Social Media News: New Branded Content Ads, Instagram Message Management for Creators and Lyrics in Stories

New Branded Content Ads will see Influencers in Instagram feeds (even if you’re not following them). iTunes shuts down their social media accounts and sneak peeks of message management for Instagram creator accounts. Here’s the latest in social media news.

New Branded Content Ads Mean Influencers Will be in Your Feeds – Even if You’re Not Following Them

In breaking news this week, Instagram announced the rollout of Branded Content Ads. Essentially, this new ad format will allow accounts to promote an Influencer’s sponsored posts.

For now, Branded Content Ads will appear in the Instagram feed, with Stories rolling out over the next few months.

So how do you spot these new ads? “Paid Partnership” will be displayed in the banner text for these ads. Instagram has notoriously received backlash for not being transparent about sponsored posts. So, the new Branded Content Ads will clear the confusion.

So, what does this mean for your clients?

• If your clients are working with Influencers, make it known in your terms that their posts could potentially be used as Branded Content Ads
• If your clients are Influencers, get them up to date on what Branded Content Ads mean for them (i.e. they could potentially be placed in the feeds of people who know nothing about them)

Instagram Tests Message Management for Creator Accounts

As discovered by technology blogger, Jane Manchun Wong, Instagram is working behind the scenes to make message management easier for creator accounts.

Though it’s not known when this feature will roll out to all accounts, there are a few key areas that spike our interest.

You can move messages in bulk across ‘Primary’ and ‘General’ folders. This will be particularly useful for Social Media Managers when categorising the nature of messages.

Image Source: Jane Manchun Wong

For example, the primary folder could be a place for potential customer accounts. While the general folder could hold messages between your client and other accounts they’re working at building relationships with.

Deleting in bulk is also a handy feature, allowing accounts to remove irrelevant conversations from the message feed while also streamlining your inbox.

Apple Deletes Facebook and Instagram Content for the iTunes Account

Having dominated the online music world for 18 full years, iTunes appears to be calling it a day. No more podcast listening, TV show watching or movie downloading.

Is this the end of online streaming apps? Or are we making way for new advancements in the music world?

Well, we can say this much. A trifecta of apps will replace iTunes. Apple Music, TV and Podcasts.

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If your social media management clients sell music on iTunes, it’s important that you let them know about this shocking change.

Better yet:

• Keep up with how uploading on these new platforms will work
• Research whether any new assets will be needed before creating a new account
• Begin brainstorming relaunch strategies

Facebook Stories Explores Sticker Shortcuts

In the surprising revelation that Facebook Stories are, in fact, widely used, Facebook appears to be testing shortcuts for stickers.

This will make it easier than ever for brands and marketers to capture key insights about their audiences across platforms.

Image Source: Matt Navarra

Using Stickers on Facebook Stories is particularly useful when comparing insights with Instagram.

Since it’s always best to adapt content across platforms, the quick additions to your stories will help to learn more about what your audience on each platform truly wants.

Lyrics are now available on the Music sticker

Today Instagram announced that it is bringing lyrics to the Music sticker. When you add a Music sticker to your Stories, if the lyrics are available for that song, you will be able to choose different fonts and designs for them and add them to your Story. More details about how it works here.

Facebook Page Admins Can Now Store Contact Details for Users

We thought Facebook’s new ‘Book Appointment’ feature was pretty spiffy. But the new Contact feature raises the bar again. Facebook Page admins can now store:

• Phone Numbers
• Email Addresses
• A Potential Customer’s Date of Birth
• Address

You can also add labels and notes to the account and record a log of activity within the tab. This includes things like past appointments.

Facebook is now making it easier than ever to conduct business within the app. Use this feature to capture important information for your records. Perhaps scheduled Messenger Video Meetings are next on the cards.

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What’s New at Sked Social

Here at Sked, we’re committed to bringing you useful content that genuinely helps your Social Media Management processes. We hope to save you time, upskill you and make your life easier.

This week we brought you a complete guide on how to save Instagram photos on PC or Mac.

So, how is it done? Well, there are four main ways to save Instagram photos from your computer:

• Take a screenshot
• Search via page source
• Use Sked Social’s Chrome extension
• Save your own Instagram photos

Check out the piece to see if you’re using the most efficient method, best suited to you.

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