Instagram introduces new feature

Instagram introduces a new feature for scheduling live streams. This will allow businesses to better communicate the live streams with followers and potentially increase viewership.

In addition to Facebook, the time for a live can now also be scheduled on Instagram. This offers several advantages for companies and creators.

To use the function, “Live” must be selected in the Instagram Publisher. After that, you can click on the calendar icon and schedule the time.

The new feature allows lives to be scheduled up to 90 days in advance of the stream, thus communicating with the community in advance.

According to Jan Firsching from futurebiz, the optimal period is between 14 and 7 days before the live stream. From then on, the stream can be announced in the company’s feed and story.

In addition, the community can be actively informed about the live and activate a reminder. So they will not miss any new news of their favorite companies! So, it is recommended with the announcement for the live stream also to give a hint to activate the reminders.

Instagram Collab

Instagram is creating new ways for brands and creators to collaborate. With the new Collab function, content from two Instagram accounts can now be published together. This makes collaborations more obvious to followers and can increase the organic growth of the accounts.

The new feature offers an alternative to the usual tagging. Instead of tagging a second partnership account, the account is added as a co-author of the post. For this, only a request is sent, which then has to be accepted by the co-author. After accepting the request, the post will appear in both partners’ Feeds or in the Instagram Reel section. Collabs are therefore no longer only to be found in the tags area. Influencer collaborations could therefore become even more interesting for companies, as they can benefit from the creator’s reach and share new organic content in their feed at the same time.

The comments under the post also appear on both accounts – so the Community Management is also shared.

According to Jan Firsching from futurebiz, Instagram is making partnerships quite interesting with this new feature and offers new opportunities for authors and co-authors in the area of collaboration.

Facebook “pivot to audio”

Facebook introduces new types of audio integration to social media. After Clubhouse failed with its live audio chats after the initial hype, Facebook is now also trying its hand at audio integration. According to Jan Firsching from futurebiz, this shows just how big an impact Clubhouse has had on the topic of social audio. At Facebook, different new formats are appearing here:

1. Live-Audio-Rooms

Currently, the live audio rooms feature can only be used by groups and creators. Companies do not have access to this feature at this time. Similar to a Facebook Live, Audio Rooms can be announced and shared.

2. Facebook Soundbites

Facebook Soundbites are short audio messages. Here, for example, creators can answer questions. But also voice distorters are part of the soundbites.

3. Podcast Integration

In collaboration with Spotify, Facebook is also planning new formats here. One example is the integration of a dedicated audio player that can be used to play podcasts directly on Facebook.

Pinterest announces a new feature

Pinterest has announced new changes and improvements to the platform. These include a new vertical feed. The full screen can be used to browse for new inspirations and watch videos. The vertical feed also allows users to scroll through images and videos.

According to Andrew Hutchinson from SocialMediaToday, this vertical style looks very similar to TikTok’s format in an attempt to generate more viewers. Also, the new format offers the opportunity to show and promote more video-based pins.

With “Takes” Pinterest is promoting another interactive feature. A “Take” is an Idea Pin that was in turn inspired by another Idea Pin. These are then highlighted below the original. This should also encourage users to create and upload their own pins. Perhaps Pinterest will be able to create more interaction on its platform in this way. For example, a user can then respond to recipes with their recreated dishes.

In addition to these features, stickers can now be added to Idea Pins and new products can be visually tested directly with the help of AR Try-On tools.

Pinterest is sure to announce more exciting innovations in the future!

Facebook introduces Facebook Reels

Finally, the time has come! Facebook now also has a Reels function. This means that Facebook is now increasingly focusing on videos in addition to auditory formats. In the USA, the Reels function is already being displayed to Facebook users.

Facebook Reels can be published and shared in the Story and News Feed. In addition to being viewed in the app, the videos should also be able to be created in Facebook itself. But Instagram Reels can also be shared within Facebook. According to Jan Firsching from futurebiz, this can bring a big advantage. By publishing on Instagram and Facebook, the videos can generate a wider reach and touch people they might not have reached in the Reels Tab on Instagram. So, through the new feature, there is also an organic growth of Instagram accounts.

Facebook Reels can also be displayed in Facebook groups. This means that reels can be posted specifically in groups and automatically reach the right target group. In this way, Facebook creates a further distinction from TikTok.

Author:

Anna Lemke