Not my algorithm: When I question social media and content.

According to the "Social Media Atlas 2024," social media usage in Germany is declining for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, 80 percent of German internet users aged 16 and over are active on social networks, four percentage points less than last year. Average weekly usage fell by 2.1 hours, with the decline being most pronounced among 40- to 49-year-olds, at 6.4 hours less. Professional use also declined by an average of 4.4 hours per week.

The reasons cited are the increase in hate speech and irrelevant content. As if that wasn't reason enough to say goodbye to social media, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced major changes for the company in early January 2025. Meta will discontinue its current fact-checking program. There's a saying in English for this: "The shit hits the fan," although "the fan" in this case can be interpreted with a double meaning.

I'm no longer a fan and have deactivated my Facebook. I've never used TikTok except for testing purposes. I still see advantages for myself and my work with Instagram, and I use it occasionally. But I haven't consumed Stories or Reels for a longer time now. I simply find it boring, and even though it's so boring, I had to uninstall the app from my phone to avoid being automatically distracted. You just want to quickly check who sent you a message (maybe it's a business inquiry), and 15 minutes later, for some inexplicable reason, you find yourself watching some video about baking bread.

This isn't shame or weakness. It happens to all of us because these apps are programmed to do just that, exploiting human curiosity.

More does not help.

For me personally, posting all the time doesn't work, and I think there's just more to it than that. No, even better: I think there's less to it. That's actually what I'm trying to say. We need to produce less content, not more. A single good video is enough for many situations – and especially in the professional field, a few platforms like LinkedIn and Bluesky, to name just two good alternatives, are sufficient.

Start with just one film – and then?

When I use the term film, I mean a coherent story with a narrative structure. Whether it's an interview or a commercial that tells a story, whether it lasts 1 minute, 15 minutes, or longer.

Good content has a longer 'shelf life' than quick social media posts that disappear after a few hours. Films can effectively communicate your values and give viewers food for thought that will stay with them for a while. Of course, such a film can also be shared in its entirety on social media platforms, and I think that's important, too. Even if it might get fewer views than a funny Reel pushed by the algorithm.

You can also cut the film into shorter clips or extract excerpts. You can edit a trailer from it. You can take the transcript of an interview and use ChatGPT or another AI to develop great little pieces from it, and so on.

You can share a film that you've produced over weeks or months multiple times. Not just once. Nobody knows your timeline or whether you shared the film four weeks ago. You don't have to constantly create something new. You can use this one film countless times in different constellations and different contexts. If the theme and the story are good, it's a really good basis.

I think it's important that it's not produced just to comply with Meta and TikTok's algorithms. If you pay attention to their trends, you'll unfortunately often end up with a lot of nonsense that doesn't help anyone except the advertising revenue of these platforms.

You should always consider other communication options. Story based films are better used outside of social media, for example, in presentations or newsletters, on landing pages, as cinema advertising, etc. This way, you might reach fewer people overall and get fewer views than on TikTok, but it can also mean that the video brings you better results – financially or whatever your goal may be. It doesn't have to be views on TikTok.

I want to be the person you think of next time...

Ever-changing platform rules make many people dependent. Personally, I have other plans. I want to be the person you think of the next time trendy social media concepts no longer work for you—when you'd rather develop more in-depth formats and relevant content.

Get in touch.