Your Instagram advertising strategy – sorted
Luke McCarthy
July 22, 2024
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From TikTok’s attempt to rival Instagram with a new app to fresh features on WhatsApp, it’s safe to say April has left influencers and brands with a lot to digest. There was also room for updates to Messenger, along with a revamped algorithm feature on YouTube.
Vamp has swept for these latest updates from the tech giants so you don’t have to, and listed the things you may want on your radar. So settle in and allow us to take you through them.
Meta has rolled out a series of updates to its Messenger service, starting with the ability to create Shared Albums. This provides influencers and brands with increased capacity to share a wider range of images with audiences, should they be using the platform in this way, or considering doing so.
The update may potentially be rewarded with increased engagement, which could be particularly exciting for image-led influencers. One thinks of chefs sharing recipes that can now be divided up into albums (pasta, desserts and soups), a yoga teacher breaking stretches down or a fashion influencer sharing hundreds of images of outfits into a small number of albums, each with a title for certain occasions (spring, dinner parties and sport).
It’s promised this feature will be rolled out “over the coming weeks”. In further good news for image-led influencers, Meta also says it is now possible to send photos in HD (High Definition).
A statement read: “You can now send clearer, crispr photos in your chats. To send a HD photo, select an image from your chat composer, then turn the HD toggle on and tap Send. Tap on additional photos to send multiple in HD, then tap Send.”
While we’ve got you on this topic, are you interested in launching a social media campaign? Our guide shows you how to plan them.
The big tech video arms race, led by TikTok’s success, shows no signs of letting up any time soon. This month, Facebook announced the launch of an updated full screen video player for all video lengths across its Reels, longer videos or Live videos formats.
A statement read: “When you tap on a video anywhere on the Facebook app, you’ll now consistently see a full screen, vertically-oriented video. Previously, depending on the length of the video or where you were watching, you may have seen horizontal videos or videos that played in a feed-like player.
“Within the upgraded full-screen video player, we’ll also have improved recommendations for videos of all lengths we think you’re most likely to enjoy based on your interests.”
Meta promises the feature will be rolled out in the next few weeks. For influencers who engage with audiences on Facebook, the launch may serve as ideal timing to increase the volume of video posts to learn any insight from the update.
As Vamp reported last year, an increasingly larger number of organisations – including the Daily Mail – were communicating with readers through WhatsApp. That trend appears to remain in trajectory, so the latest update may offer brands and influencers doing the same some encouragement.
WhatsApp now offers Chat Filters, which splits chats into groups of All, Unread and Groups. You’ve likely been there yourself, with unread messages from family members falling behind busy group chats about holidays away.
For brands and influencers, it may offer an increased chance of engagement should you be communicating about your business within groups. A blog post stated that the feature had launched on April 15, and would be available to all users within a few weeks.
X (formerly Twitter) is now offering increased incentives for brands looking to advertise on the platform. Those who choose to sign up to the Verified Organisations Basic Package, costing $2,000, will see a return of $2,000 in advertising credits.
Brands considering paying for the $10,000 Full Access package will receive a return of $10,000 in advertising credits. At the time of writing, the offer remains active on X’s subscription page.
A description of the offer reads:
“Verified Organisations Full Access subscribers receive a $1,000 ads credit to spend on advertising on X per month (for a limited time) or $10,000 per year if they subscribe annually.
“Our Basic tier offers $200 per month or $2,000 per year. Take full advantage of your affiliate badges to promote your organisation or its affiliates. See our terms here.”
For brands already considering investing in verification on X, then there is little dilemma in snapping this offer up as it will amount to free advertising. For brands who haven’t built up a following on X yet but are eager to advertise, this could be a sensible incentive to accelerate the process, particularly if your product is likely to resonate with a targeted demographic on the platform.
Advertising is often a consideration for small businesses looking to break through. Are you one of those small businesses needing advice? Vamp has put together a complete social media guide for small businesses.
TikTok began testing its new app, TikTok Notes, in Australia and Canada this month, for users to share images with text. An early peek at the new app shows the ability to post headlines for photos in addition to the caption, something not available in Instagram.
One example shows a headline with the words: “Capturing the Magic of Paris.” Below that, the caption reads: “Just back from an amazing trip to Paris! Saw the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and had the best croissants.”
Early observations also show a For You tab, but not a Stories one. And there is also a two-column grid, as opposed to Instagram’s one, which has drawn comparisons to Pinterest.
At the start of April users had received messages from the platform telling them their photos will be shared to the new TikTok Notes app, unless they choose not to.
Those messages read: “TikTok Notes, a new app for photo posts, is coming soon! Your existing and future public TikTok photo posts will be shown on TikTok Notes. If you prefer not to show your public TikTok photo posts on TikTok Notes, turn this off now.”
The development is naturally perceived as an attempt to rival Instagram, although it is not clear when the app will be launched beyond Australia and Canada.
But in a saturated market for photo-sharing, all eyes are on how TikTik plans to veer eyeballs away from Meta’s flagship photo platform and move to its new app instead.
For influencers, it is a must to keep your eyes peeled and be ready to exploit the launch from the word go.
Tech companies copying features from rivals is nothing new, and has sometimes been successful: with Instagram Reels, which resulted from the TikTok boom, springing to mind. Speaking of competitors locking horns, are you interested in what your own competitors are doing? Vamp can help with its own Competitor Analysis.
There is rarely a bad time to experiment on YouTube, but now may be a time to increase upload volume after the introduction of a new Most Relevant tab in the Subscriptions tab. For anyone visiting your channel, they can find your content most relevant to them, which is sorted through an algorithm.
A statement from YouTube read: “We’re testing an optional Most Relevant view for your Subscriptions feed so that you can easily find the stuff you’re most likely to love. If you’re in the experiment, simply select the chip or avatar that says Most Relevant and your feed will update to show you content from Subscriptions you watch most often or you’ve interacted with recently.
“Not interested? No problem! Your regular Subscriptions feed will still be there by default. This experiment is rolling out to a small percentage of viewers on mobile and expansion will be based on feedback.”
In a blog post shared in April, YouTube reported that 84% of Gen Z monthly podcast listeners in the US had discovered a podcast on YouTube, citing a report from Cumulus Report.
To cash in on its claimed trajectory, YouTube has introduced some new features that influencers may be able to exploit.
The post read: “We’ve rolled out several new features including support for third-party RSS podcasts, updates to the Android Auto experience for easy in-car listening, enhanced download options, and customisable playlist sorting. Additionally, we’ve revamped our recommendation and discovery algorithms to help creators and listeners discover new content effortlessly.”
Did you find that helpful? If you did, keep your eyes peeled on our blog for the next round of updates for May. We will be paying close attention to all of the platforms you use to create content, and update you on how this impacts the way audiences engage with it.
See you then!
