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Christine Gritmon Inc. 9/18/19 Christine Gritmon Inc. 9/18/19

19: Creators gonna create

Major Facebook Creator Studio announcements (including Instagram scheduling!); Facebook Chat posts; Portal TV; YouTube profile cards out trolls; LinkedIn skill verification.

You all know you want #slofies of my dog, don’t even front…

LOTS of news about Facebook Creator Studio announced at the International Broadcasting Convention:

New tools and metrics for Live, Watch Parties, Creator Studio
Facebook Live “Rehearsal” mode
Live video trimming
Live video duration extended from four hours to eight
Multistream broadcasting (simulcast to different platforms)
Pre-scheduling to Instagram and IGTV via Creator Studio
Expanded language options for auto-captioning
New video metrics for Distribution, Watch Party viewership, and Loyalty
Enhanced Watch Party branding, metrics, and sharing

Facebook is testing a new Chat post type to launch private group chats, much like the recently-introduced Chat sticker in Instagram Stories.

Facebook’s new Portal TV set-top box device functions as a broadcast system - like Firestick or Roku - as well as a webcam.

YouTube trolls beware: they’re testing a Profile Card feature that will publicly display your comment history.

LinkedIn has introduced Skill Assessment tests in order to support users’ claimed talents with validation badges for those scoring in the top 70th percentile or above.

#MidweekMinute 7/10/19: Monetization and anti-bully-ization

Facebook pays creators (and skims a little off the top); Instagram anti-bullying action; IG engagement down.

I hope Tom from MySpace has a blast at the White House Social Media Summit… 🙄

Facebook has made several video-monetization-related announcements this week: new video ad placement options, better tools for creators to manage monetization, tweaks to the beta subscription program (including Facebook now taking a cut of that revenue from creators), and enhanced tools for matching up brands and collaborators.

Instagram ups its anti-bullying functions by warning you if a comment could be considered inflammatory (like a digital conscience!) and allowing you to restrict certain users from seeing your content.

Business users report a significant decline in Instagram engagement rates (perhaps a lot of that engagement was coming from bullies?…).

Join me on LinkedIn Live every Wednesday at 4 pm ET for a fuller explanation of each of these stories and what they mean for you.

LinkedIn Live Replay:

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FAQ: Video length

Is “more” always more when it comes to video?

There’s a ton of advice out there on best practices for video length on various platforms. Here are some quick stats by platform:

Facebook (pre-recorded): 2 minutes

Facebook Live: at least 10 minutes; 15 minutes is a sweet spot

Instagram: 30 seconds

Twitter: 30-45 seconds

YouTube: 2 minutes

But stats are just that: stats. My advice is ALWAYS to explore what your own audience responds to, what works best to tell your content’s story, and, above all, what you actually want to do.

Christine Gritmon Inc. 7/28/17 Christine Gritmon Inc. 7/28/17

Social: How To Make Great Videos!

My friends The Nerdy Duo Productions - aka Melissa & Erin - know how to make great videos.
They also know why other people keep making crappy videos.
In this weeks episode of Social they share some basic tips on making your social media videos better.

My friends The Nerdy Duo Productions - aka Melissa & Erin - know how to make great videos.
They also know why other people keep making crappy videos. They gave us some of their best tips on today's #cgsocial.

PLANNING

Whether you're using professional equipment or doing a basic Facebook Live with your iPhone, know where your video's going (and the best aspect ratio for it) and what you're using to film it. You can also manually adjust the settings on your phone or computer camera in advance of your broadcast.

If you can't plan beforehand, plan afterwards: take stock of what you did, what worked, and what you can improve for next time.

LIGHTING

From cheap clamp lights from Home Depot bounced off a dollar store car windshield shade, to a full lighting setup, remember: in video, if they can't see you, what's the point?

SOUND

Don't trust the microphone on your phone or computer. Better microphones are cheap and easy.

SUPPORT

Don't hold your camera; your hands aren't as steady as you think they are. Tripods are inexpensive, and some can even fit in your purse!

I put together a whole wonderful, juicy set of equipment links - and then Squarespace decided to delete it. So... that sounds like a new post for Monday! I will post about it, I promise!