Some users are now seeing the option to create Reels of up to a minute and a half long, giving you an extra 30 seconds on top of the current 60-second limit.

Instagram first began testing longer Reels in February, with various users seeing the option appear in the app ever since. We asked Instagram if this update is being rolled out to all users, and they told us that, at present, this is only in testing, with no official plan for a broader expansion just yet.

Instagram’s currently in the process of re-aligning its video offerings around the Reels format. Instagram wants to double-down on our focus on video and consolidate all of our video formats around Reels.

Instagram retired its IGTV brand back in October, when it announced the broader merger of its video offerings, and with this, it makes sense for the platform to also make Reels longer, in order to better integrate its various video offerings into a singular content stream.

Worth also noting that in its latest earnings call, Meta reported that Reels now makes up more than 20% of the total time that people spend on Instagram, underlining the popularity of the format – even though its a direct copy of TikTok.

The next step, then, will be to reduce the length of all video uploads (users are still able to upload video clips up to an hour long through the post composer), which will bring everything into greater alignment, in order to facilitate the next stage of Instagram’s content shift.

Instagram removed its in-stream video ad placements option earlier this month, which also aligns with this broader push towards making video content more compact, and translating all of its content into a full-screen, immersive, TikTok-like feed, moving into line with emerging habitual behaviors.

Instagram hasn’t shared any info about this next stage, but that seems like the logical conclusion, which will be a big change for the app, though one that makes a lot of sense.

Longer Reels is another step in this, and while it’s not being made available to everyone just yet, it is gradually being expanded to more users over time.

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Collab posts are a powerful tool that everyone in social marketing should know about. They’re designed to reflect the ways creators and users actually interact with content. This article provides you with concrete ways to carry out Collab posts on Instagram. We’ll help you get the most out of Collabs for your brand.

Collaborate with influencers and content creators

Collabs posts are a great way to coordinate your brand’s Instagram presence with the influencers promoting you.

The share of social media marketers using influencer marketing has been rising steadily since 2019. Instagram Collab posts help highlight this important part of your marketing activities.

Just remember that Instagram Collabs doesn’t take the place of a branded content label. If you have a creator account that uses the branded partners feature, you still need to label your spon-con to stay compliant with advertising regulations.

Create Instagram Collab posts with other brands

Collaborations between brands are a natural fit for Instagram Collab posts. Group promotions let two brands pool their resources. This way they have a greater reach than any individual marketing push.

Brand-on-brand collaborations can also make your prizes and giveaways more attractive. Combine your product with a complementary brand and watch your engagement take off. Use Instagram Collabs to make sure you and your partner are maximally discoverable. You can also collaborate between different parts of your brand’s online presence.

Send shouts-out for user-created content

User-generated content is already an important part of social marketing. Collabs takes the advantages it brings to another level.

Earning your audience’s trust is critical for successful social marketing. And the appearance of authenticity that posting user-created content creates is an effective way of getting that trust.

Crediting your audience when they create content for you highlights its authenticity for other users. It also drives engagement. After all, who doesn’t want a shout-out from their favorite brand?

Tag contest winners with Collabs posts

Turn user engagement into content by highlighting Instagram contest winners in your Feed.

Show that real people are winning your contests and encourage engagement. Tag contest winners in a Collabs post to connect with the people who want your product.

Keep Collabs targeted

Each Collab post can only have one other collaborator. They also have to be manually approved by the other party. This makes the feature best for close, intimate collaborations.

If you’re looking to get large numbers of people involved in a single post, it’s best to use a feature like user tags or hashtags.

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Twitter Circle enables users to essentially create a private group chat via tweet, with a variable audience control process that enables you to share tweets with a specific group of chosen contacts.

Users will be able to add up to 150 people to their Circle, with any tweets in the group then only visible to the people in that listing.

Members of Circle are alerted that their tweets are only viewable by those in the group via green indicator attached to each Circle tweet.

The option is essentially an extension of Twitter’s reply control option which it launched back in 2020, which enables users to decide who can see and respond to each of their tweets, while it also leans into the more enclosed discussion use case that Twitter’s looking to boost with it Communities option.

Communities enables users to segment their Twitter audience, so that you can share more specific discussions with specific groups, as opposed to broadcasting everything to all of your followers all the time, and that, ideally, will open up more opportunity for Twitter users to engage with a broader range of topics, as they won’t feel constrained to post only what they think their established audience will respond to and like.

But whether it works that way in practice remains to be seen. Part of the problem with Circles is that most users likely conduct the discussions that would fit into this offering within their DMs already, maintaining group chats with their close friends in a more private space. That privacy enables people to feel more comfortable sharing, and there doesn’t seem like much reason for them to switch those conversations to the potentially more exposed Circles option instead.

In addition to this, Twitter users also have lists to stay in touch with their most important connections, or they can just whittle their Following list down to the most important profiles – so there’s no real, practical value or need for Circles, as such, given that all of the functionality for it already exists in different forms.

A more practical, and valuable application of the same core concept would by Twitter’s other in-development restricted sharing option ‘Facets’, which would enable users to follow each profile based on different topic interests.

Facets would enable users to follow each profile based on different topics, so if you want to tweet about entirely different subjects, and not annoy your main profile followers with things that are irrelevant to them, you could give users the option to follow specific elements of your Twitter presence, as opposed to getting all of your tweets.

That, of course, is not the same as more enclosed group sharing, but it caters to a similar need, in segmenting your audience, which would have, arguably, a more practical value and purpose than trying to bring group chats into the general tweet stream.

As noted, Twitter first previewed Circles in July last year, and within that first explanation, Twitter also noted that Circles tweets would appear first in user timelines, which would be an even more significant element, and could see increased interest in the option.

That’s not part of this initial test launch of the option, though it could be built into Twitter’s algorithm – and maybe, if Circles tweets had the extra benefit of increased priority for those in the group, that could make it a more enticing function.

But right now, I’m not sure I see the real value – though no doubt many people will test it, and they might well find handy use cases for the process.

But it does also seem like interesting timing.

Twitter has long been viewed by many as a ‘global town square’, where people can go to get the latest news and updates, and where everyone can have their say.

That analogy was most recently used by incoming Twitter owner Elon Musk.

 

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But Snap stuck to its guns. It doubled down on its key use case, in connecting friends, and it continued to develop its still industry-leading AR tools and features, which has enabled Snapchat to both maintain relevance, while also building the foundations for a stronger future.

And now, that connective capacity has it well-placed to boost its appeal to ad partners, with its focus on joy and positive engagement facilitating new opportunities.

Snapchatters come to the app and actively engage, sharing as much content as they receive. This spirit of sharing and connection creates a natural home for brands to enter the conversation, providing an opportunity to enter directly into a Snapchatters’ inner circle and begin to establish a relationship with them. And with Snapchatters 30% more likely to make a purchase on social media compared to non-Snapchatters, it’s more important than ever for your brand to be present on Snapchat.

Underlining this, Snap has shared some new insights into how users feel when using the app, and where brands can fit into the process.

First off, Snap says that some 95% of Snapchatters agree that the app helps them to stay connected with friends and family, while 87% of Snapchatters agree that they can be fully themselves in the app.

It’s little surprise, then, to see that Snapchat has been ranked as the happiest platform that focus on positive interactions reaches over to brands as well, with 1 in 2 Snapchat users agreeing that they often enjoy seeing brands in the app, while 82% of Snapchatters actively engage with brands. And its evolving AR tools play a part in this too, with Snapchatters that use branded AR elements increasingly likely to make a big purchase – like a laptop, a smartphone, or even a car.

Snap showcased its latest AR tools for commerce, and how its AR ad options are evolving, and based on these insights, they could well provide major benefits to businesses looking to connect with the Snap audience.

Though Snap remains primarily a younger audience app. Users aged between 18 and 24 make up 39% of Snap’s total audience, while Snap now claims to reach more than 75% of 13-34 year olds in over 20 countries.

But over time, inevitably, Snap’s audience is getting older, and if the platform can evolve with its user needs, that could see it well-placed to become an even bigger advertising consideration over time, while its AR development could also ensure that Snap is well-placed to capitalize on its opportunities.

These figures further underline its potential here, and it may well be worth giving Snap some more consideration for your future ad campaigns.

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The more viewers binge-watch your videos, the more watch time your channel gets. Increased watch time can improve your video’s ranking in the algorithm and help you reach the next creator benefit level.

Here’s how to create bingeable YouTube videos.

Create more videos in the same vein as your most popular ones

On your videos tab, sort your videos by most popular. Then, look at what your videos with the highest views have in common. Write down similar themes, frequent collab partners, or recurring keywords.

The things on your list are what viewers most enjoy from your channel. Replicate those ideas, ask those collab partner to join you again, or find other ways to work those keywords into your videos going forward.

Plan your videos as series

When people talk about binge watching, they’re usually referring to something episodic, such as a TV show or a miniseries, rather than something standalone like a movie. Therefore, in order to get viewers to binge watch your videos, you should plan them as series.

There are several different ways to schedule a new video series. You can upload all the episodes in a row. You could upload a new episode once a week or once a month, mixing it in with your typical content. You could also add an additional day specifically for this series to your current upload schedule.

Organize your past videos into playlists

You can utilize the same thought process that goes with creating series by organizing your past videos into playlists. Even if they aren’t in a series, certain videos you’ve created likely go together.

Group your videos into playlists based on topics and keywords. Make playlists that are broad, such as “Beauty Tutorials and Reviews,” and ones that are specific, such as “Eye Shadow Tutorials” or “Too Faced Product Reviews.”

Add video sections to your homepage

Your channel’s homepage can show more than your recent uploads and your playlists. You can add different sections based on the different categories your videos fall under.

Viewers are more likely to binge watch related content. Organize your videos into playlists, and focus on series going forward. Group everything into sections on your channel’s homepage.

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Here are 3 video editing tips and tricks to help you out in making video content that apply to all sorts of videos, including fiction films, personal vlogs, and documentaries, and should help you raise the standard of your video content.

Speed it up

There’s a reason that TikTok became so popular in 2020. In our busy, social media-heavy world, people’s attention spans aren’t what they used to be. The most common criticism aimed at amateur films, and many professional ones, is that they’re too long.

That doesn’t mean you should cut your half-hour masterpiece down to 30 seconds, but you can certainly improve it by removing anything extraneous. Be brutal with your own work – if a line or a shot doesn’t add anything not stated elsewhere, try taking it out and see if the video flows better without it.

Cut on action

When cutting from one angle on a scene to another, the cut can look jarring. This often happens when you’re using different takes, but it can even be a problem when you have two cameras on the same take. One way to make edits look smoother is to cut midway through an action, rather than when things are static.

Learn to use colour

There are two colour editing processes: colour correction and colour grading. Colour correction is adjusting your clips for basic consistency. Shots from two different cameras or ones taken in different lighting conditions can look jarringly different when placed adjacent in an edit. This can often be fixed by adjusting brightness, contrast, and white balance.

Colour grading is the next step, which is giving a scene a particular “look.” If you’re serious about this, certain high-end editing applications have detailed grading interfaces, but many also make it easy for newcomers with LUTs, which apply a preset style. Think about how your video’s tone changes if you give it a colder or warmer look, for example.

Video editing can seem a daunting task at first, but keep these video editing tips and tricks in mind as you go, and you’ll soon be editing like a pro. You’ll also find it’s an incredibly satisfying process, especially when you watch your finished masterpiece.

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Because every business wants to improve its branding, the idea of looking is not a matter of vanity. The image you project enables you to improve the quality of customers who use your product. Video is a critical component of successful branding and promotion.

How do you improve your brand through video? How do you look good? While there is no magic formula to look good instantly, there are some strategies you can implement to improve the overall flow of your videos.

Let’s go through the seven tips to look good in your next video.

Be Energetic

A camera can be the biggest critic you ever meet. It seems when you display a low energy level and does not miss a beat when your enthusiasm stretches the truth.

if you want to have a modicum of success like he achieved, then you should show your emotion. That doesn’t mean you wear your smile like a crazy person or the Joker in Batman. Instead, smile for the camera and focus on how you can use your nervous energy to give your upcoming video a boost.

Make the topic understandable

We often hear intellectuals lament how the Internet gives us all attention deficit disorder. Studies show that our attention span today is only 8 seconds. To keep your audience hooked to your video, you need a quick and clear message.

As we develop in our profession, we often use more jargon. The challenge is that we forget that our clients do not spend their entire day working on your field of expertise. They do not have the same level of understanding. Otherwise, they would not need our services.

Therefore, cut the jargon from your video and make it easy for prospects to understand how you can help them.

Remember to smile

72% of people believe that frequent smilers are secure and successful. What better way to win your audience’s trust than by showing that you are confident about your business and services. You cannot make as much money if you do not smile.

If you have trouble smiling on camera or are concerned that your smile will not look genuine, fret not! Practice smiling in front of a mirror. It will relax you when you are on camera, and you detect inadvertent facial tics you didn’t mean to use.

Look directly into the camera

Often customers come to us telling about how they have experience talking at an event. The challenge is that speaking in front of a live audience is different from talking on camera. First, you cannot gauge the emotions of the viewer. Second, you have a more limited range of motion.

Unlike on a stage, the camera lens scope limits you where you can look to ensure you capture the audiences’ attention.

The key is to look directly at the camera lens. While it is tempting to look at yourself talking (depending on the camera and webcam in use) or focus on different spots throughout the video, your audience is only right in front of you.

Take heed of the limited space of the camera. Bring it to eye level and focus on it instead of looking around.

Grab the audience attention early

We cannot repeat this statement enough; you have 8 seconds. Now that you have a clear message, you need a quick, clear way to convey your thoughts to your audience.

The better you start your video; the more people will watch the rest. For example, don’t start by telling your name and the title of the video. Instead, come up with something compelling to your audience that immediately engrosses your viewer in your topic.

That could be an anecdote, statistic, or a bold claim (which you then back up).

You, viewers, need a reason to keep listening to your podcast or watch your YouTube video. You need to give them that reason early, or they will stop watching.

Prepare for your on-camera presentation

Just because you know your business doesn’t mean you explain it clearly. The people who look natural clarifying a process are those who do it on a regular basis.

Depending on how much guidance you need before shooting the video, you might want to create an outline or script. Then practice the video until you are tired of hearing your voice. However, the moment you go on camera, your presentation will seem natural and conversational.

A good idea after a great intro that gets viewers’ attention is to give them some information guiding them to the direction of the video.

Also, if you have more than two points, number them. For example, you can discuss the top three ways–or maybe seven expert tips–to look good on video. People like structure, so they can follow your story on the video.

Otherwise, you are rambling and probably off-topic. That affects how prospects perceive your brand.

Whenever possible add visual cues as well as audio cues to indicate different points. If you say first, use captions or a text callout that shows viewers you are switching to the next topic.

People do NOT always pick up on what you do. That is why you need to make it easy for them to follow you.

Part of that equation is not only giving them the outline. You need to follow the framework as well. Otherwise, no one can follow your lead.

Make sure you dress for success

Here is something fun that every video marketer wants to hear. People make snap judgments about you right away. They judge you for your smile (or lack thereof), your posture and other non-verbal communication cues. Finally, your viewers judge you based on what you wear.

While you will never please everyone, you can wear something that fits your target audience. The adage is true: if you look good, you feel good. You do not need to spend your entire day getting dressed. However, you can spend some time finding a clean, ironed shirt to wear. Do NOT dress too flashy unless it suits your audience. Also, comb your hair and use some hairspray or gel.

Finally, both men and women can use some makeup on the air, whether it is concealer to hide blemishes or powder to darken your skin, so you don’t look like a ghost. Both men and women need this kind of help.

If you are not able to implement all of the tips immediately, start with the one or two tips you need to use the most to make your videos effective. Once you improve the weakest component of your videos, you can focus on other areas.

Then you will look good (and credible), so your audience wants to watch more of your videos and learn more about your services.

The post 7 tips for looking good on camera first appeared on YTVIEWS.IN.

Do your research

You should know that next-to-nothing is ever original these days, and that almost everything you see is often inspired by someone or something else. That’s why it’s perfectly fine to take a look at what the competition is doing, either in your niche or in general, to look for inspiration as to what you can be doing to get the most from your followers. You might notice something that just sparks your creativity, even if it’s completely irrelevant to what they’ve done.

I hope though that you don’t mistake this for me saying that you should be copying your competitors, as that’s a sure-fire way to lose credibility, however you should be seeing how you can improve on that competitor’s work. Ask yourself what they’ve missed out, what could they have done better? Then do that for yourself.

Go with the flow

There are going to be days where you just don’t feel like doing anything, possibly because you’re ill, tired or you’ve got a banging headache, and it’s when you try to work through these down times that you get greeted with the infamous social media ‘burnout’. That’s why you need to double-down when you’re feeling at your best.

If you’ve ever played poker, you’ll probably know that the best players do not play every single hand, instead they try to win as much as possible with the hands that they do end up playing. You’ll have to be just as strategic as this with your time and effort, relaxing when your body instructs you to, and hammer it out when you’re in the zone.

Post in advance

The quickest way to burn yourself out online, is trying to come up with new blog post ideas as and when you look to post them. As mentioned earlier, there are going to be days where you’re just not up for it, perhaps you’re not feeling well or you just don’t have time. That’s why it’s crucial that you start scheduling content ahead of time, either by using the tools provided by social media platforms (like Facebook) or by using third-party software.

Such third-party solutions include the likes of Buffer, Hootsuite and SocialSprout, all of which help you to schedule all of your content – hours, days, weeks or even months ahead of time. This means that you can save yourself the last minute headache of trying to come up with something interesting to say on the spot.

Just be sure though that if you are scheduling content in advance, that you are still allocating time to respond to any comments that you are receiving on these posts, as it’s going to help you to build deep connections with your followers, drastically increasing the likelihood of converting them into a paying customer in the future.

Outsource it 

Not everyone is built the same, some people are just more creative, and others might be juggling second jobs. We are all different and it’s not fair to suggest that you have to be doing all of the above yourself, especially if you’re trying to run a local business on your own. Marketing can often be a frustrating time for business owners, as they either don’t have time, don’t know where to start, or are struggling to get results themselves.

With that in mind it might be worth outsourcing the whole process entirely. Save yourself the stress of trying to figure out how to get more likes, comments, followers and sales, by outsourcing your marketing to the professionals. With the right help you can focus on what you enjoy doing most in your business!

Take some time off

If all else fails and you feel like absolute shit, then just admit that your body is telling you to relax. The human body is smarter than you think, and will often warn you when something isn’t right. Take your headaches, migraines, tiredness, bad moods and blurry eyes as a sign that you need to take a break away from the screen, whether it just be for 30 minutes or even for the whole weekend. Prioritise your health first, and the rest will figure itself out.

In addition to this, set aside some time for a well-deserved holiday. We all know how depressing it can be when you’re stuck at home 24/7, for 365 days of the year, so organise your next getaway, even if it’s only at a hotel down the road, just to let your hair down and relax for a change. When you are ‘away’ though, be sure to switch your devices off and block out any distractions. It’s important to relax as much as you can, so don’t worry about having to schedule posts or reply to comments during this time.

Most people who turn to social media to promote their business, end up suffering with burnout at one point or another. This can be avoided by only working during your most productive hours, limiting your screen time, researching your content beforehand, and scheduling said content in advance.

The post How to avoid creative burnout on social media first appeared on YTVIEWS.IN.

Zuckerberg may have big hopes for smart glasses, but the near-term reality of the technology is far less lofty. The demonstrations during Zuckerberg’s Meta presentation, such as playing virtual chess on a real table with someone’s avatar, weren’t based on any functioning hardware or software. And Meta doesn’t yet have a working, wearable prototype of its planned AR glasses but rather a stationary demonstration that sits on a table.

Still, Zuckerberg has ambitious goals for when his high-tech glasses will be a reality. Employees are racing to deliver the first generation by 2024 and are already working on a lighter, more advanced design for 2026, followed by a third version in 2028.​​ Animating the push for AR glasses and Facebook’s rebrand to Meta is a desire by Zuckerberg to cast the company he founded as innovative once again.

If the AR glasses and the other futuristic hardware Meta is building eventually catch on, they could cast the company, and by extension Zuckerberg, in a new light. Meta’s CEO also sees the AR glasses, dubbed Project Nazare, as a way to get out from under the thumb of Apple and Google, which together dictate the terms that apps like Facebook have to abide by on mobile phones.

The first version of Nazare is designed to work independently from a mobile phone with the assistance of a wireless, phone-shaped device that offloads parts of the computing required for the glasses to operate. A marquee feature will be the ability to communicate and interact with holograms of other people through the glasses.

In addition to Nazare, a separate, previously unreported pair of cheaper smart glasses codenamed Hypernova are also planned for 2024. Nazare is designed to operate independently of a smartphone, but Hypernova will pair with a nearby phone to show incoming messages and other notifications through a smaller, heads-up display, similar to the North smart glasses Google acquired two years ago. Together with Nazare, Hypernova, and future versions of the Ray-Ban camera-equipped glasses it recently introduced, Meta hopes to be selling tens of millions of smart glasses towards the end of this decade.

Similar products from Microsoft, Snap and others are far from mainstream. And the stakes couldn’t be higher for Meta. To build the glasses and future VR hardware, Meta has aggressively poached from Microsoft, Apple, Google, and others, driving up the price of talent across the industry. There are plans to increase spending on building AR and VR hardware in the years to come, an immense bet happening while his business is under pressure from all sides.

Zuckerberg has insisted that the first version of Nazare offer a full AR experience with 3D graphics, a large field of view, and a socially acceptable design. While Meta is racing towards a 2024 ship goal, there’s no guarantee that Nazare will meet that target. Its ship year has already slipped multiple times. Work is still very much underway on the product experience, especially on the software side.

Now Meta is pursuing a version built on top of Android for the first version of the AR glasses — a similar approach to what powers the company’s current Quest VR headset.

The displays of Nazare are powered by costly custom waveguides and microLED projectors. The first version will have eye tracking and a front-facing camera, along with stereo audio in the frame. Perhaps the most futuristic aspect of the first versions of both Nazare and Hypernova is a wrist device Meta plans to bundle with the glasses for controlling them, hypothetically, with the wearer’s mind — something that will likely be the company’s next big privacy hurdle. Someone can essentially think to type or control a virtual interface, which Meta believes will aid in interacting with smart glasses that don’t have a touchscreen, mouse, or keyboard.

In the nearer term, Meta is planning to debut its first-ever smartwatch as soon as this year. A second version of the company’s smart glasses with Ray-Ban is also in the works. On the VR side, a higher-end headset codenamed Cambria with pass-through video capable of blending the real and virtual worlds is being readied for later this year, ahead of a similar device Apple is planning to release.

Even though Zuckerberg has already staked his claim on the metaverse, it’s going to be a long time for AR glasses to possibly garner mainstream appeal.

The post Meta’s race against time to release its first AR glasses in 2024 first appeared on YTVIEWS.IN.

Post content regularly 

The Snapchat algorithm pushes the latest content at the top of a user’s feed. This is why you need to post regularly, so your videos can be pushed to the top, seen by more people, and thus garner more views.

However, regular posting doesn’t mean random content. You need to plan a content strategy to keep your audience engaged and drive more views, shares, and screenshots—the basis for better ranking and getting rewarded.

Promote your Snapchat account

Creating content is not enough. You also need to distribute it—in this case, your Snapchat account. Share your snapcode on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to get more people to see your content.

You can include your Snapchat profile link in your social media bio or posts and captions as a call to action. The more eyes you get on your profile, the more views you get on your snaps since Snapchat will always show your latest video on their feed.

Choose a niche for your snaps

You need to give the algorithm and users a reason to view your content, follow you, and share it with other snap friends. For this reason, you need to create content that holds some context and follows a structure.

Use the same colors for adding text, a similar pattern for shooting videos, and a niche for creating content. You can’t create pet videos one day and suddenly start creating DIY or ASMR videos out of the blue. Give your audience a gist of what content they can expect from you by choosing a niche.

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