Welcome to the Social Smarty Scoop, your weekly update with all of the social media marketing news you need to know for the week ending the first of December, 2024. Let's dive on in.
First up this week, Instagram appears to be introducing a new feature called VideoNotes. Now, VideoNotes will let you record and send real-time video messages up to 60 seconds long. There is hands-free recording, so you can just swipe up to enable that. Now, this is another step in Instagram's plan to help us use DMs and private social media more. Now, Instagram for a while has been doubling down on private DMs. We have been told that one of the main metrics when it comes to increasing our reach is how many times our content is shared to other people. Often, that's shared in the DMs. This is really an expected update, but I think it's pretty cool. Imagine you have a customer or a client who has reached out or a potential customer or client who has reached out to you via direct message on Instagram. Now, in the past, of course, we could send a voice note, which was a really lovely way to connect a little bit deeper than just replying with text. This is the next step up. This is replying with a video note. I think this is a really cool feature. We I don't have a lot of details on whether it's in testing or when it might be rolling out, but I really do think that this is a game changer for building those authentic connexions with our customers, clients, or potential customers and clients.
Next up, another Instagram update. Instagram has changed the way reels look when shared to stories. We all know that it's a great tactic to share your reels to your stories to make sure you get maximum reach with your audience. Now, in the past, it was quite a basic-looking share. That you would have to tap to see the full reel. That really hasn't changed. It's a slightly different layout. Most people probably won't notice the difference, but just a reminder that you should always be sharing your reels to your stories.
Another Instagram update. Instagram is testing out a collage feature for stories. Now, I think I've reported on this previously, but it is very similar to Shuffles, which Pinterest rolled out a little while ago, which was a separate app that really didn't seem to gain traction, even though they released it as invitation only, which usually gets quite the hype going. This is very similar. You would take photos from your camera roll and create a collage. Basically, a really fun visual interesting way to put together a story. I want to have a play around with this. I don't have access to this yet. As mentioned, it's just in testing, so we have no information on whether it will roll out or if it does, when that would be.
Now, TikTok has shared with creators some top tips for beta long-form videos. Now, we know that TikTok is really encouraging creators to post longer-form videos rather than the really short, snappy ones that we're used to. But the tips they have shared are nothing earth-shattering. So There are things like hooking your viewers in in the first five seconds, using storytelling, keeping your visuals dynamic, providing valuable high-quality content. I mean, it's all pretty standard stuff, really. But I will pop link in the show notes. If you want to go and check out those 10 tips, you can click on the link in the show notes.
Instagram is introducing a new philtre feature to organise our saved content. Now, if you're anything like me, you probably have a million things saved on Instagram, and at the moment, it's quite hard to wade through. Unless you're creating collections, it's quite hard to wade through and find exactly what you're looking for. There will be seven philtres that will automatically philtre anything that you save. There'll be all content, reels, posts, collections, audio, places, and products. I think this is really, really helpful.
Linkedin has shared tips on how to write an engaging LinkedIn post that really stands out in the feed and resonates with your audience. Linkedin recommends starting posts with a strong hook, sharing personal insights, and providing value to engage your audience. Use visuals like images or videos and encourage interaction by asking questions. Again, this is really not any Earth-shattering stuff. We already know all of this, but if you want to go and check out the guide that LinkedIn has written, I have popped a link in the show notes.
Tiktok is expanding the TikTok shop to Spain and Ireland. Now, here in New Zealand, we do not have the TikTok shop. I'm desperate to see what it looks like to get my hands on all of those good products. It would be really interesting to know if this expansion means that maybe we are closer to getting the TikTok shop here in New Zealand.
Lastly this week, Instagram has introduced new DM features, including over 300 new stickers, Nickname Customization, and Live Location Sharing. Now, this one's interesting. It's very similar to Snapchat. If you're a Snapchat user, you'll know that your location can be shared so your friends, family can see where you are located. Now, this is a similar feature that we'll be rolling out on Instagram DMs.
There you have it. Those are your updates for the week ending the first of December, 2024. As always, I would love to continue the conversation. Come and find me all over social media at @socialsmarty.co until next week, stay social.
