Welcome to Connected Church News!
Top 5 latest Digital & Social Media News in 5 minutes, to help your ministry stay on top of industry trends.
This week, we have news about TikTok, Google, Instagram, Meta, Twitter.
🗞️ News 1: Google opens up early access to its new dubbing tool, Aloud
Source: Google
🗞️ News 2: Instagram adds Enhanced Tags to help behind-the-scenes creators
Source: Instagram
🗞️ News 3: TikTok launches SoundOn, a music marketing & distribution platform
Source: TikTok
🗞️ News 4: Twitter Shops launched allowing products showcase on profile page
Source: Twitter
🗞️ News 5: Meta announces new tools and features for Facebook Groups
Source: Meta
[News 1] Google opens up early access to its new dubbing tool, Aloud
Google opened up early access to a tool called Aloud, which is a very interesting tool for dubbing. If you have tried your hands dubbing video content into another language, you know how difficult and complex the process is. You have to get the content ready, the scripts done, and then sync it with the timing, etc. Now Google with this new experimental tool which is part of their incubator program called Area 120, is trying to make that process easier.
This could be a big tool in the hands of churches and ministries who are trying to reach people in various people group across the world who speak different languages. Creating easier dubbed content in different languages could be a big step forward in reaching your message to different parts of the world. So do pass this information on to your video team.
[News 2] Instagram adds Enhanced Tags to help behind-the-scenes creators
Instagram has released a feature called Enhanced Tagging, which lets you tag a person along with their profile category. For example, if you’re working with a photographer who helped you create that particular Instagram picture, then you can not only tag their name, but also put their category as a photographer.
If I help you with something, then you can say Natchi Lazarus, and below that, my category, like an artist or a songwriter or consultant or something like that. So this helps people get discovered in a better way, but also it gives the ability for you as a Ministry, to credit the people properly, and allow them also to grow on Instagram. This could also be very useful when you’re collaborating on an event, for example, you can tag the speakers and add their category to it, w also helps your credibility.
[News 3] TikTok launches SoundOn, a music marketing & distribution platform
TikTok launched a new music distribution and marketing platform called SoundOn. This is a platform that is meant to help you upload your music onto the TikTok platform can also help you earn royalties if you are an independent musician, or are connected with music in some way.
I know many ministries have music as part of their Ministry and also churches. So take a look at this. It’s a very interesting platform. And TikTok being TikTok, this could also help you get to people who want to discover your music. Like, if you want to reach a particular people group and mostly with music, you want to reach younger audience, then TikTok is the best platform. So you put your music on TikTok and now the users will be able to discover it and use it. And when they do it, you not only get a royalty, but you also become familiar to your audience. This could be a good tool for Music Ministry.
[News 4] Twitter Shops launched allowing products showcase on profile page
Twitter launches Twitter Shops which is now part of the profile page. Once you have Twitter shops rolled out to you, right now they are testing it in the US with a few brands, eventually they’ll be rolling it out across the globe, once that is available for you, you will have a call-to-action button called ‘View Shop’ below your Twitter profile, and people can click on it and they can view up to 50 products that you have listed as part of the Twitter Shops. Twitter has been playing around with shops and products displays for a while now, in various formats, now this comes to the main profile page – Twitter profile page, which could be very helpful.
[News 5] Meta announces new tools and features for Facebook Groups
Meta announced last week, that they are adding new features in Facebook Groups to help the admins and moderators. The features includes the ability for admins to streamline the way they approve a member request, in a much-automated manner. They also have now have tools that would help them suspend a member. Earlier there was ‘mute’, but now they can ‘suspend’. They can also control the way the members post and the way they contribute to the community. The announcement also includes tools for the growth of the group, like QR codes. You can now use QR codes to promote the group membership and if anyone wants to join they just scan the QR to go and join the group. So do have a look. It seems like useful features.
Author of The Connected Church. Social Media and Digital Marketing Consultant for Nonprofits, Faith-based Organisations, Churches and Ministries. You can subscribe to Natchi’s email newsletter by clicking here.
