knowing that, yes, for the most part, you wanna rely on social media, but at the same time, there are other alternatives that are smart, to use for your podcast. And if you wanna dig around for some more ideas, you know, get a hold of us at mypodcastguy.com. Get on the calendar. We'll talk a bit more. And more than likely, bring in one of the circle of experts as well too to talk about specific things and what you might need. But, thanks again for joining me, Tanisha. I appreciate it.