Unassisted Writing #5 - Instagram's New Features, LinkedIn Video In The Feed

With the rise of AI, chatbots and predictive text on smartphones, I want to get back to writing, without the assistance of these tools. My weekly LinkedIn article talks about marketing, the world of work and anything else that I think may be relevant to this platform.

Instagram Keeps Adding Features

Instagram has never been afraid to make big (and sometimes controversial) changes. It’s one of the reasons that I’ve long been convinced of Instagram’s staying power, even as naysayers claim that the app is dying.?

This summer we are seeing the app continue to offer new features. Last week, we talked about the roll-out of rectangular profile grids. This week, there’s a new feature rolling out: the ability to directly add text to posts.?

Lots of potential here.?

An? easy to use graphic design tool that’s always in your pocket can be great for rapid-fire content creation.?

Aside from the obvious text overlay on a photo, you could also use this with pre-existing visual templates combined with written notes saved somewhere on your phone. No more needing to use Canva or screenshotting the notes app on your smartphone.?

Quirky, low-effort design is in right now. A colourful background paired with one of Instagram’s fun new fonts gives you an easy way to create standalone graphics or carousels that can include as many as 20 slides.

Experiment to make your content pop: Do an image search for “tropical colour combinations,” select a pairing that you like, create a reusable background, maybe include a slight gradient, radial, vignette or shadow, use one of Instagram’s fun fonts and boom, you’ll have content that stands out in the news feed.?

About LinkedIn’s New Video Carousels

LinkedIn's new video carousel feed is now live on the newsfeed in my app.

A few things I’m wondering about with this new feature:

• How many people (like me) are scrolling right past these new videos without watching?
• Should we be uploading our videos in the vertical, square or wide-angle format??
• Will vertical videos be the only ones that have a chance to go be picked up and boosted???
• Are square or wide-angle videos now devalued in the feed?
• Can the reach of a vertical video on LinkedIn even come close to those on the other big social media platforms?

There is no doubt that TikTok has transformed the way we consume content, whether it is on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube.

But I wonder if the LinkedIn user base is wired a bit differently and might look to this platform as a sort of oasis from the ongoing tiktokification taking place across social media.

That’s all I have for this week. Have a great Labour Day Weekend.