Welcome to Edition No. 7 of my weekly digital strategy newsletter, providing practical analysis of the latest in the world of content creation. Due to my broken laptop, which I finally got back last night, last week’s edition was late and this week’s will not feature an in-depth analysis. I hope to be back to full speed next week, and I apologize for any inconvenience.
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Contents
I. News: The Ideal Video Length on Social Networks
II. Tip: TikTok Trending Tips
News
HOOTSUITE STUDY ON IDEAL VIDEO LENGTHS BY SOCIAL NETWORK
Here are the results by platform:
Instagram
1 minute for publications
15 seconds for stories
15-60 seconds for Reels
Facebook: Less than 1 minute
TikTok: 7-15 seconds
Twitter: 44 seconds
YouTube: 2 minutes
LinkedIn: 30 seconds
Snapchat: 7 seconds
Pinterest: 6-15 seconds
Take these with a grain of salt, of course. Don’t shorten awesome content just for the sake of getting under these “limits.” And more importantly, don’t lengthen something just to get in the right range, either.
UPDATES & TESTS
Beta experiment: Twitter Shops. “…merchants can handpick a collection of up to 50 products to showcase to shoppers on Twitter.” It’s also free to use.
In other news, you can now swipe between the algorithm-based feed and the chronological one on the app.
The launch of Creator Lab: “We asked some of our favorite creators to share what they've learned on their path to success, so you can figure out your own.”
Includes “Express yourself”, “Build community” and “Grow long-term” sections.
Also, Hyperlapse and Boomerang are no longer available as standalone apps, following the removal of IGTV last week.
Meta
Facebook Group admins have new features available, including auto-reject or -accept member requests, and the ability to pre-block posts that contain misinformation.
“Find the Top Skills for Almost Any Role with This New Tool”
Substack
The platform I use for writing this newsletter now has an app.
Weekly Tip
Get Inspired with TikTok Trends
Don’t know what to post to TikTok? In the Discover tab, you can find trending hashtags, sounds and effects, for example, that you can use for your post.
By piggybacking on what’s already trending, your post will be more likely to show up in the feeds of other users, especially those who don’t follow you.
One way to supercharge this would be to combine different trends. Let’s say you work for the Guinness social media team, and a top hashtag is #StPatricksDay while a trending sound is “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande.
You could post a TikTok of a leprechaun crying over a spilled Guinness, and at the moment the song says “save your tears for another day,” someone hands the leprechaun a full pint of freshly tapped Guinness.
There you have a potentially funny and engaging piece of content that also incorporates two trop trends, well on your way to a viral TikTok.
And remember, try to keep it between 7-15 seconds.
Provided I don’t drop my laptop again between now and next Friday, the following edition will return to its normal, meatier portion. It will be coming to you from Stuttgart, Germany, where Gina and I will be visiting her brother’s family.
Have a great weekend.
-Brad
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