Social Scoop Unplugged #4
This Week’s Must-Know Updates in Social Media: Instagram Trial Reels, Meta’s Holiday Marketing Tips, TikTok’s New Editing Feature, Instagram Reminder Ads & More
Ready to stay ahead in the social media game? This week’s edition of Social Scoop Unplugged is packed with the latest updates you need to know. With the holiday season just around the corner, Meta’s new guide will help you perfect your festive marketing strategy on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram’s latest Trial Reels feature gives you the power to test your content before it goes public, while TikTok’s ‘Delete and Re-Edit’ option is set to transform your video editing experience. Plus, get the lowdown on Meta’s expanded Instagram Reminder Ads and the upcoming changes to X’s Direct Messaging. Check out these updates to see how they can elevate your social media strategy and keep you ahead of the curve!
Test Your Reels Before Going Live with Instagram’s New Trial Feature
Instagram has just launched an exciting new feature that’s already available for most users (and coming soon to everyone). Now you can test your Reels before they hit the public eye, giving you the chance to gather real-time feedback and perfect your content. Whether you’re experimenting with new ideas or just want to make sure everything’s spot-on, this feature is a total game-changer. Think of it like a mini-rehearsal for your Reels, minus the pressure!
Here’s How it Works:
First up is Draft & Share. You can now send your draft Reels to friends to get their honest input before going live. They can’t comment publicly or share the Reel, but they can give you direct feedback on what’s working (or not). It’s like having a panel of trusted critics, helping you polish up your content before you post.
Next, Test the Waters. Instagram has rolled out a feature that lets you share your Reels with a handpicked group of non-followers before you go fully public. This means you can gauge reactions from a fresh audience and get insights from outside your usual circle. It’s perfect if you want to know how your content will land with a broader crowd without committing just yet.
These updates are all about giving you more control and flexibility with your content. Whether you’re looking for a confidence boost, want to make tweaks, or avoid any cringe-worthy moments, the trial feature lets you refine everything until it’s just right.
Trial Reels: The Ultimate Testing Ground for Creativity
Instagram’s trial feature is perfect if you want to try something new without fully releasing it. Here’s how it works: you can share your Reel with people who don’t follow you and gather feedback, then decide later if you want to go public with it—or tweak it further. It’s basically a creative playground where you get to test out your ideas.
How to Share Trial Reels:
Create your Reel as you normally would—capture that perfect moment or experiment with something new!
Before sharing, hit the toggle to turn on Trial Mode.
Tap Share—your Reel is now in Trial Mode, ready for feedback!
Once your Reel is in trial mode, it’ll appear in your Reels grid, but it won’t show up on your main profile grid unless you decide to share it with everyone. The cool thing? You can check how it’s doing first and make an informed decision about going public.
How to Know If Your Trial Reel Is a Hit
Once your trial Reel is live, Instagram lets you track how it’s performing with engagement metrics like plays, likes, comments, and shares. You can take your time, review how it’s doing, and when you’re ready, just hit Share to Everyone—and boom, your Reel will be visible in your followers’ feeds and on the Reels tab.
This is perfect if you’re on the fence about a Reel, or want to test its appeal before fully committing to sharing it with your whole audience. Plus, it gives you a chance to make any tweaks based on early reactions.
Want to Make Life Even Easier? Automate It!
If you want to take it a step further, Instagram has introduced an automatic sharing option. If your trial Reel performs well—like getting lots of plays in the first 72 hours—Instagram can automatically share it with all your followers. Talk about efficiency, right?
Here’s how you set it up:
1. Create your Reel like you normally would.
2. On the publish screen, tap How it Works under the Trials toggle.
3. Switch on Share to Everyone Automatically and let Instagram do the rest. 🎉
Once activated, if your trial Reel is a hit, Instagram will push it out to your audience without you having to lift a finger! You can sit back, relax, and watch your content get the visibility it deserves.
Why You Should Start Using Trial Reels NOW
This new feature is a game-changer for creators who want to experiment and fine-tune their Reels before going live. It’s the perfect way to boost your confidence, gather insights from a fresh audience, and avoid any last-minute regrets. Whether you’re a content creator testing new waters or a brand trying to hit just the right note, trial Reels let you stay in control every step of the way.
Ready to test the feature and see how it works for you? Whether it’s a bold new idea or a refined take on what you know works, these tools are here to help you level up your content and connect with your audience in a fresh way.
Get Ready for Christmas with Meta’s Holiday Marketing Checklist
With just 100 days left until Christmas, it’s the perfect time to finalise your holiday marketing strategy and make sure you’re all set for the end-of-year rush. If you’re gearing up to run promotions on Facebook and Instagram, Meta’s got some new insights to help you maximise your impact.
The Meta Festive Season Performance Guide
Meta has just released a comprehensive guide designed to ensure your festive ad campaigns take full advantage of every sales opportunity. Did you know 55% of festive shoppers said that Meta influenced their seasonal purchases? This guide is packed with valuable tips to make sure you’re ready for the holiday surge.
Here’s What You Need to Know:
• How Meta Leverages AI to Drive Momentum: Discover how to use Meta’s advanced technologies to generate and meet the festive sales demand effectively.
• Budget Planning for High-Volume Sales Days: Get step-by-step guidance on how to allocate your budget for maximum impact, ensuring your ads reach more of the right people when purchase intent is at its peak.
• Avoid Big Changes During Prime Time: Learn why it’s crucial to keep your live campaigns steady and out of the learning phase during those key sale moments.
Your Festive Strategy Breakdown:
• Plan: Start planning your festive sales campaigns now. Learn how to time your budget around peak moments, make precise optimisations, and avoid disruptions during high-traffic shopping periods.
• Experiment: Give yourself enough time to test different ad strategies. Try out various creative approaches and Meta’s AI-enabled tools to find what drives the most festive sales.
• Push: Activate your top-performing strategies with the latest tools from Meta to meet the holiday demand and reach your sales goals.
• Sustain: Even after the festive season ends, keep the momentum going. Connect with more customers to drive continued sales and make the most of ongoing purchase intent.
Ready to make your holiday campaigns sparkle? Download Meta’s 19-page guide here and start planning your best holiday strategy yet! You can find it here.
Reels Tips to Light Up Your Holiday Marketing
Thinking about using Facebook and Instagram Reels for your holiday marketing? You totally should!
Reels are Meta’s hottest trend right now, with over 200 billion views a day. As short-form content continues to take over, Reels are your golden ticket to engage with your audience and amp up your holiday promotions.
Meta’s new guide is overflowing with tips and tricks to help you make the most of Reels this festive season. Here’s the inside scoop:
Get Your Reels in Shape:
• Stick to 9:16 Aspect Ratio: Shoot your Reels vertically in a 9:16 format. It’s proven to perform better because it fills up the screen, creating an immersive experience for viewers.
• Mind the “Safe Zones”: Keep your key messaging and important visuals in the “safe zone” of your video. This area won’t be covered by interface elements like profile icons or call-to-action buttons, ensuring your message is always visible.
• Add Engaging Audio: Use voice overs, music, and sound effects to make your Reels pop. Audio keeps viewers engaged and can make your message stand out.
• Show Your Brand’s Face: Featuring people in your Reels helps your audience connect on a personal level. Whether it’s your team or real customers, putting a face to your brand adds authenticity.
Pro Tip: Reels templates on Facebook and Instagram are your best friends! They let you use popular structures and sounds, so you can create eye-catching content without starting from scratch.
Festive Reels Ideas to Spark Creativity:
• Festive Looks: Turn a collection of images or videos into a fun story synced to music. Show off new products, seasonal favourites, or build excitement for holiday releases.
• The Photo Dump: Create a mini story with a series of images or videos set to music. This is great for showcasing a range of products or capturing the festive spirit.
• The Listicle: Use text stickers to break down your video into bite-sized chunks. Think “Five gifts to tick off your list” or “Three reasons why [your product] is the ultimate gift.” This format keeps things engaging and easy to digest.
• The Q&A: Answer common questions or conduct an interview. This could be about your products or feature a customer or employee sharing their thoughts. It’s a great way to add a personal touch and build a connection with your audience.
• The Tutorial: Share valuable info or make something complex feel simple. Show real customers using your product, give step-by-step demos, or explain how your product benefits them. Tutorials build trust and show your product in action.
• The Behind-the-Scenes Look: Offer a peek into your process or the story behind your products. Highlight how your products are made or how you source materials. This transparency can enhance your brand’s authenticity and build customer loyalty.
Experiment with these ideas to see what resonates with your festive shoppers. Use these insights to create Reels that will drive sales and keep your brand top-of-mind during the holiday season.
TikTok’s New ‘Delete and Re-Edit’ Feature: A Game-Changer for Your Clips
TikTok is about to make video editing way easier with a brand-new feature: “Delete and Re-Edit”!
This game-changer lets you undo all your edits in one go and start fresh with your in-app video projects.
Here’s the lowdown: If you’re editing your clips right in TikTok and decide to switch things up, you’ll soon be able to wipe the slate clean and re-create your video. Perfect if you’ve had a new idea or just want to tweak things after you pressed post.
A quick note: This feature won’t work for edits made in third-party apps like CapCut. But if you’re doing everything within TikTok, this will save you loads of time and hassle.
You can always start from scratch if you’ve got the original video, but for those editing directly in TikTok, this update is a real time-saver.
Meta Upgrades Instagram Reminder Ads for API Users
Meta has just made a handy update to its Marketing API, and it’s great news for those using third-party apps to manage Instagram Reminder Ads. Until now, the API was missing some of the features available in Meta Ads Manager, causing a few headaches for marketers.
Here’s the scoop: As of August 19, 2024, Meta has expanded the Instagram Marketing API to include the full range of Reminder Ads features.
This means you can now:
• Reach audiences through Instagram Reels with your Reminder Ads.
• Set reminders to show at the optimal times.
• Add events to ads aimed at optimising for thruplay or reach.
This update might not be earth-shattering, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. It means that those running Instagram ads through the API can now create more varied ad experiences and reach their audiences more effectively.
If you’re managing social media campaigns, this should make your life a bit easier and give you more flexibility with your ads.
X Is Working on Decoupling Its DM Functionality: What You Need to Know
Big news from X! The platform is taking a significant step toward Elon Musk’s vision of an “everything app” by working on a major change: decoupling its Direct Messaging (DM) functionality from other in-app experiences.
What does this mean for you?
Soon, you’ll be able to use X primarily as a DM platform without needing to interact with other parts of the app, like posting updates or scrolling through feeds. Sounds intriguing, right?
Here’s the scoop: App researcher Nima Owji discovered a new feature in X’s backend code that suggests users will soon have the option to manage their DMs separately from their public posts.
You’ll be able to block messages from someone while still seeing their posts in your feed. Elon Musk has confirmed this move, explaining that X is “decoupling” DMs from public content to give users the flexibility to use the app solely for messaging if that’s their preference.
Currently, you can somewhat achieve this by not posting publicly while still using DMs, but this new approach aims to make that separation more seamless. It means you’ll be able to manage your DMs without the need to navigate through X’s other features, which could streamline your messaging experience.
However, there’s a catch. While this update may sound promising, it’s part of a broader push toward Musk’s “everything app” vision. This vision includes integrating various functionalities like video streaming, virtual meet-ups, and even payments directly into X. But here’s the thing—most of these features don’t yet offer a compelling reason for users to switch from their established tools.
Sure, you can now watch original shows on X, host virtual meetings, or soon make payments, but these features aren’t yet on par with established platforms like Zoom or Google Meet. Plus, unless X offers significant improvements or unique benefits, why would people change their habits?
The challenge for X is to provide real incentives to users to adopt these new features. Habitual behaviours are tough to break, and without a strong reason to shift from other apps, many users might not see the need to change their routines.
So, while X’s move to decouple DMs is an interesting development, it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to shift user behaviour and make X a go-to platform for messaging and beyond.
Stay tuned for more updates and let’s see how this evolves!
That wraps up this week’s Social Scoop Unplugged! 🚀 Remember, the world of social media never stops evolving, and neither should your strategy. Stay curious, keep experimenting, and don’t forget to adapt to these exciting updates as they unfold.
If you’ve found this helpful, share it with your network or drop me a message with your thoughts and feedback. Until next time, keep shining and be creative online!