MEDIA*OR: New Facebook Features You Ought To Know About

In the past six months, Facebook has rolled out some interesting new features/products that artists and promoters should take notice of. Here we break down some these new tools and how you can utilize them to improve you or your band's social media presence.

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Guest post by Randi Zimmerman of the Symphonic Blog

Over the past six months, Facebook has added some new features and products that we think are definitely worth checking out. You don’t want to miss out on these tools to up your social media game.

Here are some of Facebook’s more recent features and how to get started:

Organic UGC

Facebook’s executives realized that brands had a streamlined focus on rapidly increasing ad opportunities rather than utilizing what made this platform unique in the first place, the ability to engage through sharing. Facebook’s algorithm has changed to be more accommodating of user generated content by prioritizing these at the top of the feed, while posts from brands, media, and businesses are pushed further down.

The entire reason why this organic UGC strategy is a good thing for businesses is that user generated content isn’t perceived so much as branded content because it resonates more with consumers seeking honest recommendations. In fact, 85% of consumers find UGC to be more influential than branded content. Traditional methods of advertising, like branded content, speak more “at” consumers, rather than facilitating user interaction as UGC does. Unlike branded content, UGC is is not sales-driven, it’s consumer driven. This aspect makes brands seem more human, and consumers trust other consumers more than they trust brand generated advertising.

This makes sense considering Facebook’s main focus has always been on bringing people together through prioritizing what matters most to them.

Lip Sync Live

This new feature allows users to include their favorite songs in their personal videos and live streams.

In the past, videos were liable to be taken down because of copyright issues. Now, users have access to hundreds of songs with Lip Sync Live. You can even invite a friend onto your live stream and lip sync songs together.

To use this function, you’ll have to select “Lip Sync Live’ when starting your live video. Then, you can choose the song you want, add a description, and customize backgrounds and masks to fit whatever vibe you’re looking for. During broadcasts with this feature, friends can see the artist and song highlighted at the top of the video. If they love the song, they can tap and follow the artist on Facebook.

Instagram Music Stories

Since Facebook owns Instagram now, it has added some new features. Now, you can finally add songs to your IG stories. Whether it’s a photo or a video, you can choose from thousands of songs to make that post just right.

Here’s how:

Once you’ve taken the photo or video, click the “Stickers” button at the top of the screen.
You should see a “Music” sticker has been added to your arsenal. Just tap the icon to browse through thousands of songs to choose from.
Now you’re all set to add it to your story!

Easy as that.

Facebook Music Stories

As you can probably guess, this new feature gives you the option to add music to your Facebook Stories posts.

Here’s how:

Once you’ve got your new photo or video, tap the “Stickers” icon at the top of the screen.
Tap the “Music” sticker.
On this next screen, you’ve got a bunch of options. Scroll through the list of popular songs and tap “Add” to the right of a song if you want to add it to your Stories post. Alternatively, you can tap one of the genres or moods at the top of the screen to look through songs that fit your particular genre or mood. Then, you can search for a song by tapping “Search music” at the top of the screen.
Once you find what song you want to add to your Stories post, tap the “Add” button to the right of it.
Facebook will automatically highlight a portion of the song to play when someone views your Stories post. If you want to change this, swipe left or right at the bottom of the screen to highlight a different part of the song.
Once you’ve chosen the part of the song you want, click “Done”, and you’re all set!

The song will now appear in your Facebook Stories.

Lasso

Facebook recently launched Lasso, an app that lets users create short, fun videos similar to TikTok. With Lasso, users can film themselves lip syncing and dancing or create comedic videos, similar to Vine. You can sign in to Lasso through Facebook by authorizing the app to allow access to your profile page, photos, and videos. If you’ve got an iPhone, you can download the app here.

Once you’ve done all that, you’re ready to start exploring!

Music in Profiles

Facebook has granted it’s users a new feature that lets you add a song to your profile. Yup, just like in the good ‘ole MySpace days. Once you’ve got a song added, your friends can click through the full song and listen to it on Spotify.

Cool, right? Here’s how:

When you open the app, you’ll see a “Music” section toward the top of your Facebook Profile.
Click the “Add Song” button. (A list of songs should appear)
Search through the millions of songs to choose from to find the right one for you.

The cool part about this feature is you can add as many songs as you want to your profile. Think of it as a continuous playlist you can share with all your friends.

Facebook is on top of their game and researching ways to connect even more with their younger audience. These new features and products are fun ways to express yourself through social media like never before. Get creative and explore through these features to see which one’s are right for you!