The Problem With Trending Audio & Other Social Media Dilemmas
We Need To Talk About The Toxic Nature Of Trends
Housekeeping
Hello everyone! I hope you’ve had a fab week. Today we are talking about everyone’s favorite topic, Social Media! Don’t worry though cause I’m a realist when it comes to this stuff and I never wanna make you all feel pressured or swayed to even be on socials if you don’t want to. I do however want to share my two cents and what I have learned from being perpetually online sharing content the last two years.
Before we get into that I want to share a little sneak peek of some new work that is hands down my favorite shoot from last year. I was so stoked to get to work with Mihan Aromatics who are a niche luxury perfume house in Melbourne Australia and one that I have been a big fan of ever since I first smelt it. Their scents are so unusual and also genderless so you can share the love with just about anyone!
Lux’s new Jazz Master Guitar made an appearance in this shoot and I had so much fun styling the small bottles from the discovery set along the strings. My dad who is an old school British man, not really looking to change up his scent, tried all of these and has “borrowed” two bottles. So I can assure you they truly are unisex, even boomers think so! Love you dad :)
After banging on about how much I loved the product to Josh and Jules, the owners, they armed me with a discount code that will get you 15% off your order with them! If you are in the market for a V day gift, a new scent or just a treat for yourself use the code LUCY_LUMEN15 and browse all their creations here to smell really really good.
I love working with so many niche Australian businesses and I feel we have such an interesting scene for things over here that often gets overlooked by the rest of the world.
Trends…yawn
Okay so I know we all follow trends in some way nowadays, I mean if you say you don’t you’re a liar. It’s impossible for things to be brand spanking new anymore and the internet has opened the floodgates and let every little idea wash in and likely become a trend or micro trend at some point, even if it’s fleeting.
Social media is no exception and in fact it’s often the driver for trends or the place we go to research them and embrace them. Showing that you are participating in the trend let’s people know that….you know, you know?
It’s tempting to join the herd and chuck in with everyone else’s verified idea of what is cool, it’s a safe bet, I get it. But we aren’t at high school anymore and it’s time to stand up and stand out, especially if you want to cut through on socials in 2024.
Challenge Yourself
Ditch the trending audios on your IG reels and instead express yourself with the music that reflects your interests and actually matches the content your putting out. I can’t say how many times I see trending sounds or songs slapped on pieces of content and it’s clearly done in a bid to gain traction and reach…I get it, it’s hard, but do you really think that is the key to major success? If it was that easy more people would be blowing up and less people would be complaining about the lack of growth.
So now you’ve got the tracks you love happening on your content and you are vibing the fuck out to the songs YOU like not the ones IG is telling you to like you can use music as inspo for your video creations! How fun and freeing!?
Obviously if you really enjoy using the same sounds that like a million other people are using then go forth, or if you feel compelled to do those “I was this many years old when I learned” tbh I don’t even know cause I’m getting old and I just found out about the word slay but then I think it’s already on the way out…so maybe I’m not the person to be giving advice on trends? LOL!
What I’m trying to say is that I have never had a client come to me or drop in my DM’s and say “hey Lucy I’m so keen to work with you. I love the way you copy all the reel ideas flying around right now and the way you have developed a style that is just like everyone else. I would love to pay you to take photos, make content or create for me”
Never. That never happens. You attract people through your own vision and style not one that was born from the algo or Meta. We need to be injecting the humanity back into the internet and proving our worth by using our big beautiful brains to come up with new and exciting ways to tell visual stories and engage and resonate with people.
So now the challenge part…How can you create more original content this year?
Your plan is below
Start by making a list or visual mood board of all the things you love and feel inspired by. Try and think outside the box here to and look at things like old magazines or films, get out int the actual world watch people going about their days, maybe take a class in something or start making things with your hands, listen to music, buy some fruit and vegetables you have never eaten before that look weird and wonderful and just get inspired by the world.
Experiment with your filming and editing. Most of us have a smartphone and some of idea of how things work in this realm so with some good YouTube sessions on how to edit things, colour grade, add in cool transitions or fonts or just even basic cuts that will elevate your vids will not only arm you with skills that are becoming extremely sought after but will also get that brain ticking and have you maybe finding your next career path? Maybe you are the next Rodger Deakins who the fuck knows?! Just find a way to film things or edit things that allows you to express yourself and break free from the social media blueprint that just gets so boring for creators and viewers.
Start storyboarding some bigger ideas and getting good at visualizing how they will come together. This could even be as simple as one locked off shot that has you or things moving within it. This is great if you are on your own and your new editing skills will help you to make it seem more dynamic than it was. If you can come up with a nice little story, a hook, a good narration over the top of lush or cool looking footage, this will likely grab attention and stop the scroll because it doesn’t look like all the other things clogging up peoples feed.
Don’t overlook the caption! This is such an important part of posting and something I spend a lot of time on. How can you use that to compliment your content and get people involved? Maybe the caption is where you share the value or the thought you are having that will resonate with people and the footage was just the initial vibe and aesthetics to get people watching and when they read the caption that’s where they get really hooked. This is perfect if you are a good writer too and that caption can be repurposed across other platforms too. Win Win!
Self reflect regularly. Going through and looking back at what has done well and asking why will likely tell you a lot. Having goals and knowing your why will also help to keep you on track and resist the temptation to fall pray to just hopping on board with a trend when it doesn’t really align with your values or end goals.
I could go on for like forever about this subject…
But I won’t. I really enjoy helping people to feel motivated about posting online and sharing their art, story or business so I hope this makes you feel excited and ready to slay (haha) in 2024.
No one is really paying that much attention (thats kind of the problem really) so just fucking go for it and try a few things out. Nothing changes if nothing changes so give it a go and chances are you will learn something at the very least.
See you all next week for another Love Lucy letter. I have a zine and film giveaway coming up soon too so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!
P.s I did not proof read this because I had dinner on the stove and time did juts not permit for this weeks newsletter but I showed up anyway, likely with spelling and punctation errors as well as bad grammar but that’s okay. I’m still #slaying…right?
Love Lucy xx
It’s like we were thinking the same thing Lucy! A great read 👏🏼