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- #VIRAL, The Newsletter: April 18, 2023
#VIRAL, The Newsletter: April 18, 2023
Girl and the Gov®
April 18, 2023
TIPS N’ TRICKS
THE REELS MEETS STORIES TRICK: It often feels like there’s only one way to amplify a Reel on Stories, and that’s by simply sharing it to the Story. However, that method isn’t always the most effective or aesthetically pleasing mode of operation. Cue a lil’ trickeroo that helps mix it up visually and encourage engagement. To start, the end product looks a little something like this:
The top left side Reel plays, while the others remain static.
Making this magic happen can be done sans spell and by following these steps:
Go to the account’s own Reel feed.
Scroll on the feed so that the specific Reel the account wishes to promote is toward the center [visually strong].
Take a screenshot of the feed in this position.
Once the screenshot is saved, share the Reel [the actual Reel] to the account’s story.
Add the screenshot from the camera roll to the Story as well.
Position the screenshot to either the left or the right side of the screen – whichever positioning will put the Reel you’re going to promote in the center of the Story.
Decrease the size of the Reel to the size of one of the screenshot’s windows.
Overlay the portion of the screenshot that features the Reel.
Add any text or other features desired.
INSTAGRAM STICKER CODES: Instagram stickers are a hidden in plain sight tool. If you’ve ever gone to make an Instagram Story and scrolled through the stickers on page one, you might’ve felt like, “wow, this is limited….to say the least…” Yea, same, same. Funny enough, but entirely on brand for Instagram, there are way more options than meet the eye, but to access the other sticker options, the user has to know what they’ve been named. It’s a game of the chicken or the egg, or better said – Instagram has more features, but its search tools and ability to make features accessible gets a -10/10 from us. Regardless, if you do know the name of particular sticker sets, you can search them by:
Begin creating a Story
Go to more options
Type in the code and hit return
Two sticker codes on our radar that should be on yours:
Chicaye
Boho White
#TRENDING - Trending TikTok sounds and content concepts to try this week!
Clarence’s Diss Track: In case you missed it in this week’s Gov Hub, SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas has a diss track, and it’s pretty great. The most streamlined approach to using this sound is to employ the carousel image option on TikTok. For the images, use and upload screenshots of headlines involving Clarence Thomas’ corruption. Then add the audio. And bam, the diss track meets the case for it in the form of a TikTok carousel post.
@charliecurtisbeard 4th of July Clarence Thomas diss track
The Actor in Disguise: Use this sound to call out a politician that says one thing behind closed doors and then another in front of the cameras. The audio’s verbiage is “I was acting….or was I.” The creator should film themselves dramatically acting out these words. Then they should add copy/text to the video that says something along the lines of “POV: you’re XYZ politician being asked why they flipped their vote after saying they were voting no on XYZ to voters.”
TIKTOK HASHTAGS TO KNOW AND USE TO GROW
Pop Culture: #Coachella [ps did you see Maxwell Frost attended?]
George Santos: #Santos
Clarence Thomas: #clarencethomaswife
…NOT TO MENTION TRENDING CAPCUT TEMPLATES
The Aged Filter: Ever look at someone or something in your field and think “well that didn’t age well?” It’s politics, of course you have. You can showcase that exact thought process by showing the before and after, and employing this CapCut template to do so. The template uses two pictures. The first picture would be the ‘younger’ or ‘original’ variation of a theme. The second picture should depict ‘what didn’t age well.’ For example, the first picture could be Tricia Cotham as a Democrat, perhaps a photo that clearly distinguishes her as such. The second picture could then be her at the press conference she spoke at where she announced her switch to the Republican party.
Other applications for this template include:
The template can be used to show an activist at a young age and then them now.
The template can be used to show the age an activist is now and then the age in which they think progress will actually happen on a certain issue.
Use the text edition in the TikTok app to add context to each image. Ensure that the text added plays only for the duration of its coordinating photo [this can be done while adding & editing the text].
The John Cena: This is a ‘feel good’ template. And, yes, it does involve John Cena. This template can be used to showcase something an org, an elected, or a candidate is excited to see. The image can be of an accomplishment, a positive news story related to work that an org does, and so on. For text, it’s not necessarily necessary if the image used tells the story all on its own. If you’re going to use text, start it with “me when….” and fill in the blank with what’s happening in the image [ex: me when we get get grant funding for a new playground]. This template is easy to do, easy on the eyes.
As a reminder, download the CapCut app to test these out. Grab and go with templates by selecting ‘CapCut - Try this template’ at the base of a video featuring the template you wish to use.
…AND TRENDING INSTAGRAM REELS SOUNDS TO SEARCH FOR AND USE FROM THE MUSIC LIB
You scream for ice cream, we all scream for ice cream: This is a line we assume President Joe Biden has said upwards of 500x. It’s also a trending audio that’s great for the campaign trail, specifically for a moment in which a candidate visits an ice cream parlor/stand/shop in their district. The visual for this can take a few forms:
A short video clip of the candidate going through the process of ordering and receiving the ice cream cone [remove the background sound if you go with this method]
A short video clip of the candidate happily eating ice cream in front or inside of the ice cream shop. Signage of the shop should be visible.
A short video clip of the candidate smiling with the owner of the shop, while they ‘cheers’ their ice creams [in a cup, we’re not that wild, okay??].
The audio should play over the video clips and original sound [sound the creator makes themselves in the video] should be brought down to ‘zero.’
Library Must-haves: These audios are neutral and great for just about any occasion. Save them to the audio lib and use them time and time again:
WHAT THE ZUCK?!
INSTAGRAM - UPDATE TO REELS: Instagram has launched updates to the editing interface for Reels. Users will now be able to tweak uploaded video clips, audio, stickers, and text overlays all within the same screen, instead of having to do it in separate steps [we love a timesaver]. This ‘timeline’ editing feature is similar to what TikTok already has [surprise, surprise], which helps when lining up audio and video clips, and makes transitions smoother. The update is also set to include a new way to find trending videos with the Reels page [T God]. The page apparently is designed to gather hashtags and songs that are trending on the platform, and make them more searchable. We haven’t been privy to the update just yet, so we’re a bit in the dark as to what this will actually look like, and how functional it’ll actually be. Stay tuned for what we’re sure will be a Nuts & Bolts tutorial.
TWITTER - NEW FEATURE FOR SUBSCRIBERS: This isn't our first rodeo talking about TwitterBlue, and we suspect it won’t be our last. In this instance, the app has rolled out the ability for TwitterBlue subscribers to make Tweets 10,000 characters in length. The new feature is giving blogs circa 2007, because that’s a load of text. In addition to being able to Tweet a short novel, Twitter has also added text formatting options like bold and italics that provides more creative opportunities. We previously noted this with raised eyebrows, but now knowing that users can put out 10K in characters, having text formatting options makes more sense i.e. users can put emphasis where they need it. The platforms move to also block users of any level from sharing Substack links also makes more sense – they’re competing with Substack [which we prefer, TBH].
PARLER - GETTING YOU UP TO SPEED: You may remember the alt-tech alternative to Twitter, Parler from the 2020 election and tantrums by Candace Owens. Users including those banned from mainstream social networks who opposed moderators, “fled” to the app to voice political opinions [and mostly hate]. While the Parler folk have been staying quiet in the news, the app was recently acquired by digital media company Starboard [aka Olympic Media]. Starboard is temporarily shutting down the app to launch a revamped version of the social network [just in time for the 2024 election szn - gr8]. The self-deemed “free-speech” social media alternative plans to be and running again by the end of the second quarter of 2023 and is still identified as a conservative-leaning platform. While no new features have been announced yet, we will put this on our radar and keep you updated.
YOUTUBE PREMIUM UPGRADES: YouTube Premium is getting a glow-up with new features for its paying users. The offerings will now include:
the ability to queue content on mobile [Playlist feature]
the ability to host watch parties through Google Meet,
offline viewing
enhanced video quality
the ability to continue watching on a different device from exactly where the user left off
What this translates to, especially the GoogleMeet feature, is a more efficient way of hosting group or team trainings.
YOUTUBE BONUS BIT: For teams with larger budgets*: More & more people are starting to consume YouTube videos on larger screens such as TV’s, rather than on handheld devices like phones and tablets. With this in mind, your team will need to consider how your content appears to TV viewers, and what you can do to optimize it. YouTube’s Creator Insider channel is providing five key notes to consider when creating content with TV viewing in mind to make your team's content fit for the big screen.
TOOL OF THE TRADE
HASHTAG STACK: As one may be able to guess by the name, this tool’s focus is hashtags. Specifically, the tool acts as a hashtag generator, pulling popular hashtags based on topics input by the user. To elaborate, the user pops in a topic to the toolbar and it pops out suggested hashtags, along with quick data on how often a particular hashtag has been used. The results provide a broad strokes look at hashtags that are in usage in relation to the searched topic – emphasis on broad strokes. Not every hashtag is applicable to the user. Not every hashtag is specific enough. However, this tool is useful in developing an understanding of a topic’s hashtag landscape and knowledge of what core hashtags should be added to one’s ‘always use’ or default hashtag library. This tool is particularly useful for Instagram, where broader hashtags can be most helpful. Test the generator out here.
GET INFLUENCED
Thoughts and feelings on IG graphics are all over the place. Some are horrendous. Some are amazing. Some are okay but their overall theme makes them solid. It’s a range. For an example that’s worth noting, Texas State Senator Sarah Eckhardt does a great job of using a consistent graphic format to share a bill and its status. It’s easy to read, easy to understand, easy to share. Check out an example here.
