Getting started with the Media Library

In this article, we'll walk you through the simple steps to access and organize your photos, videos, audio, and documents within the Vista Social Media Library. We will talk about Media filters, Tags, Starred Media, and other useful features that can help streamline your media management for an effortless experience. Let's get started!

What is the Media Library?

Vista Social's media library is a centralized storage designed to keep various types of media assets, such as images, videos, audio files, and documents, all in one place.

But that's not all - it's seamlessly integrated with royalty-free media sites like Unsplash and Pexels, giving you access to a huge collection of stunning visuals, and also syncs effortlessly with Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox for easy cloud storage access.

Wait, there's more! With a fantastic content finder that scouts Instagram users and hashtags, finding fresh and engaging content is a breeze. Plus, you can create awesome designs using our Canva integration and import them straight to your media library.

Navigating your Media Library

Accessing the Media Library

On your Vista Social account, hover over the sidebar menu and click on the Media icon.

Changing your view

Use the view toggle next to Filters to switch between three layouts: Card, Compact cards, and Table. Card view gives you a big preview with the details underneath, Compact cards fit more items on screen, and Table lists everything in rows.

Each card shows the item's tags (or a + Add tag button if it doesn't have one yet), along with its format, file size, whether it has alt text, and how many posts use it. The top of the library shows your totals: how many items and folders you have and how much storage they're using.

Search bar and filters

Use the search bar to find a specific media you're looking for. Results load right away and show directly in your library. Press / on your keyboard to jump straight to the search bar.

You can also use filters to have a more focused view of your media library.

Click Filters, pick your options, then click Apply. Here are the filter options:

• Tags: show media with one or more of your tags. Use Find a tag to search your list.
• Favorites: select My favorites to see only your starred media.
• Type: choose images, videos, sounds, documents, polls, or dynamic media.
• Usage: show all media (Any), only media Used in posts, or only Unused media.
• Uploaded by: show media added by specific team members.

Adding new media

To add new media, just drag it and drop it! You can also click Add media. Everything lives under this one button: upload from your computer, add an image, video, sound, or document, create a poll, or start a new folder.

Upload options

Click Upload files to upload straight from your computer, or hover over Add image, Add video, Add sound, or Add document to see where you can add that type of media from:

• Upload from your computer
  • Lets you upload straight from your device's local drive
• Upload from URL
  • Lets you upload from a public media URL link
• Content finder
  • Lets you find and import media from Instagram hashtags, and Instagram users, or browse from royalty-free media sites
    • Unsplash
    • Pexels
    • Giphy
• Import from cloud storage
  • Lets you import media from your online cloud storage
    • Google Drive
    • OneDrive
    • Dropbox
    • Bynder

Recent folders

Your most recently used folders show at the top of the Media Library under Recent folders. Each folder card shows a preview of what's inside, plus how many items and subfolders it holds, so you can spot the right one and jump straight in. Learn more in Organizing your media with folders.

Starred media

When you're using Vista Social in your browser, another handy method to organize your Media Library is through Starred Media. By starring items, you can easily filter and locate them at the top of your media library, just like when bookmarking a page!

In your media library, select the media item you want, hover over it, and click on the Star icon.

Deleting media

You can remove any media items you no longer wish to keep in your Media Library. Just hover over an item you want to delete, click on the action button, then click Remove.

Bulk deleting media

You can also bulk-delete your media. Just hover over your selected media items, click on the checkmark, then click the trash bin icon in the bulk action bar.

Getting media links

If you want to use your media library images or videos in our bulk publishing via CSV, click the three-dot menu on the item and select Copy direct link to use it in the link field:

You may also click the Share option if you want to share your media. This will open your system's sharing menu, then choose where you want to send it (for example, Messages, Notes, or another supported app).

Generate Images with AI

You can also generate images directly from the Media Library by navigating to Add media → Add image → Generate with AI.

Once generated, the images will automatically appear in your Media Library and can be identified by the purple AI tag displayed on the bottom-left corner of the image preview.

Brand safety checks on your media

If your profile group has an active Brand Safety and Compliance policy, the images and videos you add here are checked against it as they upload. Anything that misses your guidelines is flagged in the media's preview, so you can catch it before the asset ever reaches a post. The check uses the same policy that covers your captions, so there's nothing extra to set up in the library.

Additional features

Click the three-dot menu on any media item to see more options. The options you see depend on the media type.

• Settings: depending on the media type, add a title, description, audio name, tags, or alt text, and pick which profile groups the item belongs to.
• Edit image (images only): edit the image in the built-in editor.
• Edit tags: add or remove tags on the item.
• Download: download the media item.
• Duplicate: make a copy of the media item.
• Pick cover (sounds only): pick a cover image for your sound.
• Pick thumbnail (videos only): choose a thumbnail from the video's frames or upload your own.
• Pick sound (videos only): add a trending sound or one of your own audio files to the video.
• Create a post or Create an idea: start a post or an idea with this media item.
• Create clips (videos only): turn a longer video into short clips.
• View posts: see the posts that use this media item.
• Share: open your device's share menu to send the item somewhere else.
• Move to folder: move the item into one of your folders.
• Remove: delete the item from your Media Library.
• Copy direct link: copy a link to the item, for example to use in the "link" field when bulk publishing via CSV.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I'm trying to preview my video, but it's not playing. Why?

A: If your file is in .MOV format, it won't play in the browser due to format limitations. Try converting it to a different video format, like .MP4, for smoother playback.

If you're using another file type and still can't preview it, please contact support for assistance.

Q: Why isn't a file someone attached to a comment showing up in my Media Library?

A: Files attached to post comments stay with the comment and aren't added to your Media Library automatically. To save one to your library, open the attachment and click Add to media library. Only signed-in Vista Social users can do this. Learn more in How to use post comments for team collaboration.

Need further help?

If you have any questions or need additional help, feel free to contact our awesome support team. We are here to assist you! 💙

Related Reading:

How to bulk upload media

How to add tags to your media

Organizing Your Media Library with Media Folders

Attaching images, videos, and other media to your posts

Brand Safety and Compliance Policy

How to use post comments for team collaboration

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