10 minute TikTok
Longer video content means more advertising space. Could that be why TikTok has decided to extend the maximum length of a video from 5 minutes to 10? Or could it be their ambition to take the top spot from YouTube?
We know people will watch longer videos online, look at YouTube. But will TikTok lose some of its addictive magic when the videos become longer?
And creators will need to work super hard to get people watching for longer.
Auto captions on Instagram video
Video captioning is important not just so people who are hard of hearing can understand what is happening in your video but also so people can watch your content when it would be inappropriate to switch the sound on.
It’s surprising that you haven’t been able to add captions or auto-caption Instagram feed videos. Particularly as you can add open, auto-captions to Reels and stories.
But now you can, as announced by Adam Mosseri on Tuesday and rolled out almost immediately you can now ask Instagram to auto caption your video in the ‘Advanced’ menu when uploading. It’s taken a long time but at last, it’s here.
IGTV is gone
Instagram’s focus on video continues but it looks like it is trying to make the whole thing simpler. In an announcement, it reaffirmed its commitment to Reels specifically and tell us that it’s getting rid of the stand-alone IGTV app. This makes sense as the focus on Instagram is on shorter video content and sending people to a different app to view means they’ll lose the opportunity to engage people on Instagram itself.
But is it odd that IGTV is specifically saying ‘Keep it short’ whilst TikTok is going long with 10-minute videos?
https://business.instagram.com/creators/blog/instagram-reels-creators-simplify-video
New YouTube analytics
Analytics are always important in marketing. They help keep you on track towards your goal and can quickly tell you when something is wrong.
YouTube is updating its analytics. The platform isn’t just about long-form video anymore. You’ve got shorts, live streams, posts and stories. Analytics in YouTube is changing to reflect that. You’ll now be able to see which part of YouTube is driving the most actions. This will help you make better decisions on where to put your YouTube effort.
You’ll also be able to see where your audience overlaps on these content types. If people overlap on specific types of content they may be more loyal. This could be a stat to focus on.
If you are monetised you’ll also be able to see your revenue split for each video content type.
Career Breaks on LinkedIn
How do you fill the gaps in your CV? And how about your LinkedIn profile? This is a problem that (mostly) women face, particularly when they’ve taken a career break after having children. It’s not just women though. LinkedIn has discovered that around 62% of employees have taken a break at some point.
Traditionally job seekers have been worried about gaps in their CV as employers will question them.
LinkedIn is now giving you the option to add career breaks to your experience. Whether you took time out on a gap year, to be a parent, to be a caregiver you can add this to your profile in the same way you add a job description.
Post Instagram ads to Facebook
When you set up an ad on Facebook it automatically displays on Facebook, Instagram and the audience network of partner sites and apps.
But when you set up an ad on Instagram it stays on Instagram. Or it did. It looks like Instagram is working on a feature that will prompt users to add a Facebook placement to ads.
This could be great for reach but it won’t be a popular option with a lot of Instagram users who see Facebook as a dull old fashioned space.
https://twitter.com/alex193a/status/1498801183019999233n
How should marketers react to war in Ukraine?
When Russia invaded Ukraine last week we saw a flurry of pleas from social media experts to pause our content. And yes it could be insensitive to post joyful content during the beginnings of what could end up being a world war.
But should we still stop? Do people need to see happy and uplifting content alongside war coverage? Have you made a change to your posting since the invasion?
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