Social Secrets and insider tips are hard to come by that actually make a difference and we know that social media is changing at the speed of knots, which can often throw even the most seasoned of Marketing professionals, especially once we’ve become comfortable with a platform. But fear not – we’ve listed the most recent updates to your favourite social media platforms and provided our best insider hints and tips for getting the most out of these new additions.
Facebook and Instagram have seen the most obvious changes over the past few years as their parent-brand Meta re-styled itself as a social-media-meets-virtual-reality pioneer. Their vision has shifted towards a more realistic, meaningful form of connection, which can be seen in Instagram’s latest update, Favourites. Curated, personalised content is the aim here, with Instagram following in the footsteps of their competitor TikTok and their refined personalisation algorithm. This feature encourages users to curate a list of their preferred creators and accounts in order to combat the frequently debated Instagram feed chronology, allowing users to control their feeds more. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, stated that the feature allows users to “quickly catch up on the accounts they care about the most” in the chronological order of posting, creating a more tailored user experience. This makes an already saturated space more competitive, with accounts that are disregarded from these elite lists gaining far less exposure.
Fleeting trends and one-off viral pieces likely won’t land you on your follower’s favourites list in the same way as consistent branding and meaningful interaction. Focus on formulating a more personable brand in order to form a connection with your audience and snag your spot on their coveted favourites list. We also recommend creating content that is ‘bookmark-worthy’ to keep your profile in the limelight – our saved content consists mostly of tips, tricks and hacks that we don’t want to forget, and other tutorial-based content. Accounts that create educational content such as this are deemed useful and necessary on our feeds, and we actively keep-up with these profiles for their next ingenious hack or viral video. With a maximum of 50 spaces in each user’s Favourites list, creators should also remind their followers to utilise the feature to their advantage – consider placing an informal ‘add me to your favourites’ sentence at the end of your posts to provide a quick nudge to your followers.
If a picture can say a thousand words, then a video can say a million – or at least this is the mentality present in Facebook’s most recent update, Reels. This feature will be very familiar to TikTok users, with Instagram’s iteration of Reels being almost identical to that of its social media predecessor. They indicate a broader move taken by social media platforms to short-form videos: brief snippets of content that are easy to digest on repeat. Or, depending on your brand, hilarious, laugh out loud, content that viewers just can’t get enough of. With this short-form content becoming increasingly popular, users in the UK can expect to see this rolled out to a screen near them soon.
If you are already familiar with TikTok, you’ll know that the trick to optimising your reel appeal is being concise and visual. Meta suggests that although their Reels option allows for longer videos, 15 seconds is the optimum video length to ensure that your audience is watching your content from start to finish, which boosts the chances of engagement. In terms of content theme, educational videos are proving popular, especially ‘How-To’s and ‘Behind the Scenes’ content which provide a refreshingly different take on otherwise overdone content styles. Remember that pacing is vital for the flow of your Reel content – look back at your favourite TikTok video, or YouTube Short, and pay attention to the time the content creator gives for you to absorb their content, written or visual. When it comes to finally posting your reel, ensure that you are featuring the most visually appealing shot from your video for the cover. This snippet should tell viewers what to expect from your reel, and should pack a punch, especially as the Reels covers are somewhat small on Facebook’s homepage. Bold colour rather than small text, which will likely be illegible on the cover, is most likely to promote interest. Lastly, don’t be afraid to hop on trends as a way of boosting engagement: browse your Explore tab and scour your recommendations to see what’s popular. Failing that, stay tuned for Instagram’s Friday trend report over on their @creators account for your most up-to-date inspiration.
Speaking of TikTok, they’ve launched their own update entitled Stories, an ode to Snapchat and Instagram wherein creators can post daily, time-limited content that is available exclusively on their profile. As a more personalised means of engaging with your audience, creators’ stories will remain for only 24 hours before being lost forever, making it ideal for informal updates. Sophie June explains that stories are organically fused with the existing For You and Following pages to create a feature that is both intuitive and familiar.
TikTok users are encouraged to continue driving traffic to their profile with their standard video content and consolidating their fanbase with the Stories feature. Due to the time-limitations of Stories, users have the opportunity to create content which feels exclusive and tailored to their followers. Consider what your USP is, and why your followers keep up with your content, and integrate this into your stories in a more personalised way. Remember, you can afford to go into more depth about your business using Stories, as your follower base is most likely already familiar with your content. With that being said, try to post exclusive content to your TikTok stories to avoid repeating what your viewers are already seeing on your page.
Now you’ve curated your content and become a social media master, we can’t wait to see your content gracing our Instagram Favourites, Facebook Reels and TikTok Stories. Want to hear more about amplifying your social media reach and bolstering its effectiveness? Drop us a message below and we’ll get back to you!
Posted by Helen Brookes on Monday 9th May 2022
