Simply Social Newsletter

You can see now how many people replayed your Instagram Reels

Instagram's Reels feature now includes improved editing tools and methods to discover popular content. Users can edit video clips, audio, stickers, and text overlays simultaneously on one screen.?

The new Reels Trends section shows trending hashtags and audio, and creators can view performance metrics like total watch time, average watch time, and new follower notifications through the updated analytics dashboard.

What does this mean for my brand?

Despite audio limitations for brands, the Reels Trends page can still be used to discover content formats, reactive opportunities, and trending hashtags. As Instagram emphasizes video, tracking Reels' impact on engagement and followers is crucial for resource allocation.

Analyzing watch time data enables creators to identify engaging Reels and improve viewer retention by strengthening hooks. Moreover, identifying new followers from specific Reels can inform content strategy and increase follower growth. Testing new approaches and replicating successful ones can help creators build a sustainable following.

You can now secure better talent partnerships with Instagram’s improved API?

Instagram has broadened API access to specific components of its Creator Marketplace platform, streamlining the process for brands to collaborate with creators. This new API enables brands using a third-party creator marketing platform to take advantage of Prioritized DMs, which facilitates communication with creators via a priority inbox. Additionally, they can now publish project briefs directly to the Creator Marketplace. This API is presently being tested with selected partners, and access will be available soon. To express interest, you can visit the Instagram for Business blog.

What does this mean for my brand?

The new API streamlines the process for brands utilizing third-party creator marketing platforms to collaborate with creators, which is especially valuable on a platform that provides abundant opportunities for sourcing talent partnerships. As per Insider Intelligence, Instagram comprised 44% of all influencer marketing spending in the US last year.

Facebook’s new AI feature could soon create your Stories for you?

Facebook is said to be testing a new feature called Advanced Stories, which utilizes image recognition AI to create Stories from your existing content. Based on screenshots shared by Matt Navarra, Advanced Stories generates pre-made Stories of high quality, taking into account factors such as image quality, location, and the presence of people or animals. Although Facebook has not made any official announcement, the feature appears to be currently in testing with a limited group of users.

What does this mean for my brand?

Facebook and Instagram are adapting to changing user behaviour, focusing on Stories and private messaging, as users post less original content on their news feeds. Advanced Stories presents a great opportunity for brands to explore the generative AI trend and experiment with its potential.?

During the testing phase, Facebook is likely gathering feedback to enhance its AI systems for generating better quality Stories. While AI-generated text is still a challenge, the tool could be advanced enough to provide valuable time-saving content, such as creating a range of creative assets for a new product launch or collection.

Your character limit on tweets’ has now doubled

Twitter Blue's latest update has more than doubled the character limit for tweets. In February, the limit was increased to 4,000 characters for Blue users in the US, and now it has been raised to 10,000 characters. Paying subscribers can also use bold and italic text formatting. This move is part of CEO Elon Musk's strategy to encourage users to publish more long-form content on the platform.

What does this mean for my brand?

Shorter tweets can often be more effective, so using the expanded character limit wisely is important. While longer tweets allow for more creativity, brevity is still key. It's recommended to stay within the 280-character limit and communicate all key information in that space.?

However, media brands and publishers can experiment with posting longer-form content directly to the platform for better searchability and exposure. But be cautious of large blocks of text without visual elements to break it up, as this may deter readers.