Drumroll, please! Facebook recently dropped Premiere, which is Facebook Live plus all the benefits minus the shaky spontaneity of a live video. Forget about an impromptu stream – Premiere is yet another step towards carefully curated content designed to reap engagement, and that’s always a good thing in our book. With Facebook Premiere, brands can now debut exciting event announcements or videos without all of the stress and unpredictability of a live stream. Of course, you could just post or schedule your video – but trust us, this new feature can be your hypeman. Did we stutter? Facebook is giving you the option to send notifications and countdowns on social in addition to having users tune in and comment versus just posting and hoping for the best (like in the good ol’ days, ha). Why worry about ensuring things go off without a hitch when you can post content that’s pre-approved AND allows users to interact as they watch?

Fidji Simo, Facebook VP of Product for Video, puts it simply: “People will be able to experience Premieres of videos like movie trailers or new content from their favorite creators, alongside other fans together in real time — just like watching a Facebook Live video.”

So spread the word – tell your friends, tell your fam. Who doesn’t want to tune in to see how something plays out? Loyal viewers can subscribe to notifications so they won’t miss out on your Premiere video. Don’t forget, your video should be at least 30 seconds long and scheduled at least 10 minutes in advance. And if you’re into time management, you can schedule your Premiere at most 7 days ahead. When it’s all said and done, the video will live on your page like a published post. Good looks, Facebook!

For a full list of Premiere requirements, click here: http://bit.ly/2KBkxI7

Sources: Digital Trends and Marketing Land

Welcome to the age of meaningful social. That’s right, you heard me! ICYMI, Facebook and Instagram recently rolled out a time management tool. Say what? The social channel announced on the Facebook Newsroom that they aren’t fans of mindless scrolling on the apps: “We want the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram to be intentional, positive, and inspiring. Our hope is that these tools give people more control over the time they spend on our platforms and also foster conversations between parents and teens about the online habits that are right for them.”

Our industry has always been plagued by controversy over social media privacy settings, especially its real-world implications. Thanks to being primed by pop culture and real life, we all knew this was going to happen eventually. You know the classic “Has technology gone too far?” trope, but now we’re seeing it more prevalently in all aspects of our lives – security issues, political influences, Black Mirror episodes, etc. It’s hard not to worry about the consequences of a technology boom like the one we’ve had in the past ten years. Now with social media’s technological ramifications looming over our quotidian lives, we’re getting closer and closer to the world of Black Mirror.