Yesterday, Facebook unveiled a new feature called ‘Lip Sync Live’ which works pretty much exactly like the app musical.ly, a revelation that is very popular with teenagers. As well as Lip Sync Live, to bring Facebook back in the competition in terms of user engagement, the company has also initiated its efforts to pilot the Instagram feature that allows users to post hour-long videos!

It is no secret that the data is readily accessible for anyone on the internet to see, thanks to the fast and ubiquitous access to data that has led to an unprecedented growth, in the consumption and sharing of video content. From one billion views overall in the year 2009 to one billion views per day is the skyrocketing growth that YouTube has witnessed. The success of video-content based apps like Musical.ly also tells the same story, compelling the existing social media giants like Facebook to up its game in this industry.

Musical.ly Inspired Lip Sync Live

Recently Tamara Hrivnak and Fred Beteille, Heads of Music Business Development & Partnerships and Product, Music & Rights respectively at Facebook Inc., have published a report on the new feature that Facebook has dubbed ‘Lip Sync Live’. The intent of the new feature, as the report states, is to ‘bring music to more experiences on Facebook’.

To use the feature, the users will have to select the Lip Sync Live option when sharing Live videos on the platform. The feature will allow users to choose a song from an existing list that includes the tracks from the musical partners of the company. The users will also be able to add a brief description and customize the entire video with different filters and backgrounds. Which sounds quite familiar to what musical.ly offers, does it not?

Nevertheless, the sheer user base of the platform will definitely help it gain momentum rapidly when competing with the relatively new platforms. So, because of this, the company has stated in the report that, “Together with the music industry, we are working to enable people around the world to include music in their videos on Facebook, opening up more options for creativity and sharing memories with friends and family. We’re testing this in several markets now and look forward to making it available more broadly soon.”

Longer Videos on Instagram

Like other social media services, Instagram too is going through the period of rapid growth in terms of the number of users, and the average time spent on it. But, owing to the limitation of the 15-second length of Instagram stories, the platform was losing users to platforms who offer longer videos.

However, as per the report published by the Wall Street Journal, things are soon going to change as Instagram may soon pilot a new feature, that will allow users to post videos of up to one hour in length. The report says “The feature, which could allow videos of up to an hour in length, will focus on vertical video, or video that is taller than it is wide.” This prospective move is dubbed to change the Instagram’s image from ‘a SnapChat rival’ to a more extendable platform that can be counted alongside video content giants like YouTube.

It is understandable why Facebook is implementing these seemingly great changes with such precautions, having learnt its lesson from the recent mostly disastrous SnapChat algorithm change. Due to the negative press of late, it’s important for Facebook to play safe at least for now that is.

Both these changes, if accepted by audiences, will make a huge effect not only on Facebook’s position among the users, but also on the influencer and social media marketing strategies of many businesses.

Both these changes, if accepted by audiences, will make a huge effect not only on Facebook’s position among the users, but also on the influencer and social media marketing strategies of many businesses.

It is understandable why Facebook is implementing these seemingly great changes with such precautions, having learnt its lesson from the recent mostly disastrous SnapChat algorithm change. Due to the negative press of late, it’s important for Facebook to play safe at least for now that is.
Both these changes, if accepted by audiences, will make a huge effect not only on Facebook’s position among the users, but also on the influencer and social media marketing strategies of many businesses.

Resources

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/06/new-ways-to-enjoy-music-on-facebook/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/instagram-could-soon-allow-users-to-post-long-form-video-1528236950
https://www.cnet.com/news/facebooks-lip-sync-live-asks-so-you-think-you-can-lip-sync/
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/5/17431996/instagram-longer-videos-hour-rumor
https://gizmodo.com/instagram-is-reportedly-pivoting-to-hour-long-video-1826589286
https://merchdope.com/youtube-statistics/
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/mind-blowing-youtube-stats-facts-and-figures-2017-infographic