Well, I knew I would eventually post about how to use your DAM for sharing the various outputs for each social media site, but it looks like we are about to have a few more to consider. As Twitter goes through some things, you might be looking at Mastodon, Hive or Post for an alternative. But how does that change the process and assets needed for the most impact on these new options? What about other sites like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube?
Before even selecting assets to share, think about your audience. I think this infographic from Wordstream is a good overview, even as it lacks some platforms and might need demographic updates (TikTok users are aging!)
When it comes to assets, images and videos have already had brand transitions with both established social media sites and now defunct ones. Instagram used to be square only, short video was king (RIP Vine), and it all started with MySpace. To keep up with the current best practices, there are online resources. I like how Hootsuite lists the image requirements, ratios and suggestions for the largest platforms and recently found a similar resource from Sprout Social for video. Whether you are building or maintaining a social presence and need to know the sizing for your profile pic or are populating social with new branded content, knowing the rules can help with asset production, selection and approvals (aka don’t show your team a bunch of horizontal images when you need to make a reel) to be platform specific.
In the wake of Twitter changes, I have now joined Post, Hive and Mastodon and exploring how the visual language is shaping there as well. So far, they each seem as untemplated as Twitter, but Post and Hive lack alt text, Mastodon lacks media users, Hive lacks content moderation and all 3 lack language translation features. Will more users and brands joining end up creating a Post “look” or will it continue to allow all ratios? Without language or accessibility tools, will these platforms really serve all users? The pros and cons continue to change as beta turns into feature and I’m hoping the early adopters will influence the direction, since there is no loyalty at this point and we are just as likely to quit and go outside for a walk if the demands for a well-run, accessible and useful site are ignored or minimized.
Since there will likely be more players in the field, I think my DAM strategy advice would be to design, name and structure by campaign, not specific social media site. For example, if you are promoting an upcoming event and have social cards in 1:1 for Insta, 9:16 for reels, 16:9 for Twitter etc. I would continue creating this way, adding additional naming as needed vs a new folder structure, either describing the image by ratio or platform.
In honor of post-Thanksgiving, and giving in to all things Christmassy/winter, I used a photo of a recent peppermint bark sundae for an example. By creating crops that can be used in each common ratio, no matter which social media sites remain, these assets are ready to share across platforms. In a time of flux, this might be the closest to a future-proof plan for social images, videos, and other assets in your DAM.