Welcome to this week's episode of Social Chatter, the longest running social media marketing talk show where we cover the latest social media news from this past week.
On this week's episode of Social Chatter, your weekly social media marketing talk show, we explore Instagram voice messaging, Facebook Stories for Groups, #InstaGiftGuide, Streak, Wordzen and more with Christian Karasiewicz, Phil Gerbyshak and guest, Gael Gilliland.
If you like, you can watch or listen to Social Chatter on our blog, YouTube or the Alexa Flash Briefing.
For those of you who missed last week's show, you can find it here.
Let's see what's new in social media this week with your hosts, Christian Karasiewicz and Phil Gerbyshak.
Watch This Week's Social Media Updates
Instagram Voice Messaging For Instagram Direct
In Instagram news, they are rolling out a walkie-take feature known as Instagram voice messaging.
With Instagram voice messaging, you can now send voice messages using Instagram Direct.
How To Send Instagram Voice Messages
- Launch the Instagram app
- On the home screen, swipe from right to left
- Start a new message with a user
- Press and hold on the microphone button
Instagram Direct voice messages can be up to one-minute long or 60 seconds. They won't disappear either.
Why Instagram Voice Messaging Matters For Your Business
Instagram voice messages give you yet another way to communicate.
While they only work for Instagram Profiles at the moment, we anticipate you'll be able to use Instagram voice messages for business in a future update.
We could see them being used to answer a customers question or similar to a voicemail or answering machine.
For those of you who use Instagram voice messaging, be sure you also use Pretty Links. This way it's easy for you to record a voice message and provide an easy-to-remember URL.
In the meantime, you'll now be able to send your followers quick voice messages as you can already do using Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Zello and more.
You can read about Instagram voice messaging for Direct here.
Instagram Launches #InstaGiftGuide For Shopping
Also in Instagram news, they have launched #InstaGiftGuide, what they are calling the "ultimate holiday shopping guide."
#InstaGiftGuide "matches six popular hashtags from 2018 with gift-worthy products from 34 brands on Instagram."
These include #catsofinstagram, #vaporwave, #oddlysatisfying, #tutting, #fingerboarding, and #ISEEFACES.
Why #InstaGiftGuide Matters For Your Business
The holiday shopping guide from Instagram matters because Instagram wants to be known not just for beautiful photos, but a great place for businesses to sell on Instagram.
While you can have your products show up in the Instagram Explore area or shop collections, if you have products that are popular and visually appealing, you have a chance to make more sales through Instagram.
Right now, this program is limited to 34 brands, but we anticipate there will be a much bigger roll-out as shopping on Instagram begins to take shape.
To read the announcement about the Instagram Gift Guide, click here.
YouTube Autoplay Videos On Mobile
In YouTube news, they are rolling out YouTube autoplay videos.
When you are on the home tab of the YouTube mobile app for iOS or Android, the first few seconds of a video will autoplay.
Right now, "autoplay on home," is enabled by default for everyone. Soon, they will roll out features to turns it off or only have autoplay videos run when on Wi-Fi.
YouTube autoplay videos are starting to fallout, so if you don't have them after updating your mobile app, give them some time.
Why YouTube Autoplay Videos Matter For Your Business
With more and more people publishing YouTube videos, you have to find a way to stand-out.
One way is to show a snippet of your video in order to entice viewers to watch the complete video.
While Facebook, Instagram and Twitter already include autoplay videos, YouTube is not only making them available, but also plans to place more of an emphasis on including subtitles.
For example, because people can view the first few seconds, you'll want to make sure the beginning of your videos are engaging.
Just like with blogging, where optimizing your content for SEO is important, the same holds true for your YouTube video content. You'll want to make sure you perform keyword research, fill out all appropriate fields, and include subtitles. This way you can reach viewers who might now speak your language or watch your videos with the sound off.
You can read the announcement about YouTube autoplay videos on the mobile app here.
Facebook Stories For Facebook Groups
In Facebook news, they are rolling out Facebook Stories for Facebook Groups.
What this means is that in addition to sharing Stories on your Profile or Pages, Groups can now share them as well.
Here's a short video on using Facebook Stories for Facebook Groups.
Why Facebook Stories For Facebook Groups Matter For Your Business
It's no secret, Facebook is encouraging users to post more Stories. Although Stories were launched for Groups back in 2017, they are finally making them available to everyone.
Coming up with ideas for Stories on your Profile and even your businesses Facebook Page is easy. The same holds true for Stories for Facebook Groups.
You are essentially giving your members a look into what you have going on in your Facebook Group. It could be fun moments, a tip of the day or even a reminder about an upcoming event.
Regardless, planning and having a sound social media strategy is essential. This way you won't have a hard time coming up with what to share in your Facebook Stories for Facebook Groups.
One other important thing to note about Stories for Groups is that you will have admin tools to allow you to manage Facebook Group Stories. This way you can approve or delete member stories before they are shared with other members. You can also mute members who post too often.
To learn more about Facebook Stories for Facebook Groups, this guide.
Tools
In addition to sharing the latest news from this past week, we also highlighted some great social media tools and apps for you to check out.
Streak
The first tool that we have discovered this week is Streak (Google Chrome extension).
With Streak, you can manage your customer relationships and know which phase you're at in the sales funnel - right from your mobile device.
Streak is available as a free mobile app for iOS and Android.
You can use it for free or upgrade to their professional plan, which gives you Pro CRM features, advanced reporting, API access and more for $49 per month.r
Use Gmail as a CRM tool
Wordzen
The second tool that we have for you this week is Wordzen (Google Chrome extension).
Wordzen is a tool to take your recorded voice messages and turn them into emails in Gmail.
With Worzden, you speak and it will turn your voice into Gmail emails.
What makes Wordzen unique is that it doesn't just transcribe your message, it will write a professional email based on the message that you record.
This Gmail add-on can save you a lot of time because you can record your responses and have them automatically write professional emails for you.
Wordzen is $79 per month but can save you hours of time if you send a lot of emails.
Try Wordzen
Wrap-up
That's it for this week's show!
To watch next week's episode of Social Chatter, your weekly social media marketing talk show, tune-in here to find out what's new in social media!
If you have any questions about of the social media news or tools that were mentioned this week, please share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or in the comments below.
