Now the first pro and this is a huge one is the potential. So anytime a new social media platform comes out, there's huge potential for creators and online business owners. There's less competition, there's less noise. And if you're one of the first people, you have the potential to capture a large part of the market. Hey there. I'm Marissa. And I want to personally welcome you to the escape the nine to five podcast, where we discuss all things and making money online and creating a life that you love. After losing my dad at 19, I learned how short life can be. And because of this, I now know that making money online is about so much more than an extra paycheck. It's about freedom. It's about options. And it's about having the opportunity to spend your time on this planet, your way. Thank you so much for tuning in. Now it's time to dive into today's episode.
Hey, guys, and welcome back to another episode of the escape the nine to five podcast. All right, so I'm pretty excited for today's podcast episode. I mean, for starters, it is finally nice out here in Minnesota, it is I think, like 60 degrees today, which is huge, because it hasn't even been in the 50s. And there's still snow everywhere. But today is warm, it's sunny, everything is melting and I am loving it. But I'm also excited for today's episode, because I'm talking all about lemon eight. And I'm pretty sure with this weather, it's going to be really hard for me to say lemon aid every single time and not say lemonade.
But bear with me, I'm gonna try to enunciate and make sure that I am saying Lemon8
Okay, now if you're like, What the heck is Lemon8, you are definitely not alone. So Lemon8 is a new social media platform. And it's new to the US as of February of 2023. So at this point, at the time that I'm recording this, it's a couple months old and people are catching on, especially recently, really fast. Now I created a lemon aid account on Sunday, so literally just a couple of days ago. And I wanted to create this episode to talk about my experience to share some pros and cons and ultimately help you decide if you should hop on the Lemon8 train. At this point, I'm not an expert, I'm sure there are things that I still don't know. But I'm just sharing my experience so far and some of the thoughts that I've had about this.
Alright, so a little bit of context here. Lemon8 has actually been around since 2020. But it was just released to users in the US and in the UK in February of 2023. So this app or platform is actually owned by TikTok's parent company Bytedance. And I had a hard time figuring out how many downloads it currently has. But one article that was just updated this morning said there were as many as 650,000 new downloads in just the last week and a half. So Lemon8 is also available on Android and iOS, which makes it stand out from some of the other up and coming social media platforms, which previously have only been available on iOS. So overall, I think there's a ton of potential here.
Okay, so what is Lemon8 like or, you know, what can you expect from this app. So to me, lemon eight seems like a combination of Instagram and Pinterest. Like, it literally looks like Instagram and Pinterest had a baby. And personally I'm really digging it. So within the app, you can share pictures. And you can also share videos. But it does seem like the app is really geared more towards pictures. And you can also create carousels. So let's go over some of the pros and cons are kind of some of the things that I've noticed. Now the first pro and this is a huge one is the potential. So anytime a new social media platform comes out, there's huge potential for creators and online business owners. There's less competition, there's less noise. And if you're one of the first people you have the potential to capture a large part of the market, you know, Instagram, other platforms, they're great. But they've been around for years, there are tons of users and there's so much noise. There are so many posts being shared every single day. And it can be hard to stand out. And it can take a really long time to start gaining some traction, especially if you're starting with a brand new account. Whereas if you get in with a new platform that ends up making it big, you can really kind of run with that wave.
And I think one of the biggest more recent examples of this is TikTok. When TikTok first came out, there were a lot of average people that ended up going viral. And because of this, they were able to build large followings pretty fast, which also propelled a lot of people to become influencers and to start making money online. And now that Tik Tok has become more popular, and there's more content being created every day, it's harder to go viral and harder to grow your account as quickly as people were in those early days.
Okay, so the next pro is the vibe, I would definitely say that at this point, Lemon8 is more of a feminine app. But I do foresee that changing as it becomes more popular. But overall, I love the vibe, everyone seems really friendly, and also genuine, which is something that I've never fully felt or really seen out of a social media app. And you know, I don't know, Instagram, a lot of times, it gives you more of the fake kind of highlight reel vibe. And there seems to be a lot of fake engagement or you know, just a lot of engagement based in reciprocation, or you know, wanting people to do something back. And it isn't necessarily coming from that right place or coming from a genuine place. And this app, it just seems really genuine. And it seems like people really want to connect and offer advice and share tips and actually support one another. So that's pretty cool.
So the first con and this is a big one and kind of the offset of the first pro. But the first con is that we don't know if this platform will actually take off or not. So there is the risk that you would create all this content and start building an audience on this platform. And then all of a sudden, all the hype would die off, or people would stop using it or you know, maybe it would just, you know, shut down if it came down to that. So I do think this platform has some great potential, I think it's kind of a breath of fresh air that a lot of people have been waiting for. But at the end of the day, it may or may not be around for the long haul. And kind of going off of that another potential con is that this app was created by Bytedance, which is the company that also owns TikTok. Now this is a problem because the US government has been going back and forth about security concerns relating to TikTok and they've also threatened to ban TikTok in the US multiple times. So it's unclear whether or not lemon eight will have some of the same security concerns. But that is something to be aware of. And you know, it's kind of the gamble that you play with social media. Tik Tok could be shut down tomorrow. Instagram could be down for days. Overall you don't have control over social media and that's part of the reason that starting an email list and really building a stable foundation for your business is so important and I know I've talked about that before but just had to throw
All of that in there. Okay, so the next con is that there's a fairly small user base at this point. Now, like I mentioned earlier, the user base is growing. And based on the information that I could find, it seems like the user base is growing pretty quickly. But the issue for online business owners is that there might not be a ton of new content within your niche, or a ton of people searching your niche in this early phase. Now, like I mentioned before, that can be an opportunity to capitalize on. But for now, the user base is fairly small. And there's also a large emphasis on fashion, health and wellness, home decor, travel, makeup and beauty. And I haven't seen a ton of content within other niches. But I know that that will start to change as more people start joining his platform. And as more people start sharing different content.
The next con is that there are some features that are missing. So one feature that I think would be great would be the ability to put links in your posts. Now, this is something that you can do on Facebook and not on Instagram. So I have no idea if this is something that will come about. But that's a feature that I personally think would be really beneficial. Now, the one thing that I find really strange is that there is no direct messaging feature, which is just really odd for a social media platform. Because you know, my idea of social media is to be social and to, you know, meet new people and connect with people and talk with them. So it's really weird to me that they don't have any direct messaging feature. A part of me thinks that this is something that will be added, but who knows. So this is a little limiting, if you're trying to really connect with people answer questions, or, you know, send them links or even point them in a certain direction.
All right, so the last big con is that there's no real direction on how to grow or what to do at this point. So right now, there are tons of people all over Lemon8, talking about how to grow on Lemon8. And I've even seen some people doing Lemon8 audits. And you know, I'm all for sharing your expertise for the world. That's ultimately what I help people do. But this app is still so new. And I think everyone is really just still trying to figure it out. So because of that there's no clear path on how to use this app or best practices, or how many times to post per day, and so on. So I've seen people that say to use 10 hashtags and people that say to use seven, and one person says to post two to three times a day, and then the next person says three to five. And you know, at this point, I think it's just really early to be jumping to conclusions. And you know, with this app, at this point, it is a total crapshoot. But I do think in the next few months, people will really start to figure out how to get the most out of this platform, and then that'll become more clear.
All right, so overall, I think Lemon8 has a lot of potential. I'm having fun with it. And you know, I think it'll be interesting to see where it goes. So I'm going to continue using it, I'm going to continue sharing content, and I'll keep you guys updated. And you know, that's one thing about having a business coach or following this journey with me is that I make an effort to go out and test all of the things and experiment and just try different things all of the time. And I do that because well, one, I find it exciting. And I really like to do that. But also, I want to see what's working so that I know what to share with you guys. And you know, I go out and I test those things. And I only really share with you guys what's working, or I can also share some of those lessons too. So yeah, I'm hoping this works out and I will keep you guys updated on this journey. Now with that being said, Should you create a Lemon8 account? At the end of the day, that's up to you, if you're interested in Lemon8, and if you have the time to create content for Lemon8, I think that now is the time to jump in, you know, the sooner the better. But if you have an audience on another platform, and you have to choose between spending your time serving your current audience versus getting started on Lemon8, I think you should hold off and really make sure that you're spending your time serving your current audience and giving them what they need. Does that make sense?
Okay, now, if you're on Lemon8, or if you want to create an account, I would love to connect with you. My Lemon 8 handle is marissadahlin. So just my first and last name, nothing more. And I would love to see over there. So give me a follow. I'll follow you back. Let's connect all of that good stuff.
All right, that is all that I have for today. Thank you so much for tuning in. And I will see you guys next week.