Jul 5, 2022

Based in New York, Taylor is a digital strategist and creator bringing marketing expertise in creative production and agency advertising for global brands. She likes her coffee strong and adjectives stronger.

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Whether you’re stateside or not, I hope you had a spirited 4th of July. Complete with fireworks, processed meat rolls, barking dogs, family and friends, and spirits… of course.

It’s the signal of summer and yet it juxtaposes sharply against the mounting economic pressures, social turbulence, and the general unease of “what comes next?”

It’s not an easy time.

But for digital entrepreneurs, this is where we shine.

We solve problems, we create meaningful connections with people and communities, and we build structures that help people move forward together.

Keep creating. We’re all gonna make it.

Taylor Peterson
Editor | The SAUCE

In this edition:

  • Snapchat officially introduces a premium subscription plan
  • Bye bye, Instagram video?
  • NFT display options come to Facebook
  • How Twitter’s long-form ‘Notes’ feature will work
  • Reddit’s live audio chat feature gets upgrades
  • 10 tips for avoiding small business chaos

the socialverse

The latest social media stories and updates we’re keeping a pulse on.

Snapchat officially introduces a premium subscription plan

Snapchat (there’s an app I bet you haven’t heard of in a while!) just launched its paid subscription plan called Snapchat+ and it’s $3.99/month. No, it’s not for creators to monetize content (although, I’ll bet that option isn’t far behind). Think Twitter Blue, but for Snapchat.

It’s geared toward “the people who spend most of their time communicating with their closest friends on Snap,” said a company exec. Subscribers will get custom app icons, story rewatch count, a special badge, the ability to pin a #1 friend, and the ability to see “the general direction of travel for where friends have moved recently.”

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Bye bye, Instagram video?

If you’ve found success on Instagram Reels, keep going. If you’re still waiting for traditional video to make a comeback on IG, well, I have news for you…

Instagram is reportedly considering turning all of its videos into Reels. If (or when) that happens, you won’t be able to post regular video to your grid anymore. It’ll have to be a Reel.

What does this mean for content creators? If your brand is focused on video content, you need to start thinking about making the switch to Reels if you haven’t. And if you don’t know where to begin, start with a Reels template.

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NFT display options come to Facebook

According to Meta product manager Navdeep Singh, users will now be able to create custom NFT posts and show off NFTs with a ‘Digital Collectible’ tag. Facebook profiles will also have a new dedicated NFT section for collections

“As with Instagram, which launched the first stage of its NFT support program back in May, when users tap through on these images, they’ll be able to see who owns the artwork, and who created it, along with a brief description of the piece.” — Social Media Today

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How Twitter’s long-form ‘Notes’ feature will work

ICYMI: Twitter recently announced it’s testing a new built-in “Notes” feature to allow for long-form written content beyond the 280-character word limit for tweets. The idea is that these “Notes” can be tweeted out like you would an article, but would open to a window with all the text on one page (like a blog post, or like the Twitter Blue feed reader option).

Check out this resource for what you can expect from Twitter Notes when it gets a wider roll-out, which includes:

  • A rich-text editor that allows users to bold, italicise and format text
  • Featured image or “thumbnail”
  • The visible part of the Note is limited to 100 characters
  • Body section up to 2,500 words

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Reddit’s live audio chat feature gets upgrades

Reddit’s live audio Clubhouse-like feature, Reddit Talks, is rolling out a handful of updates aimed at allowing hosts to better engage with listeners. Its Host program is launching next week, which aims to promote hosts’ audio across the site. It’s also flaunting new features like a soundboard and topic selector for discovery purposes.

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the secret sauce

Tips, tools, and how-to’s for thriving digitally.

10 tips for avoiding small biz chaos

H/T to one of my personal bookmarks on personal branding (aptly named the Personal Branding Blog) for this concise rundown on avoiding chaos quicksand with your small business. Shout out to the part about why structure (i.e. processes/workflows) is so important for maintaining flow and consistency within your organization! If it’s gonna be chaos, at least make it structured chaos.

“Many entrepreneurs don’t understand the nuances of business structure. They either find it too abstract, or they lack education in this… The management of the business functions, workflows, communication systems, decision-making hierarchies, ideation framework, and new business creation process need an organized way to flow around the organization. When all aspects of a business have structure, it is easier to have a holistic view of the business.”

  1. Create areas of control
  2. Be proactive more than reactive
  3. Understand the nuances of business structure
  4. Have an agile mindset
  5. Reinforce the vision
  6. Stop being dramatic
  7. Take time to think and plan (it’s not a waste of time)
  8. Follow-up is not begging
  9. Core competencies are the engines
  10. Protect your cash flow

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Taylor Peterson

Based in New York, Taylor is a digital strategist and creator bringing marketing expertise in creative production and agency advertising for global brands. She likes her coffee strong and adjectives stronger.