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It’s National Vanilla 🧁 Cupcake Day, Reader! I think we all deserve at least one today. Do you like to twist the bottom off and then stick it on top so you have a cupcake sandwich, too? 😃

In today’s edition:

• Today's 👉 Tip of the Day is for short-form video

• Create More Quality Reels in Less ⏳ Time

• Google Performance Max ads expands with 🖼️🖼️🖼️ generative AI

• Frictionless Amazon 🛒 shopping and 💲 checkout on Instagram and Facebook

• ❗Coming soon: ❌ turn off read receipts in Instagram DMs

• Meta confirms generative AI advertising 🚫 restrictions

• TikTok announces 10 🏅 official marketing agency 🤝 partners

Social media moves fast, and it can feel impossible to keep up. How can you possibly create fresh, engaging content daily across multiple platforms?

Produce Videos Designed for Repurposing

As you develop the idea for each video you’re going to record, outline each video with:

• A 30-second hook

• 3 main talking points

• A call-to-action outro

This format allows you to easily break every video into shorter clips for Reels, TikTok, and Shorts.

Today's tip is inspired by Amber Figlow.

Want to publish more Instagram Reels without recording every day? Here’s a workflow to help and it works whether you’re one person or work with a team.

Once you're set-up, each step takes 1–2 hours each week.

Batch 8 to 10 Instagram Reels Each Week

First, pick a productivity tool and set up a board that's dedicated to Instagram production. Next, create six columns for the batch-creation process. Every time you have a content idea, a card gets created in the Ideas column. Then, as the idea moves through your production process, that card moves along the columns:

• Ideas

• To Create

• Recorded

• To Edit

• To Schedule/Post

• Posted

Day 1: Research and Detail Instagram Reels Ideas

Now it's time to brainstorm ideas! You should have a clear audience for every content idea because different audiences need different content.

New viewers prefer short videos that speak to current trends. Clips of footage with overlaid text are great for introducing new audiences to your brand.

Existing followers prefer long-form videos and personal stories. They already know about your brand. Now they want to build a relationship with you.

If you're struggling, start by researching TikTok and Instagram Reels. Look at the current trends, popular formats, and content topics from competitors in your niche. Try to pick trends that speak to you personally, and think about how you can adapt each one to your unique industry, business, and tone of voice. 

Pro Tip: If you're inspired by an existing video, always summarize and link to it when you describe the idea in Asana or Trello. It's an important reference and you'll never find that exact video again through search. 

Next, prompt an AI tool with your role, audience, topic, and how your audience will benefit from your offer. Then ask the AI generator to list some frequently asked questions or objections to purchase, and then suggest answers to them.

Finally, you can even use Google Search to learn more about your audience and the content they need. Type any question into Google, then scroll until you see the section labeled "People Also Ask." It's free, instant keyword research, with 10–20 longtail keywords and questions that you can use for content ideas. 

Day 2: Plan and Script Your Instagram Reels

Each week, look through the cards in your Ideas column and pick the best ones. Now, before you film, you'll need to flesh those ideas out. 

There are three steps to developing a content idea:

• Plan. Decide what the video should include.

• Script. Write a script for yourself. This can be anything from a quick reminder of talking points to a fully scripted speech.

• Adapt to your niche. Make any adjustments to tone, content, and style to suit your audience. 

For example, let's say you're making a classic talking-head video to sell an eCommerce product.

• At the planning stage, you decide which product to cover and how you're going to film it. 

• At the scripting stage, you write down a hook, the key points you want to make, and a call to action.

• Finally, you check this plan against your branding and tone of voice. 

Once an idea is fully fleshed out, you can move the card into the To Create column.

Day 3: Film Your Instagram Reels

Welcome to the fun part: batch-filming your Instagram Reels! Remember this one key point: all you're doing right now is filming. No editing, no scheduling—just filming. 

Once you've filmed all of your videos for the week, spend a few minutes capturing B-roll footage of your office, products, and daily life. Over time, you'll build up an invaluable library of footage that helps you create content even faster.

As soon as each video is complete, save the clip to your phone. Drop a copy of the file into the relevant Asana or Trello card. If the file size is too large, upload it to the cloud and add a link to the card.

Finally, move the card into the Recorded column. Then, move the video you want to post soon into the To Edit column.

Day 4: Edit Instagram Reels

Just like brainstorming, scripting, and filming, you can do all of your video editing in a single weekly sprint. If you work with a team, they should be able to access the files through your productivity software. If you work solo, then you'll already have all of the video files saved to your phone. 

Here's a basic list of what to include in video editing:

• Check for sound quality. If necessary, you can re-record audio over the top.

• Add any background audio you want to use. 

• Edit the footage to remove any filler or dead time.

• Add B-roll footage to make the video more visually engaging.

• Add subtitles for accessibility. 

• Create a cover image for the Reel on Instagram.

• Write a caption for the Reel on Instagram.

When you're happy with the video and all of the supplementary material has been created, move the card to the To Schedule/Post column.

Day 5: Schedule and Post Instagram Reels

Many people like to schedule or post their Reels as soon as they're edited. It's up to you whether you schedule posts at the same time as batch-editing them, or divide this into a separate task for another day. It all depends on your workload and working style.

Now you can move these videos to the Posted column. This helps you repeat successful ideas and avoid accidental duplicates.

Today's advice is provided with insights from Elise Darma.

Wondering How to Improve Your Marketing?

Here are three ways Social Media Marketing World can help:

Get immediate feedback: Connecting in person helps foster stronger relationships. Talk with peers and share your ideas to get immediate feedback and discover new viewpoints.

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Renew your energy: Getting out of the daily grind and immersing yourself in a space filled with like-minded professionals can help recharge your energy and enthusiasm.

Isn't it time to check this off your wishlist?

🗞 Generative AI for Google Performance Max Ads: Performance Max currently uses AI to optimize ad campaigns across Google's inventory like Search, YouTube, and Maps. The addition of generative AI will allow marketers to easily create and scale new text, image, and video assets for their campaigns by providing simple text prompts. Google AI will then create relevant headlines, descriptions, and images tailored to their business. Performance data will inform asset suggestions to improve ad relevance. Image editing tools will also let brands refine both existing and AI-generated assets. Google says generated assets will be visibly watermarked and labeled as AI-created. Policies and guard rails will aim to prevent inappropriate or policy-violating content. After reviewing, advertisers can add assets to campaigns directly through Performance Max. The generative AI features will launch in beta to all U.S. advertisers by the end of 2022. Google hopes this democratizes access to high-quality, customized ad creatives powered by the latest AI advancements. Source: Google Ad and Commerce Blog

🗞 Shopping on Instagram and Facebook With Amazon: Meta is partnering with Amazon to allow customers to directly purchase products advertised on Facebook and Instagram without leaving the apps. Users can link their Meta and Amazon accounts in a one-time setup. After linking accounts, customers can check out advertised Amazon products within the Facebook or Instagram ad using their saved Amazon payment and shipping information. The feature provides Meta with more ad signal and attributable conversions. Amazon gains more transactions from Meta's discovery platforms. It also bypasses Apple's App Tracking Transparency policy since data is shared directly. Currently, the in-app checkout is limited to select advertised products sold by Amazon or third-party sellers. Source: TechCrunch

🗞 Instagram Read Receipts: Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri both took to their respective Broadcast Channels to announce Instagram is testing a toggle to turn off read receipts in Instagram DMs. Source: The Verge

🗞 Meta AI Ads: Meta is barring political campaigns and advertisers in other regulated industries from using its new generative AI advertising products, a company spokesperson said on Monday. Source: Reuters

🗞 TikTok Agency Partners: The platform recently expanded its Marketing Partners program with a new Agency category “to officially recognize media agencies around the world with proven expertise in TikTok marketing.” 10 agencies from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific markets are currently listed. Source: TikTok

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If you want more brand exposure OR to bring in qualified leads for your sales team, why not chat with us and see if you're a good fit?

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Did You Know?

Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs & Ham on a bet that he couldn’t write a book in 50 words or less.