By Marc Marty | Podcaster, Speaker & Educator
The podcast currently has 64 episodes available.
On this episode of the Law Enforcement Social Media Podcast, Marc talks about Instagram Galleries
Instagram galleries is the newest feature added to Instagram. The days of simply sharing a photo from Instagram to other platforms is over. Instagram has become a lifestyle application. It's now an app that you can message from and share pictures and video too. Instagram has become a blend of all the famous platforms. They have become an app that allows you to do everything from one platform.
The current iteration of the app now lets you create galleries of up to 10 photos or videos in one post. The days of creating a collage in one small frame on Instagram and hoping that your followers will be able to view it are over. Instagram galleries show up in your news feed just like a regular post, so there is no wondering where to go to view them. As you scroll through your news feed, a gallery post will show small gray dots at the bottom of the picture, this tells you that that specific post has multiple pictures or videos or a combination of the two in it. Simply slide your finger to the left over the screen to view the different pictures and or videos. Creating a gallery post is no different than posting a single picture to your Instagram feed. Simply click on the plus sign and then click on the icon on the far right that looks like three squares on top of each other. Now you can add your photos and or videos to a gallery post it.
When creating a gallery post, videos can only be 60 seconds long and your pictures have to be square, unlike single photos, which can be zoomed out to show everything in a rectangle photo. That's 10 minutes of video you can share in one post, that's Ten 1 minute posts. Now, I'm not sure you'll want to share that much video in one post, but you have that option. People won't be able to "like" single images in your gallery post, they'll have to like the whole post.
On this episode, Marc talks about why police agencies should be streaming live for their department and how to educate and convince your administrators.
Here is a copy of Facebook's community standards for live streaming video.
On this episode of the Law Enforcement Social Media podcast, Marc talks about Facebook's two updates to its news feed algorithm and what it means to LESM professionals.
After a short hiatus, we are back! On this episode of the show we talk about where we've been, what we've been doing and some of the issues we face with LESM.
The Law Enforcement Social Media podcast is the most powerful community policing,
marketing and communication tool available to law enforcement today. With the LESM Podcast, social media managers from police, sheriff, highway patrol, and other law enforcement organizations can learn new tools and techniques, as well as the latest trends and news, surrounding law enforcement social media.
News
Twitter has pulled the firehose or their feed from at least one tool used by law enforcement, GeoFeedia. This stems from a complaint filed by the ACLU. An article was written by a Nicole Ozer, the Technology & Civil Liberties Policy Director of the ACLU in Northern California. Her article is titled, Agencies are using spying software to conduct digital surveillance. The purpose for her article was to call for community control in decision-making around policing.
She cited that Fresno PD was using a piece of software to identify threats to public safety by monitoring hashtags such as BlackLivesMatter, DontShoot, ImUnarmed, Police Brutality and ItsTimeForChange
They requested records from 63 law enforcement agencies and found that 20 of them were using social media networking surveillance tools.
They didn’t find that the use of the software was put up for vote, debate, community input or any public notice about the use of the software. She attempts to persuade the reader that the purpose for the surveillance is racially motivated.
Periscope Producer
Twitter has answered the call when it comes to products like Facebook Live
Slowly rolling out Periscope Producer, which allows creators to stream to a special URL using desktop streaming software and various cameras
You won’t notice anything really on the viewing end, other than the creator will be able to put overlay graphics on the screen, take Skype call-ins and show sponsorship reels.
Upcoming Training
We are teaching an Introduction to Law Enforcement Social Media class on Thursday, October 20th in Santa Ana, California and we will also be in Fontana, California on November 3rd. You can learn more about our upcoming classes by visiting lawenforcement.social/training
If you would like training for your agency, reach out to us via Facebook, Twitter, or our website and we’ll be happy to get your agency trained up on topics ranging from learning the basics of law enforcement social media to how to create awesome videos for public service announcements to advanced social media trips.
User Generated Content - What Is It?
Content which is provided by your community
Pictures
Videos
Tips, information
Why Use It?
It helps with the 70%, 15%, 15% rule
70 - Content your community is interested in
15 - Content regarding the profession
15 - Content about your organization
Solicits engagement from your community and gets them involved
Draws more followers since they have an opportunity to be part of your page
Helps you keep your page fresh with different content
How to get the content
Have it sent to you via private messenger on Facebook
Set-up a dropbox file and send the community or individual the link
Dropcanvas.com
Simply drag content
Share link or send via email or social media
Link will stay good for 3 days
User simply opens email and clicks on media
You can create various canvases, but max single file is 5GB
Ideas for content
Holidays
Have families create a 10 second Halloween or Christmas safety video tip. Stitch these videos together to create a PSA
Have families submit photos of their Christmas lights or decorations
Have local bars and tavern owners do a quick 10-second video message about using designated drivers
Traffic Safety
Kids and teens can create their own safety tip videos or pictures
Wearing helmets
Wearing seatbelts
Crossing the street
Distracted driving
General Safety
Walking at night
Locking your residence
Locking your vehicle
Shredding personal information
Online safety
If you are including businesses, make sure to open your request up to everyone. Don’t show favoritism.
Have clear explanations and instructions somewhere on your social media platforms or website, review all video in its entirety prior to posting or editing
Closing
Thank you for joining us for this episode and we’ll be posting the show notes for this episode on LawEnforcement.Social on Monday, October 17th.
If you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll get an advanced copy of the show notes, including some additional content not discussed here on the show, or available to readers of our blog.
Stay safe, always think positive and watch your six.
This is by far the best episode we have ever recorded. For this episode, Mike and Marc record from Marc's studio at his house. Listen as Marc clowns Mike and how the banter continues throughout the episode. You will not be disappointed. Oh and yes, we talk about the new Twitter Moments.
Go to our website LawEnforcement.social for some new training, we are hosting. We promise you will not be disappointed.
Facebook Photos and Videos
Many of us in the law enforcement profession do not have the luxury of paying to promote our content on Facebook. If you stay on top of the latest news and info in social media, you’re probably aware that Facebook is a pay-to-play platform. In other words, whoever is paying the most to Facebook get’s more exposure in the timelines.
With that being said, you have to use every tactic and technique available to you when using Facebook to reach your community. One way to do that is through the use of photos and videos.
We strongly advocate using photos or videos in your posts. People are captivated by photos and video that interest them. If they are attached to a post, your content has a better chance of being read by your community.
The Right Way To Use Photos
We have found that when posting photos to Facebook from our mobile devices, they are automatically resized to fit a Facebook post. Rarely do we see photos that are not properly sized anymore. Remember the photo previews you would see, which were a 1/4 of the photo? Once you clicked on the photo and it expanded, only then were you able to see what the photo actually was about.
When we refer to using photos the right way, we’re talking about techniques such as focusing on the subject at hand while using only 1/3 of the focus grid, and slightly off center.
Now if you are running out of photos or don’t have a photo applicable to the topic you are posting about, consider using an infographic. Infographics are great ways to grab people’s attention.
Now if you are going to post a photo found on your computer or an infographic, there are a couple of different sizes you can find on various graphics about the topic. The one size we like to use is 1024 x 512 pixels. We have found this works great for Facebook and Twitter, which cuts down on creating another graphic for the Twitter platform as well.
Apps To Make Photos Great
There are several, several, photo apps available for download onto a mobile device, and plenty of websites out there offering more design tools for creating and editing photos. Of all of them out there, here are the ones we use almost on a daily basis:
Web-based Software
Canva - Easily create beautiful designs, documents, and social media graphics using Canvas drag-and-drop feature and professional layouts to design consistently stunning graphics.
PicMonkey - PicMonkey makes creative tools for photo editing and graphic design. You simply upload a photo and you can start improving its tone, remove blemishes, add text and use some cool layers.
RelayThat - This is the web-based software Mike mentioned in the podcast. You’ll love the fact you can drop your photos into the site, select which platform you are using, and the purpose of your creation and RelayThat will take care of the rest of the work for you.
Clipping Magic - Ever wonder how to remove the background from a photo? We used to use Adobe Fireworks, but since it is no longer made, we now use Clipping Magic. Surprisingly, we have found it to be easier and better than Fireworks.
Mobile-based Apps
Ripl - This phone based app allows you to use the photos on your phone, layer text over the photo, and even create a video slideshow with music for use on your social media platforms.
WordSwag - This is another mobile based app which allows you to overlay cool text over your photos and create awesome graphics.
Big Lens - This mobile based app allows you to blur portions of an image, such as license plates or children, in a photo. Highly recommended for law enforcement use.
Video on Facebook
Using video is a great way to reach your community, and if you load it directly into Facebook, they’ll reward you by giving you a little boost in your reach. Facebook wants to be king of video, and improved reach is their way of encouraging people to upload on their platform as opposed to on other platforms like Vimeo or YouTube.
Although it can be as simple as pressing the record button on your mobile device, to more advanced recording with boom microphones and LED lights, here are some tips to keep in mind for ALL videos produced by law enforcement:
If you share a video from a different platform into Facebook, just realize it will only play within the Facebook platform when you access Facebook from a computer. If viewing Facebook from a smartphone, it will open up the corresponding app.
Video Software and Apps
Although we use Apple’s iMovie to create our larger videos requiring narration, we have found one product we really like to use both on our mobile devices and our computers.
Animoto is an amazing tool which allows you to simply drag and drop photos and videos, add text, and add music (from their library or yours) to create an amazing video.
Here is a video produced on the Azusa Police Department’s Facebook page thanking supporters who attended a recent Coffee With A Cop event. All of this was created within 20 minutes on Animoto.
We think the best part of Animoto is the access to their sound library. We never have to worry about copyright issues, which is a huge relief.
Something Special For You
In closing, here’s a special “nugget” we want to give our email subscribers. A nugget in the social media world refers to a special trick or hack.
Statistics show that Facebook is viewed more on a mobile device than a desktop computer. With that in mind, you should make the best effort to ensure your platform is tailored for mobile users, every chance you get.
The main header photo at the top of your Facebook page is commonly known as the cover photo. To ensure that the photo looks great and does not get stretched, cut off, or has too much pixelation, the ideal dimensions are 851px X 315px. However, there’s a slight problem with this Facebook-recommended size.
When you visit your page from a mobile device, you will quickly see that photos posted at 851px X 315px are cut-off. For some reason, Facebook does not make this photo responsive, and therefore, your photo will not look the same when viewed on a desktop vs. a mobile device.
To get around this, create a photo using the dimensions of 828px X 465px. You can now add text to the photo without worrying about it being cut-off and unreadable on a mobile device.
One flaw we found with this work around is that although the photo might be vertically centered on the desktop view, you’ll see more vertical space on the mobile app.
On Tuesday, August 2, the world was treated to a surprise. Although some controversy surrounds this latest addition to the social media world, Instagram Stories made it's debut and was the talk around the world. The controversy, you might ask, is the fact that many people were quick to point out that Instagram Stories was a complete copy-cat of Snapchat.
Too much of the everyone's amazement, the CEO of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, flat out told the world in an interview with TechCrunch that they did in fact copy Snapchat. When you think about it, he pretty much killed the buzz or rumors by coming out and acknowledging what everyone was thinking and talking about and confirming their suspicions.
What is Instagram Stories
Instagram stories can be found right at the top left of the Instagram app while you have it open. Under the + sign, you will see a row of circles. These are the stories of the people you follow. Simply click on them and you can see the moments of their day as the day moves on. Since the content only lasts for 24 hours, you won't find it showing up in your profile grid or feed.
How To Use It - The Basics
To make a recording, you simply click on the + sign, and the screen will appear with a big white dot in the center. Touch the dot once and it will snap a picture. Hold down the dot and you can record 10-second video clips.
When you're done, you can either post to your story by clicking on the white circle with the black check mark in it, or you can click on the text or drawing icons at the top. From here, you can type a message or hand draw some text or an object.
Another thing you can do before posting is add a color filter to your picture or video. Simply swipe to the right until you find a tone you like.
Looking At Stories
You can simply click on a person's icon, and their story will appear. By tapping on the phone, you can advance through the story. However, by swiping to the left, you can advance forward to the next story.
When you're on someone's story, you can send them a message as well, by clicking on the words 'Send Message' on the bottom left of their story.
How Can We Use This As Law Enforcement?
First, there's a pro and a con to Instagram Stories. For the pro, I will say it is easier to use or learn to use because most people on Instagram have a pretty good understanding of the platform. It's nice to have a platform that does two things for the price of one.
The flip side is history has taught me that if you do something really well, stick to that one thing. Don't try to be all things or try to start mastering something else. Snapchat has the shortened version video and quick picture platform and app mastered. That also means they've acquired a large following, and I would say it's a pretty loyal following at that. If Snapchat doesn't start losing popularity over Instagram Stories, it could create a problem of deciding which to go with for your department's program.
What I like about Instagram Stories is it allows us to share moments of our day in the police world with the public. We can be candid, and hold improv type interviews or discussions with officers. We can speak to our communities on a human, unscripted, front.
Subscribe to our newsletter for all the tips, tricks and content you need to be successful with your department social media strategy.
In this episode, Mike and Marc discuss the trials and tribulations of a live-stream video.
Most people are using Facebook Live through their mobile devices. However, to take your video stream production to a higher level, you might want to consider Wirecast by Telestream.
Wirecast installs on your computer and in a non-technical way, get's in between your camera and the video feed pushing out to Facebook, or any other live-stream platform. It takes the image from your camera and allows you to place "layers" over your video, before sending it to the platform.
A layer can be images, text, and graphics that make the look of your video feed even better. In addition to this, you can even add in audio sources, as well as recorded video, to your stream.
So basically, if you want all the cool effects like your Twitter feed scrolling on the bottom of the screen and other features seen on newscasts, Wirecast is your product.
We'll cover more about Wirecast in a future episode and blog post.
National Night Out
Both Marc and Mike talk about their experiences prepping for National Night Out, and how they plan to use social media to reach their communities.
On today's show, Mike and I recap Social Media Day San Diego.
The podcast currently has 64 episodes available.