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5 ChatGPT Prompts To Create Content That Actually Stands Out

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By Jodie Cook

Scroll down the feed of any social media platform and you see the problem. Everyone’s content is starting to look the same. As people get scared of oversharing or alienating people, or using AI to generate terrible posts, they start writing the same vanilla messaging and hiding their true colours. Their strong beliefs don’t come out. They pretend to be like everyone else. They blend in. But there’s another way: your weirdness could be your superpower.

You weren’t put here to go through the motions with posting online. It’s time to get real. It’s time to stand out. ChatGPT can help. Copy, paste and edit the square brackets in ChatGPT, and keep the same chat window open so the context carries through.

Stand out from the crowd: ChatGPT prompts for memorable content

Understand fears, desires and motivations

Get inside your audience’s head so they wonder how you got there. They have specific dreams keeping them up at night and fears that stop them from taking action. Average creators guess what their audience wants. Winners know for sure. They speak directly to the pain points that matter. When you understand someone’s deepest motivations, your content resonates on a whole new level.

“Based on what you know about my target audience from our previous conversations, analyse their deepest fears and desires. Create 5 specific pain points they face daily, then match each with a hidden desire they might not even admit to themselves. For each pairing, write a single sentence that would make them think ‘how did you know that about me?’ Make the language direct and use their exact words where possible. Ask for more detail if required.”

Rework the hook

You only have a few seconds to hook someone on any platform. Your first line determines whether they keep reading or keep scrolling. Everyone writes their hook once and calls it done. But the first version is rarely the best version. Your hook needs to create an information gap, make a bold claim, or challenge a common belief. Get alternatives and see which one stands out the most. Test different angles until you find the one that grabs attention.

“Take this opening line from my content: [paste your opening line]. Based on what you know about my writing style and target audience, create 7 alternative hooks. Make each one completely different – vary the structure, angle, and emotional trigger. Include options that are bold statements, create information gaps, challenge common beliefs, or use unexpected contrasts. Great hooks are not questions. They are hard-hitting statements. Rank them from safest to most attention-grabbing. Make each hook 10 words or fewer.”

Be more weird

Your first draft is safe. It’s normal, it’s conservative. It doesn’t turn heads. It doesn’t shock anyone into action. The majority water down their message to avoid offending anyone. They end up offending no one and inspiring no one either. Crank up the shock factor. Say what others are thinking but won’t say. Take a stance that makes people choose sides. Your weird is someone else’s refreshing honesty.

“Review this piece of content I’ve written: [paste your content]. Based on what you know about my brand and communication style, make it dramatically weirder and more memorable. Push every vanilla statement to its extreme. Replace generic observations with specific, standout angles. Add unconventional examples or analogies. Include at least one line that would make someone gasp or laugh out loud. Keep my authentic voice but remove all the boring parts.”

Get a critique from a cynical naysayer

Nobody learns from yes-men. You need someone to poke holes in your content before your audience does. Safe players surround themselves with supporters who tell them everything is great. Real growth comes from harsh feedback. Let ChatGPT channel your biggest sceptic. Face the criticism head-on and make your content bulletproof. Every objection you address makes your message stronger.

“Based on what you know about my content and target audience, become my harshest critic. Review this content: [paste your content]. Channel a cynical industry veteran who’s seen it all. Point out every weakness, cliché, and place where I’m playing it too safe. Question my assumptions and credentials. Be brutal but specific – for each criticism, explain exactly why it weakens my message. End with 3 specific changes that would make even a sceptic pay attention.”

Experiment with formats

Same message, alternative delivery, can mean the difference between minimal engagement and going viral. It’s tempting to stick to one format because it’s comfortable. But comfort doesn’t create breakthroughs. Your best-performing content might be in a format you haven’t tried yet. Keep going until you find the one that works. Test everything. Measure results. Then do more of what connects.

“Based on what you know about my content goals and target audience, transform this piece of content into 5 completely different formats for [social platform]: [paste your content]. Create versions for: a personal story format, a contrarian hot take, a step-by-step guide, a behind-the-scenes confession, and a predictive/future-focused piece. For each format, write the first 3 lines to show how the tone and structure would change. Identify which format best serves my message.”

Create content worth remembering: make your mark with bold choices

Playing safe guarantees mediocrity. But these prompts transform your content from forgettable to unforgettable. Get inside your audience’s head until you know them better than they know themselves. Rework your hooks until they’re impossible to ignore. Own your weirdness and let sceptics make you stronger. Experiment with formats until you find your winner.

Your content should make people feel something. Make them think differently. Make them take action. Make them cry, if you like. The world has enough generic content. Stop hiding your true colours and create something only you could write.

Access all my best ChatGPT content prompts.

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By Jodie Cook

Find Jodie Cook on LinkedIn. Visit Jodie’s website.

Sourced from Forbes

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XChat to Feature ‘Bitcoin-Style’ Encryption and New Features, Elon Musk Says

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By Mark Mwachiro

Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is introducing new features to its direct-messaging service, XChat.

Early Monday morning, X owner Elon Musk, fresh from his government service, posted that XChat will be built on the Rust architecture, providing it with “Bitcoin-style encryption.” He added that new features coming to the platform include vanishing messages, video and audio calling, and the ability to send any kind of file.

Musk’s “Bitcoin-style encryption” prompt garnered pushback from many within the Bitcoin community who noted that the cryptocurrency platform isn’t encrypted, according to Cointelegraph.

“Maybe Musk means like BIP-151 peer-to-peer communication encryption,” BitMEX Research suggested, which is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal designed to encrypt Bitcoin node data.

XChat is already available in beta to select testers, and it is being rolled out to paid subscribers. Users will also have the option to use a four-digit passcode to access XChat.

XChat’s rollout is part of Musk’s grand scheme to make X the everything app. The social media company is also working on a payments feature, XMoney, which will be available to users later in the year.

Feature Image Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

By Mark Mwachiro

Mark Mwachiro is a TVNewser contributor who has been writing for the blog since March 2022. Based out of New York, Mark has also contributed to ADWEEK.

Sourced from ADWEEK

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Social Media Marketing: What It Is, How It Works

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By Lisa Anthony 

Social media marketing can be cost-effective when you pick platforms suited to your business and consistently deliver messages that engage your target audience.

Social media marketing, a type of digital marketing, uses social media platforms to deliver online content to a business’s target audiences. Content is generally designed to build brand awareness and promote products or services, but it can also help a business increase visitors to its website and gather information about followers that can be used in email marketing and other campaigns.

Social media marketing allows you to engage in a more direct way with your target audience, even in one-on-one conversations in some instances. It can be less expensive than other forms of marketing, but it’s also highly competitive due to continuous streams of social posts vying for the attention of consumers. Creating an intentional social media marketing strategy can help you maximize your efforts and improve your return on investment.

How to create a social media marketing strategy

Social media marketing works like other forms of marketing as far as defining goals, identifying a target audience and creating content. However, to keep an active social media presence, a business will need to post regularly on their platforms of choice and regularly monitor brand mentions and customer comments.

Determine your social media marketing goals

Plotting out your goals from the outset will help guide you in the other decisions you’ll need to make, such as which social media platforms to use and the type of content to post.

Here are some general goals that are common to social media marketing:

  • Increase brand awareness.

  • Gain customer insights.

  • Increase sales.

  • Develop leads.

  • Increase website traffic.

  • Respond to customer complaints.

  • Retarget visitors to your website who don’t make purchases.

  • Get followers to share your content on promotional events.

  • Draw attention to a charity or non-profit organization you support.

When possible, be specific when setting goals, but also keep in mind that the success of some of your efforts may be hard to document. For example, it can be more difficult to measure an increase in brand awareness, but the goal of higher website traffic can be documented through marketing tools such as Google Analytics.

Define your target audience

Knowing your customers is important to any marketing effort. Customer information, such as interests, buying behaviours, pain points and demographic details like age, gender and annual income, can help you create content that will interest your target audience.

Also, demographic details may influence your choice of social media platforms. For example, if your target audience is primarily women, you may want to market on a platform that has a higher percentage of women than men. Or, if your target audience is younger, you may want to use a platform that is popular with that age group.

However, with daily users numbering in the millions on many popular platforms, your target audience may be well represented on any platform. Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram are a few of the platforms that offer audience insights tools you can use to learn about the people using the platform. Talking directly to your customers about which platforms they frequent most can also help inform your social media strategy.

Pick your social media platforms

You may choose to target even more niche social platforms based on your type of business and customers, but here are some of the most popular and how they’re used:

  • Facebook: Text, image and video sharing. A Facebook business page can provide important information about your business and build community.

  • YouTube: Video sharing.

  • Twitter: This social networking platform is mostly used for text-based Tweets, but you can also incorporate images, videos and GIFs.

  • Instagram: Photo and video sharing.

  • TikTok: Video sharing. Compared to YouTube, this is best for shorter videos.

  • Pinterest: Image sharing.

  • LinkedIn: A professional networking platform, LinkedIn is primarily used to market to businesses rather than consumers, or to increase brand awareness by participating in industry-specific forums.

  • Snapchat. Instant messaging, image and video platform.

  • Reddit: Forum-style discussions.

Assess your content needs

The type of content you’ll post on social media will depend on your business, goals and which platforms you’re using. It can range from promotional to educational and should reflect the human characteristics and voice that best define your brand, or your brand personality. For example, if your business sells outdoor gear, your brand personality might be rugged and adventurous. Or, if your business sells products and services for small children, your brand personality might be playful but nurturing.

Social media content can include text, images and videos. You may also be able to link to other content you’ve created such as articles, blogs, e-books and videos. Depending on the platform, there may be limits to what can be included in posts. For example, on Twitter, a Tweet can contain up to 280 characters plus up to four images, videos and/or GIFs.

Your social media marketing efforts might also include the use of digital ads on multiple social media platforms and search engines such as Google and Bing. Each platform will have its own requirements for ads and typically offer content recommendations. For example, YouTube offers step-by-step instructions on creating video ads, with pre-made templates and other tools.

Post consistently

Posting consistently is an important factor in successfully promoting your business on social media. Each business’s posting cadence, whether it’s daily, a few times a week or weekly, will depend on its goals and audience. You’ll also want to factor in the time it takes to produce quality content — a video or high-quality photos may take longer than a text-only Tweet, for instance.

Creating a posting schedule can help your business post consistently — and marketing software can help automate the process. While you can post the same content on all your platforms, it’s better to customize the content for the audience of each individual platform. Plus, as discussed, each platform has unique requirements for postings.

Posting regularly can help a business to:

  • Increase brand authority, credibility and reputation.

  • Build followers.

  • Gain familiarity with the platforms and tools.

  • Establish its brand voice.

  • Improve content rankings on platform feeds.

  • Support paid advertising efforts.

Monitor mentions and respond quickly

It’s important to monitor the mentions of your brand and comments made on your posts. Customers frequently take to a business’s social media when they have customer service questions or complaints. In those instances, responding quickly and positively is key, but aim to resolve the issue privately, by encouraging them to direct message or email your business.

Monitoring mentions — and encouraging customers to post about your business (while tagging your account) — can also help you identify brand advocates and gather user-generated content to repost, which can ease the burden of content creation.

It may take months before you see noticeable progress toward your marketing goals, but social media management tools like Hootsuite, Zoho Social and Buffer can help you monitor your content as well as help with posting, scheduling and measuring results.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Lisa Anthony 

Lead Writer  |  Personal finance, lending, personal taxes

Lisa A. Anthony is a writer on NerdWallet’s small-business team, primarily covering payroll software and payment processing. She has over 20 years of diverse experience in finance, lending and personal taxes. Prior to becoming a writer, Lisa worked as a loan officer, business analyst and freelance marketing consultant. Over the years she has had the opportunity to interact directly with consumers to conduct product research, gather insights and evaluate user experiences. She is based in San Diego.

Sourced from nerdwallet

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Elon Musk Wants To Build An ‘Everything App’—Here’s How The World’s Most Popular One Works

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By Siladitya Ray

Topline: Twitter owner Elon Musk has said he plans to transform the social media platform into a so-called “everything app,” an idea he has given little detail about, but whose blueprint can be found in Tencent’s WeChat, which is used by more than a billion users to do everything from sending text messages, making payments, booking flight tickets, playing games and even hailing a cab.

Key Facts

With more than 1.3 billion—mostly Chinese—monthly active users, the Tencent-owned WeChat, or Weixin, is the world’s best-known and biggest “everything app” used by consumers, businesses, celebrities and even Chinese government agencies.

WeChat launched in 2011 as a simple messaging app, similar to the Meta-owned WhatsApp, but has since evolved as one of the major gateways to the internet and e-commerce for many of China’s 1 billion internet users.

Despite starting off with only text messages, WeChat now allows its users to do a multitude of other things like video calls, payments, e-commerce, accessing the news, and official government announcements.

WeChat also serves as a platform for other “mini-apps,” which allow users to access a third-party service like ride-hailing or restaurant booking without having to download a separate app that would require its own account.

Surprising Fact

A testament to the popularity of WeChat was visible back in 2020, when the Trump administration was pushing to ban the app in the U.S. A particular clause of the proposed ban, which barred U.S. companies from carrying out “any transaction that is related to WeChat,” raised the possibility of the super app being removed from Apple’s App store. A survey on Chinese social media found that 95% of the country’s iPhone users would be willing to ditch their smartphones and switch to another brand if Apple’s devices could no longer be used to access WeChat.

Key Background

Musk is not the first executive from Silicon Valley hoping to ape WeChat’s success in the U.S. In 2019, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that his company ought to learn from and even emulate WeChat. Musk himself has admitted that his keenness on building an “everything app” predates his plans to acquire Twitter but he believes that transforming Twitter into “X” helps accelerate the process “by 3 to 5 years,” compared to starting from scratch with a new app.

What To Watch For

However, Musk’s ambitions, like every other silicon valley “super-app” dream before it, faces some key hurdles. The biggest one is integrating payments. One of the key elements of WeChat’s success is that alongside Ant Financial’s Alipay, it is one of the two biggest payment platforms in China—where the use of mobile payments is ubiquitous. Most of WeChat’s other integrations are built around its payments feature and it can be used by anyone with a Chinese bank account. Seemingly aware of this, Musk says he wants to transform Twitter into a Paypal competitor and even make it the “biggest financial institution in the world.” However, this plan will rely on Americans’ willingness to change their payment behaviour. Data shows that more than 80% of all Chinese adults use mobile payments, in comparison with less than 33% of U.S. adults.

Feature Image Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

By Siladitya Ray

I am a Breaking News Reporter at Forbes, with a focus on covering important tech policy and business news. Graduated from Columbia University with an MA in Business and Economics Journalism in 2019. Worked as a journalist in New Delhi, India from 2014 to 2018. Have a news tip? DMs are open on Twitter @SiladityaRay or drop me an email at [email protected].

Sourced from Forbes

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5 Steps For Building A Personal Brand As A Web3 Founder

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By Himanshu Bisht

Personal branding is essential for any entrepreneur, but it’s especially important in the world of Web3. With blockchain technology estimated to grow exponentially in the coming years, thought leadership in this space can offer a big advantage to founders and builders.

In my experience helping Web3 entrepreneurs build successful brands and creating my own niche presence, there is one common pattern I have found: People follow people. They don’t follow lifeless company logos and brands. Perhaps this is why more and more founders are spending significant time building their personal brands now.

Personal Branding Myths Busted

Personal branding is often seen as narcissistic and self-indulgent. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Personal branding is one of the most effective marketing tools available, and it’s a key driver of success for entrepreneurs.

A personal brand is not about having millions of followers. It’s about authority, trustworthiness and relatability. It’s about building a genuine fan base that appreciates your content and looks up to you as a thought leader in your space.

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of personal branding for entrepreneurs in Web3.

My 5 Steps For Building A Personal Brand As A Web3 Founder

1. Define Your Niche

The first step to building a personal brand as a founder is getting clarity. Be precise about what you’re passionate about and what you want to be known for. This will help you attract the right followers and build a personal brand that is unique and authentic.

Remember, personal branding is a two-way road. Whether you want to talk about DeFi, or you are more excited to talk about cryptocurrency, it is important to choose a topic that you are interested in talking about and is something people want to hear about.

2. Choose Your Social Media Platform

Social media is a powerful tool for personal branding. In fact, most of the Web3 audience is hanging out either on LinkedIn or Twitter (also known as “crypto Twitter”). By being active on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium, you can reach a wider audience and share your ideas with the world.

3. Create Content That Educates And Entertains

Once you’ve defined your personal brand and chosen your platform, it’s time to start creating content—but not just any content. Make sure your content is engaging, informative and entertaining.

The best personal brands are built on a foundation of great content. If you can consistently produce high-quality content that educates and entertains your audience, you’ll be well on your way to building a personal brand that people know and trust.

4. Attend Web3-Specific Industry Events

Your personal branding journey doesn’t stop at content creation. To really take your personal brand to the next level, get out there and meet people face to face. And what better way to do that than by attending Web3-specific industry events?

By attending events and networking with key players in the space, you’ll not only gain valuable insights, but you’ll also make important connections that can help you further your personal brand.

5. Collaborate With Other Thought Leaders In The Industry

As you start building your personal brand, it can be helpful to collaborate with other thought leaders in the industry. You can do this through guest blogging, co-hosting events or even just engaging in thoughtful debates on social media.

Not only will collaborating with other thought leaders help you further refine your personal brand, but it will also help you reach a wider audience and solidify your position as a thought leader in the space.

Final Thoughts

For Web3 founders, there are big advantages to building a personal brand and providing thought leadership in the space. In fact, these are key factors in attracting the right investors, customers and followers when you are starting something new from scratch.

By following the steps outlined above, you can start building a personal brand that will help you attract your desired audience. So what are you waiting for? Get started today.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Himanshu Bisht

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Himanshu Bisht is an experienced startup marketing expert. He helps entrepreneurs build impactful companies & powerful personal brands. Read Himanshu Bisht’s full executive profile here

Sourced from Forbes

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Instagram to disable account sending abusive, hate speech DMs

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By Anshika Awasthi

The social media platform will soon start disabling accounts that send abusive and hateful messages via DMs

The popular photo-sharing app Instagram is looking for stricter ways to tackle hate speech, abuse and bullying that users receive in their direct messages (DMs).

The social media platform will soon start disabling accounts that send abusive and hateful messages via DMs.

“Our rules against hate speech don’t tolerate attacks on people based on their protected characteristics, including race or religion,” said Instagram in its official statement.

These measures are introduced in the backdrop of a racist attack on footballers in the UK, including Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Lauren James, and Axel Tuanzebe from Manchester United.

“We’ve seen it most recently with racist online abuse targeted at footballers in the UK. We don’t want this behaviour on Instagram, “said Instagram.

Stricter penalties

From now on, anyone who breaks the Instagram DMs rule will have their account disabled. As of now, an user found guilty of sending abusive messages is restricted from sending more messages for a set period of time.

“When someone sends DMs that break our rules, we prohibit that person from sending any more messages for a set period of time”, says Instagram.

Also, if someone continues to send hateful messages, Instagram will disable their account.

“If someone continues to send violating messages, we’ll disable their account. We’ll also disable new accounts created to get around our messaging restrictions and will continue to disable accounts we find that are created purely to send abusive messages,” added Instagram.

Business and creator accounts can switch off DMs anytime

Instagram currently allows its business/ creator accounts to switch off DMs from people they don’t follow. This helps avoid abusive/ unwanted messages as these accounts receive the most, Instagram said.

Now Instagram is planning to expand this feature to personal accounts too and it will soon be available to all the users.

‘DMs is more challenging’

Instagram users have so far used the ‘comment filter’ feature to prevent themselves from offensive comments that use words, phrases, or emojis they don’t want to see.

“Last year we announced a new feature to manage multiple unwanted comments in one go – whether that’s bulk deleting them, or bulk blocking the accounts that posted them,” Instagram said.

It helped in a meaningful decrease in offensive comments, after Instagram started using AI to warn people when they’re about to post something that might be hurtful.

“Because DMs are for private conversations, we don’t use technology to proactively detect content like hate speech or bullying the same way we do in other places,” added Instagram.

Instagram is currently working on this feature and hoping to launch it in the coming months.

Feature Image Credit: Pexel

By Anshika Awasthi

Sourced from BT

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Making responsible ads like clockwork – marketing on TikTok

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Sourced from ASA 

A video-sharing social networking app with in-built video editing tools and a clever algorithm for surfacing relevant content to users, TikTok was launched in the UK in August 2018.  According to YouGov, it is currently the 7th most popular (and 4th most famous) social media platform, and it offers a variety of creative and innovative ways to advertise – as they, themselves, say ‘don’t make ads, make TikToks’.

As the rules in the CAP Code are largely media neutral – from in-feed sponsored ads, influencer marketing and TikToks from brand-owned creators, to branded hashtag challenges and effects – the same rules and principles that apply in other media are equally applicable to advertising on TikTok.

But creating compliant advertising TikToks really can run like clockwork – so here are some of the key principles from ASA rulings to help you with your ads on this platform.

Make clear when a TikTok is an ad

As is true for all the other social media platforms, and indeed all media, advertising on TikTok – whether it’s a ‘Top View’ ad when the app is first opened, a branded effect, a TikTok posted by a brand or influencer, or affiliate marketing content – must be obviously identifiable as advertising.

Most ads within TikTok’s own ad formats seem likely to be recognised as advertising from the context and labelling applied by TikTok.  Similarly, TikToks that have obviously come from a brand profile are generally likely to be recognised as advertising without any additional labelling, provided it’s clearly the brand’s own profile.

However, the ASA’s research on labelling influencer marketing found that people really struggle to identify when social media posts by influencers are ads.  This means that TikToks uploaded by influencers (and others) which either are, or contain, advertising or affiliate marketing, are very likely to need an additional label to distinguish them.

For example, a TikTok from Emily Canham promoting GHD branded products and including a personalised discount code was judged not to have made it sufficiently clear because there was nothing in the content that made clear to those viewing it that it was an ad.  This case also highlights that the ASA is likely to view ‘added value’ posts, particularly those sharing the same hallmarks and characteristics as ‘contracted’ posts, as part of the same agreement – and therefore subject to the same labelling requirements.

If it’s not otherwise clear we recommend, as a minimum, that influencer and affiliate marketing related TikToks include a prominent ‘Ad’ label upfront in the content or accompanying caption.  The label mustn’t be hidden or obscured by anything (remember that the captions appear differently in the app than they do in the browser version) and it should not be easily overlooked, too small or the colour too similar to the background – the rules require advertising to be ‘obviously identifiable’, so if your label isn’t clear then your TikTok is unlikely to be obviously identifiable as an ad.

For more detailed guidance on the principles here, see the ‘Influencers’ guide to making clear that ads are ads’.

Make sure you capture the right audience

Targeting is important, particularly for certain types of content and for advertising of certain products like HFSS foods.  The ASA will always expect you to use all of the tools available to target appropriately on any platform and to ensure that you have taken all reasonable steps to avoid your ads being seen by someone who, for example due to their age, shouldn’t.

It is not usually sufficient to rely on self-reported age and you should also take into account the type of content that the ad appears in or around.  Also, as many social media ads can be (and usually are) targeted at a defined set of users, the ASA does not consider an argument that less than 25% of a total platform audience is under-age to be relevant, and expects marketers to be taking all reasonable steps to exclude under-age consumers from the targeted audience.

Always use a CAP Code lens on your advertising content

There are plenty of general and sector-specific rules and prohibitions that apply to different ads and products and these apply equally on TikTok.  Ads should not, amongst other things, materially mislead consumers or cause serious or widespread offence.  Also, ads for foods, drinks or supplements need to make sure any claims are in line with the rules in Section 15.  The same rules apply to both brand marketing and influencer marketing.

If you’re running a competition or prize draw on TikTok, make sure you include the most significant terms and conditions that apply, include a link to the full terms and follow the other rules in Section 8.

Sourced from ASA 

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How to Grow Your Business Using IGTV Marketing

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Looking for a guide to grow your business with IGTV marketing?

Instagram TV (IGTV) can be used by brands to boost their businesses even during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Corporate sales have plunged in the world but there are still chances for your brand to survive. This is easier by using social networks’ marketing features just like IGTV.

Video-sharing platforms are on the rise and almost all social platforms have the ability to share your videos as posts and stories.

In this post, I’m going to introduce IGTV’s usefulness for brands and the ways you can use it to grow your business.

This is particularly useful for the current financial recession we’re suffering in the wake of the coronavirus.

First, it’s good to look at top social media apps/sites/features related to videos to know how different IGTV is. Here are several important video-sharing features on different social networks:

YouTube: The #1 video-sharing platform

YouTube is certainly the top social platform for sharing videos. With up to a whopping 2 billion monthly users, YouTube can provide the greatest audience reach for your video content.

Almost all queries in Google will have several results from YouTube pages. This has made YouTube a great opportunity for video marketing.

This is why many brands try to share their branded videos on YouTube. Learning and entertaining can also be easily provided using both the site and app of YouTube

YouTube video specs

  • Recommended dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p)
  • Video length: up to 15 minutes
  • Aspect ratio: 16:9 (auto adds pillar boxing if 4:3)

It should be noted that you can request for longer video length limitation and wait for YouTube confirmation.

YouTube the number one streaming platform IGTV

TikTok: Fastest-growing video-sharing app

TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing service that has recently hit one of the highest installation rates among social networks.

TikTok has almost 800 million active users and a great majority of them are Gen Z. So it’s the best opportunity for drawing the attention of teenagers.

TikTok video specs

  • File size: up to 287.6MB for iOS users and 72MB for Android users
  • Video length: up to 15 seconds
  • Video dimensions: 1080 x 1920
  • Recommended aspect ratios: 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9

TikTok’s video-sharing feature is now accessible only using smartphones, although its web page will show some popular videos.

TikTok the fastest-growing video-sharing app IGTV

Check out this post if you’re looking for the best TikTok tools.

Facebook: The #1 social media platform

Facebook is undoubtedly the largest social media service with around 2.5 billion users from across the world.

There are different ways of sharing videos on Facebook:

  • Regular videos
  • 360 video
  • In-stream video ads
  • Carousel video ads
  • Cover video

So Facebook has provided marketers with a variety of choices. This is why around two-thirds of US businesses use Facebook’s video advertisements.

Facebook video specs

  • Aspect ratio: 9:16 or 16:9
  • File size: up to 4GB
  • Video length: up to 240 Minutes

Facebook has a whopping 1.6 billion visits each day which makes it unrivaled among all social networks.

Instagram Stories and posts: Best for sharing your moment

Before IGTV, Instagram launched other video-sharing features. Pictures or videos of your moments can easily be shared using regular posts on Instagram.

Instagram regular posts video specs

  • File size: up to 15MB
  • Video length: up to 60 seconds
  • Max video width is 1080 pixels wide

Although this is very short, you can upload several video clips and pictures in a single post.

Instagram Stories and posts best for sharing your moment IGTV

Instagram Stories is also a fantastic feature by which you can share your videos.

Instagram Stories video specs

  • Instagram story dimensions: 1080px by 1920px.
  • Aspect ratio: 9:16
  • Video length: up to 15 seconds
  • File size: up to 4GB

In Stories, you can upload several videos to be displayed as a slide show. Stories will automatically disappear after 24 hours.

quaranti[m]e instgram stories IGTV

Instagram Stories has another type of video feature that is very popular among social users. Live videos are the most authentic means of interacting with users and showing them behind the scenes.

The length of Live videos on Instagram Stories can be up to 1 hour. This feature can be accessed using the Instagram app just by clicking on Your Story.

Why IGTV marketing?

Now that we’ve introduced several famous video sharing features you might ask what differences exist between IGTV and these apps.

Adding new IGTV video

IGTV is actually a separate video sharing application which its main capabilities are accessible using Instagram apps and the web page.

IGTV was first released on the 20th of June 2018 and is now so popular that it is being used in 30 languages.

IGTV video specs

  • Video length (common users): 15 seconds to 10 minutes
  • Video length (larger accounts and verified users): 15 seconds to 60 minutes
  • File size (10-minute videos or less): 650MB
  • File size (60-minute videos): 3.6GB
  • Size of cover photo: 420px by 654px (11.55)
  • File type: .MP4
  • Video size: 9:16
  • Video thumbnail/cover image: .JPG
  • Minimum frame rate: 30 FPS
  • Minimum resolution: 720 pixels

Instagram has also provided some updates on IGTV since its initial release.

For example, from 2019, you can create one-minute previews of your videos to be shown on your profile and your followers’ feed as well.

This will greatly help you to be discovered and encourage your audience to “watch the full video on IGTV”.

Also, one of the best tools Instagram has offered is the “IGTV series feature”. Using this feature you can arrange your content like a collection to be released on a regular basis.

Considering all these features, IGTV marketing is a must in the world of digital and it would be hard to find a good alternative application for it.

IGTV in the world of digital marketing

Tips to use IGTV marketing

Video marketing is now a very competitive means of brand awareness and, therefore, you need to have a plan for it. IGTV marketing is a great option for you to generate more leads and convert them into sales.

Here are several tips which can help you grow your business using IGTV:

1. Define a video style for your brand

A lot of accounts on Instagram are constantly broadcasting content and it might be difficult to get ahead of this competition.

A unique style in content generation can significantly help you make your IGTV videos stand out.

Your tone of voice, background colors, video format, cover photos, and many other things give your IGTV videos a style. If you want to make your audience remember your brand, you need to think of a creative and unique style.

For example, Nivea has made a beautiful theme on its IGTV page just using a minimalistic background and a logo:

2. Republish your live videos using IGTV

Instagram live videos can’t be always so well-organized that your message is conveyed completely and accurately.

Also, not all your audience can watch it online so you need to republish your content to reach maximum views.

IGTV is a good choice for modifying and curating your live videos. Try to record your live videos, edit them, and share them using IGTV to repeat your message.

3. Make announcements by Instagram Stories

You can make an announcement for your IGTV videos by Instagram Stories in order to get maximum exposure.

Actually, many people won’t watch full-time videos because they’re always in a hurry. This is why you need to encourage them somehow.

Try to outline your IGTV videos’ content and share it in Stories to draw the attention of your audience.

You need to create a sense of urgency so that they feel they’ll lose an important thing if they don’t watch your full-time videos.

IGTV tip - make announcements by Instagram Stories

4. Create specific IGTV Series

One of the most important factors in digital marketing is consistency. A regular social presence is a must that will make your audience remember your brand.

This is why many brands use social media schedulers to have an automatic posting procedure. Instagram IGTV videos can also be scheduled using a Series feature.

Fortunately, you can create an IGTV Series in three different ways:

  • Instagram app
  • IGTV app
  • Web page

If you haven’t already created an IGTV Series, you can “Create Your First Series” in all these three ways.

Then, select and add your videos to a specific IGTV Series. Try to define a focused and goal-oriented series to be able to manage them well.

You can also “Post a preview” of your videos to your Instagram feed to promote your IGTV content using 60-second previews.

5. Include influencers in your IGTV plans

Nowadays, one of the most effective techniques for growing businesses on social media is influencer marketing.

Many brands try to promote their social content with the help of influencers. Your IGTV videos can also get maximum views if you collaborate with influencers.

First and foremost, you have to think of finding niche influencers and then choose those who are better content creators. This can bring authenticity and help you appear like a thought leader.

6. Take advantage of user-generated videos

Despite many beneficial aspects of video content, they’re very expensive. You need to set aside a considerable marketing budget along with a lot of time and effort.

One way of reducing expenses is by using your followers’ content. Sharing user-generated content is a good way to have authenticity in content marketing.

You can ask your followers to create videos based on your style and contribute to your page. You can then edit these videos and share them as a separate IGTV Series.

You will get higher rates of engagement and reduce your costs by sharing user-generated videos on IGTV.

7. Cross-promote your IGTV videos on other networks

Apart from promoting IGTV videos using previews and Instagram Stories, you can use cross-promotion with other social services.

First of all, you can “Make Visible on Facebook” to cross-promote your Instagram content, especially IGTV videos on Facebook.

If you want to post your IGTV videos via Facebook you need to go to “Where Your Video Will Appear” and choose IGTV and also your Facebook Page below before clicking on Post.

IGTV tip - cross-promote your IGTV videos on other networks

It’s good to have callouts to your IGTV channel from:

  • Twitter
  • Email newsletters
  • Facebook Page

You can also use “Copy Link” in your IGTV video menu and use the URL anywhere to share the video outside of Instagram.

Last but not least try not to republish YouTube videos on IGTV without editing the format of the videos, because they don’t look quite right!

Final word

I have explained the main aspects of IGTV marketing for your business. Of course, you should try to learn your competitors’ tricks and techniques too. Look out for the types of hashtags, style, video lengths, scheduling, etc. This will help you reach your audience more effectively.

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Guest author: Tom Siani is an online marketing expert with more than 4 years of experience in the digital industry. He is also collaborating with some well-known brands in order to generate traffic, create sales funnels, and increase online sales. He has written a considerable number of articles about social media marketing, brand marketing, blogging, search visibility, etc.

Sourced from jeffbullas.com

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Social Media – How To Choose The Best Platform for your Brand

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Sourced from MEN STYLE FASHION

The digital platform has led to the immense growth of social media. This has led to growth in a lot of areas on the internet including trade, advertisement and marketing. There are so many sites where you can advertise your brand, but which is the right one? It can get very confusing and overwhelming to make such a decision. Although some sites may not need too much investment financially, they can really take up your time.  One effective way to get to know the perfect site is to understand your audience, commodity or services and markets.

Here are some major social site and how they can do for your brand

Facebook

Facebook is a pretty old social media site and is among the most used among all generations. This is the safest choice when you want to market your brand. Statistics show that over 2 billion people across the whole world have active accounts on this platform. They also share videos, audio and other content types.

You can market your brand by creating your own page with your brand name and description. Getting followers on facebook is easy, you just have to send some follow requests to your audience and convince them to share them with their friends and family. Growing the page won’t be that hard also, as stated there is a numerous audience on this platform. Facebook also offers you the tools to target the audience specific to your brand and advertise to them.

facebook

Instagram

One fun fact is that Instagram is that it is owned by facebook. There close to one billion people who are active of this platform and they share posts, pictures, videos and stories. Statistics show that more than half of these people follow at least one brand. This is the best place to advertise your brand or sell your goods and services.

Instagram offers you the ability to showcase your products to your target audience while pinning the location at the same time.  You can use this visual platform to your advantage by personalising your brand and making it different from the rest.  You can also get followers who have a specific interest for your brand. There are some few methods you can use to give your brand more notice. You can choose to use the hashtag strategy, tag other followers in your posts or even pay for story advertisements.

If you’ve only created your Instagram business account, there is another way to get more followers. You can choose to engage different people through likes, comments or if you don’t have time you can get auto comment for your Instagram posts and let it do the work for you.

instagram

Twitter

Although this platform is more social than marketable, it can work as a real great advertisement.  For the most part, twitter is a platform for trending news, updates and opinions on everything.  Users on twitter follow accounts they would like updates on.  Your update is restricted to a number of updates, making it pretty short and precise.

The good thing is, you can use the hashtag to categorise your content with key words about your brand and what you have to offer.  Twitter will need you to be more engaged with your audience. You will need to tweet several times daily in order to reach a certain number of audiences, or just a target.  Most twitter users are critics and tend to be college educated, not every brand will pass in this platform.

Linked in

It is estimated that one person in every 4 or 5 social media users owns an account in linked in. It is probably not as popular as other platforms, but is a great marketing platform.  It is used equally by both genders and is a great platform for marketing any form of resume or job.  You can use this to find employees or get new jobs.

linked in

YouTube

This is one of the most popular social media platforms across the whole world.  You tube has an active user list of more than 1 billion users. It is estimated that most people who won social media account spend one third of the activities online watching videos on YouTube.  This is the widest platform when it comes to different cultures and languages. There are close to 80 different languages on this platform.

The advertisement and marketing opportunities in this social platform is outstanding.  Most people who own accounts on YouTube use it to promote themselves, and some products.  The audience is both old and young making it convenient for most types of products.

Pinterest

Like Instagram, this platform is mainly a visual platform.  One amazing fact is that Pinterest is preferred by more female compared to male. This means that if you want to use for marketing, you have to ensure your brand suits the target market.  This platform is also thought to likely to convert your marketing into a purchase compared to other social media accounts.  One amazing feature on this platform is that you can pin the purchase product on your photo and the buyer will get direct access.

Snapchat

I think we all agree that snapchat is the least expected for marketing, branding and business. At first, it was more appealing to teenagers and younger generations.  The application has very fun features and filters which draw the younger generations.  It has an outstanding 300 million users. It offers you a creative and fun way to advertise your products and services.  The filters are ever changing, making it exiting and alluring for the young.

Manage several platforms

Keep in mind that social media platforms are ever changing and require you to make changes as you go. Instead of advertising your brand in one platform, you can use the opportunity to your advantage by creating accounts with your brand in all these platforms. Ensure you have an idea of what brand will work well for the target audience before putting it out there.  If you are too busy, autolike applications or social media managers can do the work for you.

snapchat

Sourced from MEN STYLE FASHION

 

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