If you got through this month without throwing your phone in frustration and saying “WHY, INSTAGRAM, WHY?” then we’re extremely jealous because our Instagram manager has been complaining for the past few weeks about countless updates, Instagram Story Cameras disappearing, app crashes, and more. Phew! Besides all of that, most of Instagram’s updates in June revolved around safety, especially with the recent Supreme Court opinions.
What does all of this mean?
Instagram has updated sensitive content guidelines, parental supervision for accounts, and are testing both an age verification and Amber Alert system through the app. None of these REALLY affect us as authors, but if your book is on a controversial subject, you may find your posts getting less reach and engagement. In addition, Instagram has cracked down on removing audios that are copyright in certain areas, so it’s highly possible you received a message saying your video has been deleted (even if the video remained, the audio was gone.)
Important Account Status Update
If you received a warning about an audio that you used that was likely trending at the time, don’t panic and think your account will get deleted. It’s not likely, but it is possible. The good news is, you can check your account status and see if you have any negatives against you. While you’re there, you can also download ALL of your Instagram data, too! It’s amazing. This actually gives you files with all of your followers and following, etc. This can help you reuse content that was popular or to keep a list of your followers to reference if you start a new account.
As of June 2022, the following are the most effective ways to use the app and see consistent results:
Use Instagram’s New Features
New features include the Avatar feature (best used when sharing someone else’s content to your story and you react), Reaction stickers (similar to the avatar), and the LINK sticker in Stories. This feature has been around for awhile, but it really is one of the most beneficial ways of getting people to directly click to buy your book.
Caption Your Videos
We talked about accessibility and captioning your videos last month. This month, we found a really COOL way to caption your videos. First, we want to mention that this is not the most accessible way of captioning your videos. If you want true accessibility, you’re going to want your captions to be white text on a black background, like closed captioning is. However, if you want to be inclusive and still “creative,” there are two other ways to add captions.
First, open your Reel like you will be recording,and go into the filters. Search “Captions” you’ll be able to pick from one of those filters. Record your video like normal, and the captions will appear after you record. We do not know if ALL the filters work, but Comic Captions, Mumble Captions, and Bubble Captions do.
You can also access these after recording your video if you forgot. Just like before, you go into the filters and search captions. It may not pick up all of your words if you haven’t spoken clearly.
Reels & Trends to Try This Month:
Use a Reel Template – If you are scrolling through reels and see “Use Template,” try it out! It will tell you exactly how long each video clip should be to fit the audio / template created. Use this with pre-recorded content or photos. It is a great way to get your content to line up and look more professional if you aren’t the best video editor.
Everything is Content – Use this audio to literally film anything going on in your author world. Researching, typing, marketing, etc. Check out a video that Raewyn did with this sound.
Here’s a few examples of trending audio we’ve enjoyed:
I have a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea.
What’s something you’ll get a lot of hate for if you say it out loud?
Want to uplevel your IG reels game? Grab an IG Reels planner, designed by our IG manager, Raewyn!
