INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK

Tuesday was International Women’s Day (in case you didn’t spot it) but the whole week is dedicated to women 💪 See my take on this at the end.

Before that, some social media news, useful tips, a look on what’s coming up and what’s already been.

REELS ON FACEBOOK

Facebook recently introduced Reels to the platform globally, meaning we all have it.  

What does it mean?  It reinforces the fact that short form video is a mighty thing on social media and that Meta (holding company of FB and Insta) wants to be at the forefront.

The benefits of posting a Reel on Facebook are the same as those on Instagram:

Reach a bigger audience ✔️

Connect with new accounts ✔️

Increase brand awareness ✔️

Ultimately make more sales ✔️ 

Warning: this doesn’t happen over night, but it’s currently one of the surest ways of growing on Instagram, and now Facebook.  

There is a whole strategy behind creating and posting Reels (which I can tell you more about if you get in touch), but the best way to learn is to simply have a go.

This article explains how to post a Reel on Facebook along with a few reasons as to why it could be worth your while to do so.  It’s very easy.

AUDIO ON REELS

Do you have trouble finding good audio to add to your Reels?  Music on Instagram is a bit of a minefield.  If you have a business account you will know that the options are severely limited due to copyright, which can be frustrating.

Here are two easy and effective solutions:

1. Switch to Instagram Creator Account

If you have a Business Account, you can switch to a Creator Account, which will give you access to a far greater choice of songs. 

Having looked into it, I can’t see any significant drawbacks.  It affects the ‘auto post’ feature on some scheduling apps but other than that, I haven’t encountered any difficulties.   

I have recently made the switch and will report back.  If you’ve done the same let me know if it’s been a good thing or if it has brought up unexpected issues.

Here’s how to switch account types, whether to or from a Creator, Business or Personal:

2. Save Trending Audio

Second solution to fixing audio on Instagram, you can re-use trending audio. 

As you scroll through Reels you’ll notice the same few tracks keep cropping up.  You have the option to save these (and most audio, trending or not)  into your Instagram Music Library for your own use. 

Here’s a worthwhile article to flick through, going into more depth about audio for Reels, including a brief explanation of how to save trending audio (under the sub heading #Reels Feed).

WHAT’S ON

Social Media Strategy

16th March, 10.30am - 12.00pm, Honesty Cookery School

I can’t wait for this one as I get to visit the Honesty Cookery School for the first time. This talk will help demystify the steps you need to take to get going on social media.  It will give you the confidence to post content that is relevant to your audience, on the correct channels, in a few easy steps. Please come!

Hosted by Pondero in the fabulous Honesty Cookery School near Newbury.  Worth a trip for the cakes alone.

LIVING THE LIVE

Huge thanks to my recent guests, who joined me live on Instagram to talk about their businesses.  Holistic health therapist Alicky Gravell and landscape artist Sharon Harvey.  It takes a surprising amount of courage to go live for the first time, so I salute them for being so game-on and for speaking so fluently 👏  The secret is that they both believe firmly in what they do, which translates into an ability to talk freely and confidently 👊

Both of them are brilliant women in business, just a couple of the many strong and able women I am lucky to come across every week.  Which leads me to my final item.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK

My broadcast with Sharon Harvey happened to be on International Women’s Day, but in fact the whole of this week is dedicated to women 🙌 

Given that I work almost exclusively with women, IWD has taken on a real resonance and I absolutely love all the posts on social media of stories, experiences and shoutouts of women putting themselves out there.

My shoutout this year goes to my cousin, Alexandra Tolstoy, whom I admire for her courage and determination in running a business and bringing up her children single handedly 👏 Something she is vocal about on Instagram.

At the moment she is being particularly brave by speaking out against the current Russian regime and the invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇦 This attracts awful trolls on social media. All of which she bravely shouts down and does her best to expose. On her own. This takes guts and inner strength. Go Alexandra 🚀

Who do you nominate for your own IWD women of the 2022?