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It’s Frankenstein Day, Reader... Happy birthday to Mary Shelley, the originator of science fiction!

In today’s edition:

• 🪞 Today's Tip of the Day is for creating branded content

• 🤳 Instagram Reels to create today

• Instagram adds Stories comments

• Google introduces YouTube audience targeting

• Anthropic’s Artifacts available to all Claude users

• 🗞️ Additional industry news from Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, and more

Do you create content that needs to match a specific brand voice or person?

Use AI to Mimic the Voice of Others 

Start by providing your AI writing assistant with examples of the content you want to imitate. Then, ask it to analyze the examples for style and tone.

Please review the attached contract and analyze this author's page and blog posts to determine and learn their writing style and tone.

Finally, ask it to create your blog posts, social posts, emails, or website copy.

Today's advice is provided with insights from Jonathan Mast, a featured guest on the AI Explored podcast.

What Does This Make Possible? 

At Social Media Examiner, we operate with a “growth mindset.” This means that we ask the above question anytime something happens—good or bad—and always discover exciting new possibilities.

What about you? Are you looking to discover new possibilities?

If so, then consider attending Social Media Marketing World. 

Not only will you discover the latest marketing strategies taught by experts in the industry, but you’ll also meet other marketers facing the same challenges and opportunities that you are facing. 

Ask yourself: What does attending Social Media Marketing World make possible for Reader?

I’m ready to discover more…

The Easy Path Better Instagram Reels

Want to reach new audiences and grow your following on Instagram? 

Reels offer a unique way to get your content in front of non-followers. They appear on the Reels tab and can reach people who don't know you yet. 

Additionally, Reels are "reach heavy" compared to other types of content on Instagram. While hashtags have become less effective for reach, Reels continue to be a great way to expose your brand to new potential followers. 

So, what type of Reels are working best now?

The 3 S's of Successful Reels

To improve the chances of your Reels performing well, focus on the "Three S's":

Simple: Make sure your content is easy to understand and digest quickly.

Shareable: Create content that people will want to send to their friends or share in group chats.

Specific: Be clear about why your content matters and how it helps your audience. Use specific details or numbers when possible.

For example, instead of a general "Instagram tip," you might create a Reel titled "Instagram tip to get out of 500-view jail" or "Reel idea that helped me get 1K new followers." The more specific you can be, the more likely your content will resonate with your audience.

3 Reels Content Ideas

Make People Feel Heard

The first pillar of this strategy is to create content that makes your audience feel understood. The goal is to help people connect with your brand personally, which can turn your channel into a "comfort account" that followers regularly check for support and validation. This type of content often gets shared.

Use prompts like "I don't know who needs to hear this, but...", "I don't mean to interrupt your scrolling, but...", or "This is your sign to..."

For example, a nutritionist might create a Reel saying, "I don't know who needs to hear this, but worrying about the ice cream is more unhealthy than just having a bowl of ice cream." 

When creating these Reels, keep the video simple—use a short clip of yourself smiling or doing a related action. The key is to put the main message as text on the screen all at once rather than revealing it slowly. This approach caters to today's fast-paced content consumption habits.

For music selection, consider using trending audio clips with less than 5K uses to avoid oversaturation.

Help People

The second pillar focuses on providing value to your audience. This doesn't always mean complex educational content. Sometimes, simple tips or information can be very helpful.

• Share quick, easy-to-follow tips

• Use "POV" (Point of View) Reels to showcase solutions

• Highlight "I found..." discoveries related to your niche

• Break down longer content (like blog posts) into multiple Reels

POV Reels are particularly successful. Here's how to create one: Start with "POV: You're tired of..." and describe a common problem your audience faces. Then, show how your product or service solves that problem, keeping the video simple and focusing on the desired end result.

For example, a social media manager might create a Reel saying, "POV: You're tired of leaving the dinner table to post on Instagram. So you switch to scheduling on Meta Business Suite. Now you get to have dinner with your family without interruptions."

Show Happenings

This pillar helps build a stronger connection with your audience by showcasing the human side of your brand. While this content might not go viral, it helps deepen the relationship with your existing followers and can attract new ones who connect with your story. 

For example, a local coffee shop could create Reels that show the opening process, feature baristas' favorite drinks, or highlight a day in the shop owner's life. A product-based business might show how they pack orders or create new items.

Pro Tip: Pin one of these behind-the-scenes Reels to your profile to give new visitors a quick look into your brand.

Today's advice is provided with insights from Shannon McKinstrie, a featured guest on the Social Media Marketing Podcast.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Recommended AI Podcast…

If you're looking for a practical way to put AI to work for you, then check out the AI Explored podcast.

Here's what people have been saying about it:

"Highly recommend! What I've learned has REALLY boosted my ability to maximize the tools 😁," said Estella Banks.

"I love it!!! I find something useful in it each week," said Pamela Potter Frost.

"LOVE IT, actually. It's already been ever so useful and enlightening," said Jonathan Christian.

Even though this show is just a few months old, thousands of marketers, creators, and entrepreneurs are listening each week. 

Yes, I’m ready to learn how to use AI.

Anthropic’s Artifacts Available to All Claude Users: Anthropic has made Artifacts available to all Claude.ai users on No-cost, Pro, and Team plans, including mobile apps. Artifacts provide a dedicated space for viewing and iterating on work created with Claude. The feature supports various professional use cases, from coding to design and marketing. No-cost and Pro users can share Artifacts publicly, while Team users can collaborate securely within Projects. Source: Anthropic

Google Updates Gemini With Gems and Imagen 3: Google is updating Gemini with two new features: Gems and Imagen 3. Gems allows Advanced, Business, and Enterprise subscribers to create customized versions of Gemini for specific tasks or topics. Imagen 3, Google's latest image generation model, is being added to Gemini for all language users. However, the ability to generate images of people will initially be limited to Advanced, Business, and Enterprise subscribers in English. Source: 9to5Google

Instagram Adds Stories Comments: Instagram is rolling out a new feature allowing users to comment on Stories. Comments appear at the bottom of Story frames and are visible to all viewers. Source: Social Media Today

Instagram Plans to Integrate Spotify in Real Time: Instagram may be developing a new feature that integrates Spotify in real time. The potential feature would automatically create Instagram Notes based on songs played on Spotify. These Notes would be visible at the top of a user's inbox and profile picture when others view their profile. Source: Alessandro Paluzzi via Threads

Instagram Tests Custom ‘Collages’ Feature: Instagram is testing an automated "Collages" feature that would create shareable collages from users' Camera Roll images. The functionality, which is not yet active, appears as a prompt in the app's chat interface. Source: Lia Haberman via X

Meta to Close Meta Spark: Meta has announced the closure of its Meta Spark platform for third-party augmented reality (AR) tools and content, effective January 14, 2025. However, Meta-owned AR effects will continue to be accessible across the company's family of apps. Source: Meta Spark

Snap’s New Features: Snapchat is introducing several new features to enhance user expression and communication. Snapchat+ subscribers will soon be able to assign custom ringtones to friends and group chats, allowing them to identify callers without looking at their phones. They will also be able to replay their own Snaps for up to five minutes after sending. The platform is adding Lyric Stickers to help users sing along when adding music to their Snaps. Snapchat is also updating its Bitmoji Stories feature with new episodes featuring 3D Bitmoji avatars for more personalized content. Lastly, the platform is introducing an AI Lens that allows users to star on their own virtual billboard. Source: Snapchat

Reddit Launches Custom Audience API With CDP Partners: Reddit has launched its Custom Audience API and partnerships with leading CDPs (Customer Data Platforms). This update allows advertisers to use first-party data for targeted campaigns and retargeting without requiring a pixel. The API enables secure customer list management, audience exclusion, and lookalike audience generation. New CDP partners include mParticle, Tealium, and ActionIQ. Benefits include precise targeting, improved performance with up to 40% lower cost-per-action, and enhanced privacy through SHA256 hashing. Source: Reddit

Threads Deepens Connection to the Fediverse: Threads is strengthening its connection to the fediverse, the open social web that powers platforms like Mastodon and Pixelfed. Meta announced two key updates: users can now view fediverse replies on all posts, not just their own, and posts created through the Threads API will be syndicated to the fediverse. The update also introduces a new "fediverse replies" section on posts, though users must click to view these replies and cannot yet respond to them directly. Source: @threads via Threads

TikTok’s Guide to Measuring Ad Campaign Performance: TikTok has released a guide on measuring campaign performance, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive measurement plans. Key tools include post-purchase surveys, multi-touch attribution, and conversion lift studies. The guide outlines a three-stage approach to measurement: proving TikTok works, refining strategies, and identifying ways to grow. It encourages advertisers to use multiple measurement solutions to gain data-driven insights and optimize their campaigns on the platform. Source: TikTok for Business

YouTube Expands AI-Powered Comment Topics to All Languages: YouTube is expanding its AI-powered comment topics feature to all languages supported by YouTube comments, moving beyond its initial English-only implementation. This feature organizes large comment sections into digestible themes, accessible via a "Topics" sorting option on mobile for users in the experiment group. Creators can use these summaries to engage with discussions or find content inspiration. The AI-generated topics are based solely on published comments, excluding held, blocked, or filtered content. Creators can remove topics by deleting associated comments. Source: YouTube Help

Google’s New YouTube Audience Targeting: Google Ads has introduced a new feature allowing advertisers to create remarketing audiences based on viewers of specific YouTube creator videos, expanding beyond their own channels. This update enables advertisers to link creator videos to their Google Ads accounts, giving them access to organic view metrics and the ability to create targeted remarketing segments. Advertisers can now access non-paid metrics for linked videos and create audience segments based on these views. Source: Search Engine Land

YouTube Updates for Creators: YouTube is rolling out several new features for creators. The "Courses" functionality, which allows for multi-lesson learning programs, is expanding beyond its beta phase to more creators in YouTube Studio. These courses will have special badges and dedicated channel tabs and may be featured on youtube.com/courses. Additionally, YouTube has introduced a new live shopping feature, enabling creators to pin and rotate multiple products during live streams using a toggle in the shopping tab of the live control room. Finally, YouTube has expanded the ability for creators to disclose synthetically altered content across platforms, including Studio mobile and the main app during uploads. This allows creators to indicate if their content depicts a realistic scene that has been artificially created. Source: YouTube

Did You Know?

Coriander/Cilantro is the most popularly used herb in the world.