What’s the deal with Instagram Reels?
In typical Instagram fashion, mid-2020 Instagram launched a TikTok reboot on their platform. Almost a carbon-copy of the short-length video platform, Instagram Reels takes the best performing features from TikTok and reinvents them the Instagram way.
So, six months on, with a few strategic nip and tucks we’re able to take a better look at Instagram Reels, what it means for agencies, brands and personal profiles – and work out how to make the most of it!
Best posting practice
We all know that Facebook and Instagram can be cagey about algorithms and updates, which often leads to endless guessing games about best posting practice. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has been rumour busting every Friday on his Instagram stories (if you’re not following him – this is your sign to!). Most recently Mosseri discussed what users need to do to avoid red flags and restrictions on Reels.
- Avoid TikTok (or other platforms) watermarks. Mosseri stated outright that videos that are “visibly recycled from other apps (i.e, contains logos or watermarks)” won’t be recommended as often as other videos.
- Avoid low resolution or blurry videos. We recommend minimising the number of apps you use to create your Reels to avoid low-res videos. Using the Reel’s camera and editing tools is your best bet! They want you to be creating original content on their platform after all.
- Minimise the amount of text you’re using, and make sure it doesn’t cover majority of your video.
So you like making your videos on TikTok and you want to continue to use the platform to edit and publish…
No stress! There is any easy way to save your TikTok’s without a watermark on iOS!
- When viewing your TikTok, press the menu (three dots underneath the comment section on bottom right)
- Select Live Photo from the export menu
- Go to your Camera Roll to find the Live Photo. Select the share menu in the bottom left hand corner.
- Scroll through the options until you find Save As Video and select.
- Find your new video in your Camera Roll. Select Edit in the top right hand corner.
- Select the crop tool from the bottom tool menu.
- Select the tool that looks like three overlapping squares from the top tool bar.
- Select 9:16 from the bottom toolbar and crop the small TikTok watermark out of your video. Select done.
And you’re good to go! Just make sure that the video is still if a clear quality before you upload.
Stuck on content ideas for Instagram Reels?
We’re here to help! Here are a few different content ideas that work across most industries:
- Behind the scenes content: No matter what type of business you run, there’s a 99% chance your audience will LOVE behind the scenes content. An easy way to capture this is to put your camera on time-lapse as you pack up orders, style a product photo or work through orders.
A popular trend on TikTok and Reels is daily vlogs. If you feel confident enough to film yourself throughout your day and add a voice over, then we’d recommend trialling this too! - Before and after: Everyone loves a B&A! Think of different ways you could capture the change or effect you have as you work or on your clients / customers.
- Instructional: Whatever you do, there will always be someone who looks up to you and wants to learn from you! Can you break down simple daily tasks in easily digestible ways for your Reels?
Reels is heavily trend and music driven, both of which change week to week! So we recommend making sure you spend some quality time on Reels to keep track of current trends.
Remember that Instagram rewards users who utilise all of it’s features like Reels, IGTV or Live – so if you haven’t already taken a dip into the Reel’s pond, it could be worth the investment!
Stay tuned to Adam Mosseri’s Instagram stories and the Instagram Creators page for updates to features and trends.
Want to work with our team to create amazing content for your business? Get in touch today.
Melbourne Social Co Celebrates Nine Years In Business
Did you know that this month Melbourne Social Co celebrates our ninth year in business?
With a traditional fashion editorial background, our Director Shelley Friesen began forging a career in social media over ten years ago – establishing Melbourne Social Co in 2011. While pursuing IT wasn’t a stylish choice for a child of the 80’s, Shelley’s intuition to pursue social media was bang on (much like Olivia Newton John’s leotard in Let’s Get Physical!) “I got into digital marketing through identifying a need for businesses to embrace it. From my experience working in the editorial department of a fashion magazine and as a Marketing Manager for an Australian fashion and accessories label, I could see that social media was a tool businesses could adopt and utilise to connect with their consumers. Despite people’s hesitance at the time to take a leap of faith on such an emerging field, I decided to start my own digital marketing agency!”
Now a team of fifteen, most of whom can’t remember a world without selfies and Snapchat, Melbourne Social Co has been instrumental in building the digital presence of some of Australia’s biggest brands.
While 2020 has certainly presented its’ challenges for both our business and our wonderful clients, the power of digital and social media is greater than ever and we’re excited to be able to continue to assist small business owners in navigating this difficult time. (Read our top tips on using social media in times of crisis here.)
Want to get to know our team a little better? Click here.
Need assistance in navigating social media during the COVID-19 crisis? Our team of experts at Melbourne Social Co are here to help you. We can provide a range of services to assist your needs including virtual consulting sessions, copywriting, ad hoc graphic design, digital marketing campaign management and more.
We have a full team with all hands-on deck available to support you.
Our agency is also offering 50% off our online training resources during this time, should you be looking to upskill in social media management, strategy or content creation during your time at home. You can access our online courses here: courses.thesocialco.com.au and use the coupon code: upskillathome to redeem your discount.
The Importance of Social Media During the COVID-19 Crisis.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen the COVID-19 virus impact citizens around the globe with many businesses having to make tough decisions on how to adapt to the ever changing landscape we are currently facing.
Along with other small businesses, we’re already seeing the huge impact that the current climate is having on the economy and business around the world - which is why digital marketing has never been more important. Due to its reactive nature and potential to reach large audiences, social media is a highly valuable and cost effective medium for businesses looking to navigate the current climate and future proof their businesses.
With more eyes on social media channels looking for news and business updates than ever before, now is the time to ensure you are posting thoughtful and engaging content including sharing business updates and showing how you are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the everchanging government regulations.
Determining the right approach for your social media campaign during a pandemic can be challenging, which is why we are sharing with you our tips on how you can leverage your social media channels during a crisis like COVID-19.
Unsure where to start? We’ve outlined our top tips below!
- Acknowledge the crisis and how your business is adapting or changing
- Keep your audience updated with your business changes. Consumers will be looking at your social media channels first for all of your latest business information including things such as opening hours, service changes, takeaway menu items as well as insight into the measures you are putting in place to keep your staff and customers safe and healthy
- Review all scheduled posts and paid ad campaigns to ensure messaging is appropriate and call-to-actions have been adapted to new business updates. Don’t waste money on running ad campaigns with old information, instead use your paid ads to promote new services such as your new takeaway menu, or online workout program!
- Ask your audience what they want to see on your social media feeds and adapt your content strategy as needed. With more people on social media now, it’s important you give the people what they want!
- Tap into features such as Instagram Live or Stories to provide value to your audience outside of your usual offerings
- Adapt your content to new customer behaviours. As we are all encouraged to stay indoors during work and after hours, ensure your content speaks to this and angle your business or service to fit into these lifestyle and behavioural changes
- Be responsive to your community, provide answers and support them. During a crisis like COVID-19, there’s a lot of uncertainty on a business and personal level, so providing information, educating your audience and ensuring you are fostering relationships is key
- Tweak tweak tweak! We all know that social media is trial and error, so it’s vital to ensure you are reviewing and improving your strategy every few days. Think about new ways you can add value to your customers and enhance their experience with you (eg. Being more responsive to messages and comments, uploading an IGTV on how your business is adapting to the regulations, providing free advice on your service or product, sharing FAQs via stories)
- Add a human element into your content. More people will crave seeing faces and hearing voices as we feel more distant from human interaction due to social distancing and self-isolation. Videos (feed and IGTV) / stories / lives are a great way to add this in.
Need assistance in navigating social media during the COVID-19 crisis? Our team of experts at Melbourne Social Co are here to help you. We can provide a range of services to assist your needs including virtual consulting sessions, copywriting, ad hoc graphic design, digital marketing campaign management and more.
We have a full team with all hands-on deck available to support you.
Get in touch with our team today for more information on how we can help. info@staging.project-progress.net
Latest News - Support Small Business
Hey guys, Shelley here.
Like many small businesses, we’re already seeing the effect that the current climate is having on the economy and in-turn, our business. And while we’re not sure what the short term future might bring, what we do know is that for small business, now is not the time to fall silent. With more and more Australians spending time on their phones consuming news and social media content, now is the time to capture this audience with thoughtful, engaging content - not only to let your consumer know how you’re handling this crisis, but to stay front of mind and to encourage them to shop local and support your business.
While we understand that many businesses need to look at where they can scale back costs at the moment, marketing, and in particular social media content creation and distribution, needs to be viewed as business-critical. Your social media communication is now more important than ever - it is the most effective tool you have to promote your business in these highly reactive, times of uncertainty.
With that in mind, our agency is offering a range of different packages and resources to support your business through this crisis. I’ve created a coupon code upskillathome to offer you 70% off our online training resources, should you be looking to upskill in social media management, strategy or content creation during your time at home. You can access our online courses here: courses.thesocialco.com.au
We’re also offering reactive content packages to help you craft the right messaging for your consumer, and are able to quickly turn around graphics, copy, video and imagery to get the message out to your audience in a professional and timely manner. If you’d like some more info, please reach out to me - shelley@staging.project-progress.net and let’s pencil in a chat.
I’m personally supporting as many small businesses as I can at the moment, and I urge you to as well. We’re all in this together!
How to get the most out of Instagram
Tackling the Instagram algorithm, stories and IGTV
There's not a lot of solid evidence out there as to how Instagram’s algorithm actually works. But we do know a few ways to help improve your impact on Instagram!
1. Utilise all of Instagram’s platforms. Post to IGTV, use interactive stickers on your stories and post video and photo content in galleries
2. Change your password! The amount of people / third party apps that are logged into your account can have an impact on which algorithm stream you’re put into
3. Give a little to get a little. Behind the scenes content performs great on Instagram. Whether it’s a peek into your production line or industry tricks, this content is clickable, likeable, shareable and saveable!
Nowadays, Instagram is so much more than just a newsfeed. We have the introduction of IGTV, the explore page, and of course stories which means you have so many avenues to display your content and the opportunity to expand your audience.
And it is no secret that Instagram stories now need to play a significant part in your social media content strategy.
Here are some of the major benefits to utilising Instagram stories:
- Increases visibility
When you post a story, it appears at the top of everyone’s screens. People are more likely to check stories before they start scrolling. This means stories are your best bet in being seen.
- Different type of content
Stories are a great way to capture real-time content. Behind the scenes, event coverage and everything else in between. This makes your brand seem real and relatable, which people love to see. They are more likely to engage when they think you’re approachable, instead of only seeing the retouched, flawless content that we post on our feed.
- You can get creative
With the array of colours, GIFs and stickers, you can really express your brand in an abundance of different ways. You can also interact with your audience through the use of the Polls, Questions, Location, and Quiz stickers. These tools are also an easy way to get engagement, which is also a win in digital marketing! When you use these stickers, people are not only more likely to interact with your story, but also your story is more likely to be seen. Stories are now visible on the Explore page, and when you use Instagram’s features, they will reward you by sharing your content with more and more people – how good is that?
Start posting more stories to your business accounts and see if you see any changes to your stats, you could be surprised!
IGTV – what is it, and why should businesses be using it?
IGTV is the latest Instagram trend that has taken the social media platform by storm. Although IGTV has been around since June 2018, it is only now gaining some momentum - this could be because Instagram finally allowed previews on your feed. When this happened back in 2019, views skyrocketed, and IGTV became an integral part of every social media campaign.
IGTV was originally introduced as an app where you could watch long-form, vertical videos from Instagram creators – basically a new competitor of YouTube! Before IGTV, you were only able to post videos that were 60 seconds long to Instagram. This was great for teaser content and short explainer videos, but now, you are able to post videos that are between 1 minute and an hour long! This opens up opportunities for really engaging content for your business, which means more traffic and a greater chance of expanding your audience.
Still wondering why you should use IGTV? There are some major benefits, here are just a few!
- When you use IGTV on stories, you can get access to the “Swipe Up” feature
This feature was only available to verified accounts and accounts with over 10,000 followers. Now, when you share your IGTV to your story, you’re not only opening yourself up to more views, you’re also giving yourself the ability to send your audience to your desired link.
- Able to post longer videos
As discussed, IGTV videos can be from one minute, to an hour. This means the possibilities are endless when it comes to posting videos on this platform. No more editing out great visuals and information to get your videos down to 1 minute! Create your first IGTV, and post EVERYTHING you want – not just what you can fit in to 60 seconds!
- Get ahead of the algorithm!
As we mentioned above, the best way to get in Instagram’s good graces, and make sure your getting the most out of the app, is to use all of its services. Be sure to post stories, use location tags, hashtags and start creating content for IGTV.
IGTV is very quickly becoming a must-use feature on the app, and it’s important you jump on board now!
What to learn the in's and out's of social media management from the comfort of your couch? Visit courses.thesocialco.com.au to enrol in our famous social media masterclass!
A Guide to User Generated Content
What is User-Generated Content?
User-Generated Content (UGC) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by people, rather than brands, featuring or discussing branded content. In its most organic form, UGC isn’t paid for by a brand, it is a genuine and honest recommendation being shared by followers and fans.This not only exposes your product to their audience; it provides a source of content to post on your page, website or other marketing channels. Being mentioned or having content shared by a brand is often fun and exciting for consumers or a source of income and products for influencers. It is a symbiotic relationship, a win-win for both parties when done correctly.
Why is it important?
When it comes to social media marketing, UGC is becoming increasingly valuable to brands. It promotes authenticity and trust, as consumers are more likely to perceive user-generated content as authentic and trustworthy, over brand-created content. Seeing another consumer enjoy the product or service eliminates risk in the minds of consumers – it’s a visual positive review. Increasing trust and authenticity greatly influences consumers’ purchase intentions; the more trust a consumer has the more likely they are to purchase the product. As UGC increases awareness, it reinforces the products’ different applications, stylings, adaptions, and uses in “real world” situations and increases the viability of consumers of making that final purchase.
How to Use It Successfully?
Now that we know why it is so important – how can your business be successful in using user-generated content? Let us tell you.
Bring Purpose and Value to Your Customers
All content you post must have a purpose, especially user-generated content - whether that’s being inspirational, showcasing how to use a product, sharing in-real-life reviews, or helping your followers decide on their product choices. UGC isn’t a sales pitch, you need to think of it as a stand-alone piece of content that can really be of benefit to your audience.
For example, if you were a make-up brand you could use your USG posts as an opportunity to educate your customers on what products were used in the look to showcase what your products look like in action.
Create a Sense of Community
What do all your followers have in common? They follow you! User-generated content is a great way to create a sense of community amongst your followers by stimulating discussions and connecting with your current and future customers. This is best illustrated by camera brands,who set challenges for their followers to take a photo with a set brief. The camera brand then shares entries, showcasing what their products can do and stimulating discussion and creativity amongst their followers. By sharing tricks and tips from on a post to get that photo - what camera did they use, which lenses, which settings – can stimulate discussion and provides value to your followers. This is a great way to engage with your followers and create brand loyalty as a bonus.
Create an Incentive
It is important to encourage and remind your followers to create and tag you in content that features your products. The incentive you pick depends on the type of followers you have, for example: if you’re a company that sells art supplies, then sharing followers’ art is incentive enough. Whereas, other followers may need more of a push. For example, to get followers to showcase your product in their posts you may want to offer a gift or promotional code.Whichever method you choose, it’s important to acknowledge the original source, and thank the creator to make sure they feel appreciated.
Need help?
Do you want some help creating an amazing user generated content campaign for your brand? Get in touch with our team today!
Want to learn how to become a digital marketing pro? Check out our social media masterclass.
Written By Ebony Jones
Influencer Events at Melbourne Social Co
In December, we hosted a beautiful influencer brand showcase at our Moonee Ponds Studio. We were excited to share some of our lovely stable of brands with a gorgeous group of influencers. A big thank you to everyone who came along, we loved meeting you all!
At this event, we showcased a selection of our brands to influencers across the mummy, lifestyle, health and foodie space. This meant that we had a wide range of personalities who had a much broader reach.
Our guests were delighted with the variety of brands available at the event, and were able fill their goodie bags with products best suited to them. Some of the goodies included Avène skincare, Chris’ Dips, Chi Khi children’s clothing, Alessi Beverages and many more. One lucky winner was also the recipient of a brand new Fitbit Versa 2, from our friends at Fitbit.
We had such incredible feedback from our guests. Firstly, being that they loved seeing all the products displayed on the tables. This allowed our influencers to take home products which they feel are most relevant to them and their needs. Secondly, they loved the ability to be able to ask and find out more about the products by having our staff there rather than going home and having questions.
Collectively, the Instagram followers of all the influencers reached 310,502. There was over 90 Instagram Stories and approximately 30 posts on Instagram.
If you’re a Melbourne based influencer and would like to join our mailing list, please reach out to jess@staging.project-progress.net. Or, if you’re a brand who would like to go on the waitlist for our next showcase, please email amy@staging.project-progress.net.
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Influencer Events at Melbourne Social Co -
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In November, we hosted a beautiful influencer brand showcase at our Moonee Ponds Studio. We were excited to share some of our lovely stable of brands with a gorgeous group of influencers. A big thank you to everyone who came along, we loved meeting you all!
Want to learn how to create beautiful social media content (like the images above) for your brand? Our latest online course is launching soon - pre-register now.
The latest news from Melbourne Social Co!
Melbourne Social Co has moved!
You may have seen on our socials, Melbourne Social Co has recently moved office to bustling Puckle Street in Moonee Ponds.
We had two years in wonderful Yarraville, but due to exciting growth in our business, we needed more space! Our new studio has gorgeous New York loft vibes, lots of natural light and is the perfect space for our growing team to get creative!
Come in and say hi!
We would love to welcome you in check out our space. Not only do we offer custom consulting and strategy sessions by appointment, but we also have a few dates left in 2019 for our Melbourne Social Co Beginners’ Social Media Workshops! If you’re new to the world of social media, these full day workshops are the perfect place to start. Facilitated by our training guru Charlotte, we cover everything from scheduling content to writing captions, creating eye-catching Instagram stories and more. Tickets are selling fast, so visit our events page to secure yours now.
Is your strategy up to date?
There have been lots of developments in the world of social media marketing in the second half of this year, from algorithm shifts to the removal of visible likes on Instagram. If you’re an established business but you’re finding things are a little ho-hum on your socials at the moment, it might be time for strategy update! Our Senior Strategist Jess would love to pencil you in for a session, to run through your goals and objectives, target audience profiling, competitor analysis and more, to make sure you’re getting everything you can out of your social media marketing efforts.
Contact us today to pencil in an appointment with Jess and the team.
Christmas is just around the corner!
Can you believe it's only a few short months until Christmas? And that means festive marketing plans are well underway. If you're in need of any creative content to support your festive sales strategy, get in touch with our team today, we'd love to assist!
Quality Instagram Content Over Vanity Metrics
If you run a business or work in marketing you've no doubt heard the news - Instagram has removed visible 'likes' in Australia, in a new trial to combat mental health issues, making the sharing of high quality Instagram content more important than ever.
What does this Instagram change mean for business?
Don't worry, it's not the game changer you may think it is. Take a step back and remember why you're marketing your business on social media. Is it so that others can see how many likes you have? No, of course it's not! It's to promote your brand, and achieve your business objectives, such as driving traffic to your website, sharing your company's culture, and selling your product and/or service.
Instagram content is still king.
When it comes to digital strategy, we always encourage our clients to focus on high quality, engaging content, over chasing vanity metrics such as cheap likes or follows.
Yes, your stats may look like they've gone down a little this month. We have seen a bit of a drop-off in engagement across the board following this platform change. But that being said, we're still seeing strong conversions across our portfolio of clients. The things that really matter, such as taps through to website, purchases on shoppable products, story views and more are as strong as they've always been.
Is removing visible ‘likes’ actually a positive for business?
It may be too early to tell, but the general consensus at Melbourne Social Co HQ is that there are some serious positives we can take from this move, particularly for small business. By removing the ability for people to see how many likes a post has achieved, smaller accounts will be able to better compete with established accounts that have built up large followings already. The focus will now shift back towards the quality of your Instagram content, and the real conversations you create with your community. Your business will now no longer have to compete with businesses who buy ‘fake’ likes for appearances sake, and you'll be able to request more transparency with the influencers you engage with, by potentially having access to their back-end analytics.
Want to chat to our team about the latest social media trends and what they mean for your business? Get in touch with our team today.
Want to learn how to master social media marketing from the comfort of your couch? Check out our social media masterclass here.
Instagram removes 'likes' function
From today, Instagram users in Australia will no longer be able to see how many “likes” a post has a received.
The trial is underway for Australian Instagram users, after a movement towards “removing pressure” on the digital platform’s users.
Instagram will begin rolling out the trial update today, removing the total number of likes on photos and viewings of videos on user feeds and profiles, and permalink pages.
Users will still be able to see a list of likes on their posts, just not the overall number.
But don't worry, the change won’t affect measurement tools for businesses and creators on Instagram, and all likes and engagement metrics will still be available in those tools.
Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy Mia Garlick said Instagram should be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, rather than judged.
“We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love,” she said in a statement.
We look forward to reviewing how this impacts businesses on social media over the coming weeks, and in particular the relationship with business and influencers, who rely on social media metrics to prove the value of their content.
Want to chat to our team about your Instagram strategy? Get in touch today.