Have you had time to play with video on Instagram?

I wasn’t one of the 5 million plus users who uploaded videos last Thursday, however I did give it a whirl on Saturday and instantly loved it.

I love that I can preview it, change the look, and select the thumbnail.

Initially, 15 seconds seemed like not enough time at all, however as you’re pressing the record button 15 seconds is a bit longer. It was odd to be looking at myself while I was filming so I did my best to not look directly at the screen. Instead I looked at the actual camera button on my phone. It worked great and made it so I was looking directly eye to eye instead of looking down.

As a viewer of Instagram videos, I learned:

  • If you cannot hear the video, it’s because your phone is on silent. You will need to have the sound on in order to hear the video or plugin your headset.

  • I was on the third video before I realized what the problem was. And yes, I keep my phone on silent and love it that way šŸ™‚

  • If you’re not seeing the option to do video on your phone it’s because the app needs to be updated or you have a Droid and it hasn’t been updated for Instagram video yet.

I’m looking forward to my next video shoot and will actually say a little more than hay y’all!! lol!

When you get a chance check it out here: http://pinterest.com/tiffanydparson/social-media-news/

I also posted it on Pinterest here: http://instagram.com/p/a30li0KZsH/

I’d love to checkout your first video on Instagram. Head on over to my Facebook page and post the link to your first video using the hashtag #MyFirstInstagramVideo.

Between Facebook adding hashtags and Instagram adding video, I was going gaga reading all of the various articles related to the updates.

With those two major changes, you may have missed that you can now upload images within your comments on Facebook and Page Admins can put comments in order to make it easier for moderation.

All of this and more in this week’s Be In The Know Socially!

Much love,
Tiffany

If you want even more than the 7 articles worth reading follow @tiffanydparson on Twitter and the Social Media Tools & Tutorials board on Pinterest.

Be In The Know Socially: Insert Images In Facebook Comments, Add Your 15 Secs Of Wonder On Instagram, and More!

    Be In The Know Socially: This Week’s Social Media Updates

  1. Introducing Video on Instagram

  2. When users go to take a photo on Instagram they will now find a video camera option. This new feature is available on the iPhone and Android apps. 13 different filters can be added to a video clip up to 15 seconds. Users can even select the scene they want as the cover image when posting the video.

  3. Instagram Video Vs. Vine: What’s The Difference?

  4. If you’ve already been using Vine and you’re wondering how the new Instagram Video is different, this article includes a side-by-side comparison of the various features. The length of the Instagram Video is more than twice that of Vine, but Vine clips are embeddable and looping. Continue reading to learn more about what each platform has to offer.

  5. Twitter Opens Up Tweet Performance Analytics To All, For Free

  6. All users on Twitter are gaining access to some basic analytics so they can measure the effectiveness of their account activity. This tool offers a detailed analysis of the performance of recent tweets. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about your reach so you can determine where to step up your engagement.

  7. From tweet to purchase: Chirpify ditches PayPal and adds its own payment processing

  8. Chirpify has expanded payment options for in-stream purchases on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Users will see lower fees when they pay with their debit card, credit card, or directly from their bank account. Previously, all payments were processed through PayPal for an added fee and this option is still available for those who prefer this payment method.

  9. Facebook rolling out ability to insert images natively into comments, starting with Web

  10. Sometimes a picture can express an idea better than words. Now, Facebook users will have the option to include an image when they comment on a post. This feature will be coming first to the Web and then to mobile. Once it is available you will see a camera icon to click so you can insert a photo.

  11. Facebook Page Admins Can Now View Comments In Chronological Order

  12. For those who have enabled the feature to reply directly to a single comment, you now have the option to view comments in the order that they were posted, rather than having them ranked with the most engaging comments at the top. If you haven’t enabled the replies feature yet, this post also explains how to do that.

  13. Hashtags Are Now Clickable On Facebook

  14. Facebook has introduced clickable hashtags, a well-known feature already found on Twitter and Instagram. Users can search for them in the search bar or click on a hashtag in a post to see other posts related to a topic of interest. Using this feature is a great way to become part of a larger discussion and reach a wider audience.