This is a new regular feature for our readers. We’ll be bringing short, insightful, helpful links and information to help you get/stay atop your social media effort.
- For those looking to get more oomph from Instagram, there are new features to delve into:
Extended Carousel Posts
You can now include up to 20 slides in carousel posts, up from the previous limit of 10. While this change has been in effect since earlier in 2024, the extended format is perfect for in-depth storytelling, comprehensive product showcases, or recapping conference events in detail.
For example:
- Create mini-tutorials or how-to guides.
- Showcase before-and-after transformations.
- Share customer testimonials with product images.
In-App Text Overlay
Users can now upload images, graphics, or videos and add text overlays directly on Instagram.
The app uses the same fonts as Stories and Reels, ensuring a native look. Users can also add stickers, including custom cutouts of company logos or mascots, to further customize their posts.
This is perfect for quick, on-the-go content creation. You can make text-based carousel posts or add captions to images without leaving the Instagram app. However, if you want more complex designs or brand-specific templates, you’ll still need to use external tools.
This update also includes a scheduling feature, allowing users to plan their post schedule. While the current version is relatively basic, Instagram could add more templates and design options in the future, making it an increasingly powerful tool for content creators and marketers.
Polls
These new interactive elements can be added to feed posts. They appear as small visual icons in white font at the bottom corner of the post, potentially showing how many people have participated.
This visibility can help draw more users to interact with your content, increasing your post’s reach and engagement rates.
Polls and prompts work well for gathering audience opinions, increasing interaction, and gaining valuable insights from your followers.
Tip: Pin your polls to the top of your profile to engage viewers immediately.
Product Tags
This feature streamlines the purchasing process and enhances the platform’s e-commerce capabilities.
Business accounts can now add product names, prices, and direct purchase options directly to their posts, making it easier for users to shop in the feed.
Live Streaming Capability
Instagram also supports live streaming from desktop computers through Instagram Live Studio.
Take advantage of desktop live streaming to produce higher-quality video content, especially for tutorials or presentations that benefit from a larger screen. This can also make managing comments easier and engaging with your audience during the live-stream.
Note: X has changed its privacy policy to allow third-party access to user data for AI training. While the platform says users can opt out of this data sharing, the opt-out mechanism is unclear. So make sure you keep tuned in for this change in privacy settings. These changes went into effect on or after November 15, 2024. Source: X
YouTube Shorts Updates: Creators can now customize and edit their Shorts thumbnails, even after uploading, by selecting a frame and adding text or filters. Shorts templates are now available, allowing users to recreate trending Shorts using a template that includes matching audio and clip timing guidance. A new auto-crop feature has been added for remixing videos into Shorts, automatically adjusting pan, zoom, and crop to keep the main subject in frame. Source: YouTube
YouTube Creator Features: The platform has announced several new features and updates in its monthly Roundup, including Channel QR codes that make sharing channels easier and accessible through the “You” tab or the channel page’s menu, expanding course creation in YouTube Studio to more creators, and the ability to add custom thumbnails to playlists. Source: YouTube
YouTube Ad Controls:Ad blocking controls are now available at the channel level in YouTube Studio, allowing creators to block specific ad categories from appearing on their content. Source: YouTube
