Quick Guide: How To Use Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels, the platform’s built-in TikTok competitor, has officially launched for all users in the United States.

Reels are short, looping videos similar to Instagram’s Boomerang feature except they can contain multiple clips and audio. If an account is pubic and a user creates a Reel featuring original audio, that sound may then be used by others.

To begin creating your video masterpiece, open the Instagram Stories camera and select Reels from the bottom menu.

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From here, there are multiple options.

Record:

Users can begin recording a video right away by holding down the Reels icon. Similar to TikTok, recording can start and stop multiple times during the maximum 15-second video period.

Add Audio:

Music from Instagram’s audio library can be added by selecting the note icon. This function works exactly like the music sticker feature for Instagram Stories where users can search for audio and trim their selection to the part of a song they want featured in their video.

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Speed:

The play icon allows for the adjustment of video recording speeds. Currently, slow motion options of .3x and .5x are available as well as fast forward options of 2x or 3x.

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Effects:

Instagram’s AR filters or effects are also available to apply before recording with both the back and front-facing camera. Users can choose from the filters shown or scroll all the way to the right to browse more effects.

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Timer:

The stopwatch icon leads to a timer that allows users to select how long they want each clip within their Reel to be. When selected, the timer allows for hands-free recording and offers a 3-second countdown before that recording begins.

Align:

Once a recording occurs via the timer option, an align feature pops up that offers a video overlay so users can match up the next sequence in their video.

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Add Footage:

Video content from the user’s camera roll can be added to a Reel by tapping the square in lower left corner. If the video selected is longer than 15-seconds, a trim tool is available to selection which portion of the video should be added.

GIFs & Stickers:

After a recording is complete, a number of Instagram Story features are available to decorate the captured footage. Among these are a number of Instagram Stickers, the draw and text tools, and GIF tool.

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Once a Reel is finished, users can choose to share the video exclusively to Reels (where it will appear under a separate tab on their profile and within the Explore feed) or to both Reels and their Instagram Feed. These options include the ability to add captions and hashtags, and even custom thumbnails.

Alternatively, the Reel can be shared as an Instagram Story.

Want to make the most of this new feature? Contact us!

Social Media Content & Support During COVID-19

As the world struggles to protect our health, sanity, and economic livelihood, marketing strategies aren’t foremost in many minds. If you work in the communication field, though, you might disagree.

Social media marketers and brand strategists have been bombarded with information on how their roles can help companies minimize losses and reassure customers. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and others have produced a ton of resources meant to help brands navigate the new digital landscape. Here’s a recap of some of their best advice.

Shifting Your Strategy

Snapchat has the best take on how overall marketing goals must change. "Rather than using a global crisis as an opportunity to promote your brand, [you need to] craft thoughtful messages and create valuable experiences for [audiences]. These best practices are true for any time, but should be particularly top of mind during uncertain times like this. As our community looks for guidance, perspective, and resources, brands can adjust their campaign messaging to support [audiences] when they need it most.”

They encourage brands to shift their strategy from:

• Product Benefit to Consumer Benefit

• Hard Selling to Offering Utility

During the pandemic, knowing how your brand adds value to a community is the single most important concept to understand. Never risk your long-term brand reputation for short-term cash returns. Focus on people (not product) and add value where you can. Consider webinars, livestreams or other deliverables that your audience can benefit from.

• Calls For Action to Brand Equity

• Broad Messaging to Empathetic Messaging

Empathy is a skill that can be used not only to understand what your audience is particularly concerned about, but to help you figure out how to better respond to those needs. It is impossible for most brands to hide from or ignore COVID-19, but it’s important to engage in coronavirus conversations authentically as not to take advantage of a bad situation.

New Content Ideas

As Twitter notes, making these strategy adjustments is “not about looking at what others are doing and copying. It’s about understanding the unique role your brand plays in people’s lives, how that has changed, and how your brand can help or be useful during this crisis. It’s also about looking for opportunities to lead by example, and do the right thing, where it makes sense for your business.”

If appropriate for your brand, all of the major social platforms agree that levity and distraction from the news cycle is something most audiences can appreciate at the moment. Of course, when doing so it’s important to be thoughtful about your brand’s tone of voice. Now is not the time to be snarky, or sarcastic. Even when being humorous, content should be empathic and understanding.

More of Snapchat’s suggestions:

• Help spread positivity by giving [audiences] something to smile about

• Gamifying your brand messaging can help entertain and engage [audiences] at length

• Lift the community up by spreading awareness of local causes

• [Demonstrate] ways your brand can bring family and friends (old and new) together virtually

At the moment, brands are seeing success with the following content:

• DIY has never been more alive than it is right now. Create DIY content to keep [audiences] feeling creative and occupied.

• For now, meetings take place digitally. Give [audiences] tips and tricks for how to maneuver their new work environments and routines.

• [Audiences] are looking for inspiration and guidance for their at-home workouts. Tout how you can help them maintain their fitness goals from home.

• Providing ways for [audiences] to find moments of zen throughout the day can go a long way.

• Parents all over the world have become homeschool teachers by default. Lend a helping hand and suggest activities and products to help them in their new parenting roles.

• Consider how your audience needs have shifted with more time at home. Demonstrate your brand’s value proposition such as seamless ordering and delivery directly from your app and website.

Facebook and Instagram lives are increasingly popular as people have more time to spend consuming video content. The platform recommends that when brands take their pages live they:

• Host a Q&A with your followers

• Go Live with someone in your audience and interview them

• Showcase and explain your products or services

• Teach your audience how to do something

• Create a Live series that broadcasts on a regular day/time schedule

Customer Service & Support

COVID-19 is impacting most business and customers. Providing direct support via social media has rarely been as important as it is now. While Twitter still offers 1:1 interaction between brands and customers, Facebook has quickly improved tools they have available to help streamline the customer support process.

Messaging

Facebook’s messaging tips encourage brands to:

• Let customers know how they can contact you to place orders

• Encourage customers to shop online

• Share that your business is open to receiving support

• Encourage customers to buy gift cards from your business

• Express gratitude for your community

Users can work some of these points into automated responses for Facebook direct messages. You can set up auto-responses here, and consider the following prompts, if applicable:

Hi, thanks for your message. Our retail store is closed but we are still taking orders online! Send us a message or check out our website.

Thank you for your message. We’ve made a move to online appointments while our office is closed. Please email us or leave a message to make a virtual appointment.

We're not currently taking new orders, but if you have questions on an existing order feel free to send us a message here.

On Instagram, brands can save Quick Replies to efficiently answer frequently asked questions.

Snapchat notes that certain emojis have taken on new meanings as it relates to COVID-19. When composing posts or reading messages from customers, be aware of the following:

  • Social Distancing = ↔️

  • Coughing = 🗣️

  • Social Isolation = 😷

  • Hand Sanitizer = 👋

  • Coronavirus = 🦠

  • Quarantine Day = 🏠

  • Postponed or Canceled = ❌

Promotions and Donations

Facebook is also promoting a new gift cards listing where users can find and buy digital gift cards for their favorite local businesses. The gift cards must be registered through a partner site like Square or Kabbage and then added to Facebook here.

Brands can add donate buttons to a variety of places on both Facebook and Instagram, including on an organization’s Instagram profile, Facebook page, Facebook post or video, Instagram Stories via a sticker option, and even on a live broadcast. If you’re interested in raising money, visit facebook.com/fundraisers more information.

As the coronavirus continues to shift the ways brands interact with their audiences and as the social platforms we use everyday come together to assist with these fast-moving changes, we’ll continue to update this page.

Written by: Hai D. Duong


How to Approach COVID-19 for Social Media Marketers

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With daily life disrupted, it’s important for social media marketers to carefully approach COVID-19, or the coronavirus, with empathy. The world is not operating “business as usual” and neither should your brand’s social presence. It’s okay to look for sincere ways to engage during a crisis, but remember that the actions your brand takes to help will be much more meaningful than any marketing message.

As you face your own company struggles and rework your digital strategy, here are some tips for providing support to customers and for getting yourself heard during these challenging times.

1) Keep yourself safe and informed

Content from official sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and your local health department will have the latest information that you need to know in order to respond quickly in this pandemic. Check them frequently and follow their guidelines closely. Do not contribute to the spread of misinformation.

2) Move events to digital platforms

If you have to postpone or cancel a planned event as a result of the outbreak, consider moving your event to a digital space. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn all offer live broadcasting services as a way to interact with audiences.

Here are a few tips for going live:

Tell your followers when you plan to broadcast. If you utilize Facebook’s live scheduling tool, your business page will share a post that allows fans to opt in to receive reminders about up-coming broadcasts.

Make things easier on yourself by write live post captions ahead of time. You may open and close the live window several times while testing camera angles, so having your description ready to copy and paste is always a simple way to stay on task.

When you’re broadcasting, remind your viewers to subscribe to get live notifications from your page. There’s a follow button that appears in the corner of Facebook broadcasts that they can simply click to start receiving push notifications the next time you go live.

Even if you aren’t reading comments while you’re live, be sure to go back and reply to questions in the comment section to further generate meaningful conversations with your audience.

3) Communicate with your customers

Pin important posts or tweets to the top of your Facebook or Twitter page so that audiences don’t have to search for your COVID-19 response. Include what measures you’re taking to product your customers, employees, or products and consider how your brand could be useful during the crisis. At this time, it’s important to lead by example, make generous donations, and offer policy changes that address customer’s evolving needs when you can.

While it may seem like a good idea to offer discounts on products or services, refrain from being self-promotional. Direct marketing can easily come across as if you are taking advantage of a dire situation – and so can trying to capitalize off of serious hashtags. Let your goodwill speak for itself and expect a return via favorable brand recognition.

4) Have frequently asked questions readily available

As plans are interrupted, your customers will have questions about how reactions to COVID-19 will impact them. Prepare a list of FAQ responses that addresses common questions such as refund policies or business hours and share them to your social accounts so that audiences don’t have to reach out individually.

If you’re seeing an increased number of direct messages from customers on Facebook, you can add up to 4 FAQs to auto-appear once a customer begins a chat with your business page.

5) Create reassuring content

During stressful and difficult times, people often turn to social media for positive, funny, hopeful, and reassuring content that may provide them with a temporary distraction or give them confidence. Craft your content strategy around up-lifting messaging and provide alternative methods for your audience to interact with your brand from afar.

If you’re interested in learning more, LinkedIn has made “16 LinkedIn Learning courses available for free including tips on how to: stay productive, build relationships when you’re not face-to-face, use virtual meeting tools (Microsoft Teams, Skype, BlueJeans, Cisco Webex and Zoom), and balance family and work dynamics in a healthy way.”

We’re all struggling in this moment. Feel free to reach out to us if you need assistance, encouragement, or simply need someone to listen.

Facebook's Redesign & Creator Studio App

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A year after its announcement, Facebook is finally rolling out a redesign of the desktop version of their site - complete with dark mode. The new design, while significantly different from the current one, closely mimics the look of Facebook's mobile app so users shouldn't have trouble navigating the platform.

Users will notice more blank space in the makeover, although it isn't clear yet if changes to cover image sizes will occur to fill some of that space or not. Here are the biggest differences that page admins should expect:

Facebook Live Producer

Stream settings for launching a Facebook Live broadcast have moved from the Publishing Tools tab to the main page feed. Once users click on "Create Live" above the "Create Post" box, the new Facebook Live Producer platform will open.

According to Facebook, “users can manage live broadcasts, scheduling and other settings in the left-hand column. Critical functions such as Source Details and Stream Health, plus interactive features like Polls, are located in the top navigation bar. A small stream preview is available in the bottom right-hand corner; while users can simply scroll up to access a larger stream preview.”

Live Producer can also be accessed from: facebook.com/live/producer.

New Group Features

With the updated look, Facebook Groups are getting a handful of new features that are specific to the individual group type. Bloomberg News noted that members in health-related groups can ask group admins to post on their behalf to better protect their privacy. Groups with a focus on gaming are getting a group chat feature.

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Creator Studio App

As a companion to the new Facebook desktop site, mobile users can now also download the Creator Studio app. With this app, users can:

  • Access insights

  • Manage post content

  • View notifications

  • Communicate with their audience

  • Switch between Pages

Users will still need to use Creator Studio on their computer to create a posts or initiate messages, although Facebook has indicated that this essential feature is in the works. For now, we recommend sticking with the official Pages app.

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Where to Focus Your Social Strategy in 2020

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Now that the New Year is off to a roaring start, you might be wondering what areas of social media you should focus your energy on in 2020. Here’s a few suggestions.

IGTV

After a bumpy start in 2018, IGTV has grown into a massive opportunity for users to consume video content. IGTV videos no longer have to be in vertical format, so that means you can upload any standard horizontal video your team may have produced and it doesn’t have to be less than one minute. You can easily share a clip to your Instagram grid and feed.

Note: The separate upload button for IGTV videos is a thing of the past. Simply upload the video as you would a regular Instagram posts and the app will guide you to sharing the full clip.

Micro-influencers

The Kardashians took influencer marketing to an entirely new level, but if you can’t afford them, don’t worry. Micro-influencers may only have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers but their small, niche audiences are highly engaged.

With platforms like TikTok dominating among younger users, micro-influencers are going to be key in reaching audiences on social networks that aren’t very brand-friendly.

Social Media Regulation

2020 is an election year in the US which means we’ll be hearing a lot about fake news, data privacy, and hackers. As the general public, and possibly even our government, starts to pay closer attention to what’s happening on online, expect the major social networks to implement new rules and regulations and be prepared to follow them.

Facebook is about to require marketers to confirm that we have user consent to build Custom Audiences and you can bet that’s just the beginning.

Facebook Groups

As younger folks leave their platform, Facebook is changing their user experience to put Groups and community at its center. Brands that act quickly have an opportunity to truly nurture their own community via a Group, but the trick here is that you have to be open to conversations that aren’t directly about your business. There’s a huge payoff when you talk WITH followers about a range of topics instead of talking AT them.

If you’re interested in chatting more about any of these highlights, hit up Deph Digital Media and we’ll help you develop a social strategy that’s bound to succeed in the New Year.