We love it when the social media giants play with their toys, and Facebook-owned Instagram is the latest platform to fiddle around with its features – so to speak. From 30th August, some users will no longer be able to use the swipe up call to action on Stories, because it’s being replaced with a Link Sticker. 

We know, we know, not every change is either welcome or required, but bear with us and we’ll talk you through what the changes could mean. 

First of all, not everyone had the swipe-up facility, it was only available to verified businesses and creators or those who met the required follower count limit (eg the much-hallowed 10,000). 

Second, we reckon the Link Sticker will give Stories creators more control. You can change the size and style and – most niftily – you can stick your Link Sticker anywhere you like in the Story. 

The goodies keep on coming too, because unlike with the swipe up system, the Link Sticker allows users to react and reply to posts that carry it, boosting your engagement with a click. 

The Link Stickers will join others for donations, music and polls that already exist on the Stories platform, but don’t worry if you don’t get access to them straight away. 

Instagram is, understandably, concerned that if it hands them out to the world and his wife, there’ll be someone who spoils it for everyone by using Link Stickers to spread misinformation and whatnot. Back of the class for that ‘orrible lot. 

If the platform does decide to go the whole hog and share them universally, it could be the first step toward creating even more access to link-sharing in Stories, and the business possibilities for that would be well… almost limitless. 

For now, we’ll keep an eye on Instagram and its Link Stickers, and let you know whether they boost traffic and engagement. 

We’re 24 fingers, a digital marketing agency and a proud member of the 42 Club, Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Excel Business Networking Group, the Trusted Business Community, the Organisation for Responsible Businesses and the Rotary Club of Brentwood à Becket. We help companies who are all fingers and thumbs with their social media grow their business and brand. Book your free strategy call here

If social media was a soap, we think it would be Dallas: impossibly wealthy warring clans constantly trying to get the upper hand on each other (though maybe without all the big hair and shoulderpads). That’s certainly the case with Facebook, which has unveiled some of its new tools for the future, after Apple’s latest move on data privacy.

In case you haven’t been watching, (we’ve all been a bit distracted by Gareth Southgate’s lads – come ON England) Apple is working on a little something called App Tracking Transparency, which makes all app data tracking an opt-in choice for consumers.

Facebook doesn’t like it, but rather than cat-fighting in a fountain or stepping out of the shower and saying it’s all a dream, it’s decided to go with the flow and get creative.

Dan Levy, VP Ads & Business Products said in a blog post that Facebook is trialling an option in News Feeds that allows users to tap to browse content from businesses on topics such as beauty, fitness, or clothing, as well as “explore content from related businesses”.

The platform is also looking to improve where adverts are placed, based on the content users are watching – so if you’re hooked on a travel video, you’ll see ads for hotels.

More importantly for small businesses, Facebook is working on a new badge specifically for us micro heroes that will be visible under the main ad field. It aims to capitalise on consumer demand to support smaller, local brands. Amen to that, we say.

Levy said there are also changes afoot for Facebook Marketplace, as shop and product listings are set to be expanded using the topic/business discovery feeds, and that Shops listings will be extended to Marketplace.

Alongside all that, Facebook Pay tools will be enhanced to make the buying process as seamless as possible.

It might not be as dastardly as JR, but you can’t take your eyes off Facebook for long, as it can sometimes make big changes walloping brands that have come to depend on a particular level of referral traffic or business from its tools.

And when it happens, we’ll be the first to let you know.

We’re 24 fingers, a digital marketing agency and a proud member of the 42 Club, Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Excel Business Networking Group, the Trusted Business Community, the Organisation for Responsible Businesses and the Rotary Club of Brentwood à Becket. We help companies who are all fingers and thumbs with their social media grow their business and brand. Book your free strategy call here.

The world of social media never stands still, not for one second. It’s part of the reason we love it, but the speed of change can take some business owners by surprise. Take the international launch of Instagram Reels ads, for instance. 

Reels has only been around since August 2020, but it’s already expanded to include features including Insights, Remix and Live, all so it can keep up with rival platforms (we’re looking at you TikTok). 

It migth all be enough to make your head spin but the addition of ads to Reels is a sweet opportunity for business owners to widen their audience and expand their reach. 

Instagram Reels ads look just like any other post, so they’re looping videos, full screen and run for up to 30 seconds. The slight difference is they will have a “sponsored” tag below the advertiser’s account name, so anyone viewing it will be aware it’s an ad. 

The global launch follows testing in Australia, India, Brazil and Germany, and there may be tweaks as it goes along, as Instagram’s Adam Mosseri said the firm was not 100% happy with the format. Luckily for them, we’re always on our toes at 24 fingers and ready for the next change social media throws at us. 

We’re 24 fingers, a digital marketing agency and a proud member of the 42 Club, Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Excel Business Networking Group, the Trusted Business Community, the Organisation for Responsible Businesses and the Rotary Club of Brentwood à Becket. We help companies who are all fingers and thumbs with their social media grow their business and brand. Book your free strategy call here.

Blur vs Oasis. Microsoft vs Apple. Coke vs Pepsi. They are among some of the greatest rivalries the world has ever known. Now you can add Instagram Reels Insights vs TikTok. 

Trust the kids to show the old hands how to make the most of the rapidly evolving social media landscape. Instagram has been playing catch-up with its Chinese-owned rival for months, rolling out feature after feature to woo users and business owners. 

The Reels feature was great for in-app shopping, but when it came to breaking down who was doing what, where and when, Instagram users were left twiddling their thumbs and shuffling their feet, while TikTokers lapped up data about their types of traffic sources, performance by geographic location and videos’ average watch time. 

Now, the Facebook-owned site has enhanced its Reels tool with Insights, allowing users to access crucial information such as Accounts Reached, Saves and Shares for their Reels, as well as being able to share the number of Peak Concurrent Viewers watching their Live videos. 

Even better, in Instagram’s Account Insights section, there will be all kinds of goodies to analyse, including the kinds of accounts users are reaching, and which content formats produce the most engagement. 

The rivalry between the two platforms has been great for business users and the development of Instagram Reels Insights is no exception, but it won’t be the last. Expect more changes as TikTok announced it is set to partner with specific brands in a trial of in-app sales.

Will Instagram follow suit, or beat them to the punch? Stay tuned to our blog posts to find out. 

We’re 24 fingers, a digital marketing agency and a proud member of the 42 Club, Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Excel Business Networking Group, the Trusted Business Community, the Organisation for Responsible Businesses and the Rotary Club of Brentwood à Becket. We help companies who are all fingers and thumbs with their social media grow their business and brand. Book your free strategy call here.

God loves a tryer, so they say, and they don’t come much bigger than Google. It’s dominated the world of search so completely, it’s hard for any single company to even think about giving it a run for its money. But Pinterest is giving it a damn good try. 

It’s evolved from its early incarnation of a pin-board site into a sophisticated, smart platform that has more than earned its e-commerce stripes, turning engaging and eye-catching content into shoppable products for discerning customers and bringing marketers flocking to its door. 

Understandably, Google isn’t taking the competition lying down and has launched Keen, a web and Android app that offers users a “place to grow and share your interests with loved ones”, according to a blog post from its creator, CJ Adams. 

“You say what you want to spend more time on, and then curate content from the web and people you trust to help make that happen,” Adams wrote. “You make a ‘keen’ which can be about any topic, whether it’s baking delicious bread at home (Ed’s note: sourdough, anyone?), getting into birding or researching typography. Keen lets you curate the content you love, share your collection with others and find new content based on what you have saved.”

If you’re thinking it sounds a LOT like Pinterest, we’d say you’d be right, but there is a little more clout to Keen. It draws on the might of Google Search and the latest in machine learning to identify content related to users’ interests – something that could potentially be very useful for marketers. 

Keen isn’t the first crack Google has taken at Pinterest, in fact it’s been rolling out tools and features mimicking the platform for almost two years. Whether it’s genuinely hit on something this time around only time will tell, but we’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on this new kid on the social media block. 

Are you a devoted Pinterest lover looking to hook up with more social media platforms? Drop us a line at 24 fingers and let us play Cupid.  

As a business owner, time is as precious a commodity as money, and combining both to the best effect when creating ads can sometimes feel like trying to turn water into wine. To make sure you end up with a lip-smacking Chablis rather than a vin de table you wouldn’t use as petrol, here’s our top 10 creative apps to make your content sparkle, as recommended by Facebook. 

Ripl

They say: Layer animated templates on top of photos

We say: This creative app not only makes videos from your own photos (so you get the shot you actually want), it’s customisable, can be linked to all your social media accounts and enables scheduled posting. What’s not to love?

Videoshop

They say: Combine photos and videos, experiment with stop- motion, resize and edit videos

We say: Embrace your inner Steven Spielberg with this smart editing tool. Add your own soundtrack or sound effects, include subtitles or merge several videos into one, and then share them across your social media contacts. 

Unfold

They say: Create stories with multiple photos

We say: If you want to give your ads and videos a sophisticated edge, then look no further. Unfold offers a range of cool templates and curated fonts. There are filters and effects too, but think Vogue rather than Snapchat. 

Mojo

They say: Create stories from video templates

We say: It’s the only one on our list that’s NOT Android compatible, but the easy-to-download, customisable creative app comes with more than 50 templates and text styles. They’re updated every month, so your content will always have a fresh feel. Like the others, you can share your creations to all social media platforms. 

Adobe Spark Post

They say: Transform photos with design and animation templates

We say: Even if you’ve never held a video camera in your life, you can make smart ads using your own photos or animated stickers from GIPHY. There’s a range of customisation options available, so you can play around and find the effect that best suits your business. Boooooom.

Adobe Photoshop Mix

They say: Cut and combine images

We say: Once you’ve mastered Spark Post, this is probably your next step. You can cut out and mash-up bits of different images, as well as blend layers and apply looks, whether you’re using an Apple or Android device. Excitingly, the app also integrates with Adobe Creative Cloud, giving you access to tools including Photoshop and Lightroom. 

Boomerang

They say: Create short looping videos

We say: There is so much fun to be had with this Instagram app, once you get started you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Simply film a moving object or take a video selfie, then hit one button and the software does the rest: creating a mini looped video from 10 photos that you can share on Facebook and Instagram. 

Plotaverse

They say: Add motion to still images

We say: WOW. There’s no other word for the stunning effects this app can help you create. It’s all about stopping social media users in their scrolling tracks with the hypnotic movements in ads using this app. If you’re looking for something completely different, this is it. 

Quik

They say: Animate your photos to music

We say: Well isn’t this nifty? You can combine up to 75 of your own images or video clips with your favourite tunes (or over 100 free songs from the app) and voila – instant shareable content. It’s customisable with text overlays, you can choose from 23 themes and it automatically turns on the audio when it hears voices. Smart. 

Facebook Ads Manager

They say: An all-in-one tool for advertisers of any experience level. 

We say: So, you’ve made your content, but now what? If you’re looking to run a campaign across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or Audience Network, then this is a good place to start. There’s help with everything from creating ad campaigns to monitoring how they’re faring.

But don’t worry. If it all looks a bit complicated, book a discovery call with us at 24 fingers and we’ll guide you every step of the way. 

It’s a familiar story for parents of tweens and teenagers. You don’t see them for hours, their mobile’s gone missing and all you can hear are strange shufflings and strangled cries from their bedroom. You know what’s happening. They know what’s happening. But everyone’s too embarrassed to say anything.

Then, one day it finally happens: you walk in and plume de ma tante, you catch them in the middle of making a video. Of course we’re talking about the latest social media sensation, TikTok.

TikTok, for those who aren’t the proud/perplexed owners of an aforementioned yoof, was launched in 2016 by Chinese firm Bytedance and is home to millions of 15-second video clips. Imagine the lovechild of Vine, Twitter and Instagram and you’ll get a fairly close idea of what it looks like. But can it be used for business? Oh you betcha…

Getting to know you

We advise treating a new social media platform like a house you’re thinking of buying – have a good nosy in every nook and cranny you can find. Then, once you’ve set up your profile you can start creating content, whether it’s the standard 15-second clip or stringing a bunch together for a 60-second video, and begin building your all-important audience. Don’t be shy now…

TikTok’s super user-friendly and while it might be dominated (at the moment) by hoodie-sporting Generation Zedders, even those who are a bit longer in the tooth can quickly get to grips with its clever tools that will have you creating smart, entertaining content in a jiffy (or giffy depending on how you pronounce it).

Hashtags aren’t just for Instagram

TikTok’s handy Discover page lists the current most popular hashtags, so piggybacking trends is as easy as terrifying a teen by asking them to do the washing up.

You can also use hashtags to attract audiences to your products or business. They’re a great way to invite other TikTok users to post videos of themselves lip-synching to a song that has strong links to your campaign

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Ads you say?

There’s always a possibility that you’ll stumble across your teenager chucking out some shapes to the latest Britney Spears/One Direction/Bon Jovi hit (Ed’s note: gone old school, I see) while scrolling through TikTok, but you’ll also be pleased to hear the platform supports four kinds of ads.

Infeed native content will be familiar if you’ve used Snapchat or Instagram story ads. TikTok’s are full screen, skippable and should last between nine and 15 seconds. Brand takeovers do what they say on the tin: they let a brand create images, GIFs, and videos for the day, and links to landing pages or to hashtag challenges can also be embedded in the app.

Hashtag takeovers are similar but potentially more exciting, as you can offer an end goal or prize for anyone taking part and who doesn’t love a good giveaway? Finally, there are branded lenses: think Snapchat or Instagram filters that are good for a giggle.

Keep it casual

If Instagram is the Kim Kardashian of social media, all contoured cheekbones and cling-filmed hips to project an image of smoothed perfection, then TikTok is a bestubbled, beer-bellied bricklayer showing off an unhealthy inch of builder’s bum. Entertaining it very may well be, but polished it is NOT.

But that’s okay, particularly for business owners and here are three great reasons:

1. TikTok can show customers a side of you or your business they rarely/never see
2. You can use entertaining TikTok template videos, such as Yup/No to explode a myth or underscore a truth
3. TikTok videos can be a practice ground for more sophisticated ads on other platforms – it’s a place where failing can actually be helpful

Don’t forget, you can share your TikTok content on other platforms, so a 15-second video that probably took very little effort to create, can earn you views, likes, shares and potential new customers across the rest of social media.

So there you have it. What your teenager gets up to in the privacy of their sock-and-pant filled pit could give you another, fun way to market your business. Just knock LOUDLY before you go in and ask for tips, okay..?

Want to know more about using TikTok for business? Come talk to us at 24 fingers. Bustin’ a move to Lady Gaga optional.