TikTok's "Deals for You" Shopping Days Coming Soon

Welcome to this week’s Social Buddy newsletter, where we share the news from the world of social media, insights and tools for creators, and the latest social media marketing trends.

It’s the first week of July, so catch up on the latest social media news before the holiday weekend. Here are the biggest headlines from this week in social media: 

TikTok’s “Deals for You Days” will offer discounts to rival Amazon Prime Day 

TikTok continues to become a more and more shoppable platform, offering “Deals for You Days” starting on July 9th. Both big brands and creators will be offering discounts only available on TikTok Shop on these days, with some notable names including L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, NYX Makeup, Our Place, Too Faced, and Zwilling USA.  Creators will be going Live to promote exclusive discounts and show off their favorite products. TikTok’s Deals for You Days will preempt Amazon’s Prime Days this year.  Read More.

Meta launches AI Studio, giving some Instagram creators access to their own AI chatbots 

Some popular Instagram creators have been given early test access to Meta’s “AI Studio,” which will allow them to create AI chatbots of themselves to interact with their followers when they’re not online to do it themselves. Mark Zuckerberg says these messages “will be clearly labeled as AI.” Meta aims to improve their AI functionalities with these tests, rolling them out to more and more users so that creators and small businesses can eventually use AI to engage with customers and fans to answer questions and connect with their online communities. Read More.

Check out YouTube’s newest features for premium users

Premium users of YouTube will have access to new features, including a “Jump Ahead” button that helps them skip to the best part of a video, based on AI and viewership data. Another new feature is Smart Downloads for Shorts, so users can watch offline and on the go. Android users will have access to “picture-in-picture” YouTube shorts, so they can continuously watch shorts while using other apps or responding to messages. Android devices will also be able to use YouTube’s conversational AI tool again to ask questions and receive content recommendations. Read More.

Meta has expanded its Broadcast Channels on Facebook and Messenger to eligible pages with more than 10,000 followers

Meta’s Broadcast Channels is a “public one-to-many messaging tool for creators,” and this expansion comes after the initial test launch last October. Now, any page globally with more than 10,000 followers can engage via chat with their followers at large, and there are new features as well, including the ability to share channel messages between Instagram and Facebook and the ability to share to stories. Creators can also share exclusive early access channel content before posting it publicly. Meta stated that professional mode creators with more than 10,000 followers will also have access to broadcast channels as well in the coming months. Read More.

X makes Live Streaming a Premium-only feature

X shared last week that the live streaming feature on the app will only be available to Premium subscribers starting soon, moving another feature behind a paywall in an effort to increase revenue. The move is also apparently an attempt to avoid issues they’ve had with users live streaming illegal or pirated content. Basic subscribers that pay $3 a month will not be able to live stream and would have to upgrade to access the feature. X did not announce when exactly these changes will be implemented. Read More.

Facebook is testing a new, automated process to optimize Reels performance

Select pages will have access to Meta’s latest automated offering, this time experimenting with creative variations on Reels. While Facebook offered some A/B testing before, the new “auto A/B” tests require less manual effort on the creator’s part. The feature states “We’ll test different versions of your reel with various captions, covers and more and distribute the top performer for you.” The results aren’t in yet on whether or not their variations will perform better than those crafted by creators themselves, but it’s an exciting new feature in Meta’s Advantage suite. Read More.

Also in the news: 

• YouTube is testing out the ability to mention channels directly in comments 

• TikTok’s Instagram competitor app “Whee” is off to a slow start

• Instagram is testing out public like, comment, and share counts on posts

• X launched an X Ads Academy to help marketers improve their ad campaigns on the platform

• TikTok announces SOAR (Supporting Our Artisans and Retailers) Together program to provide resources for small businesses on TikTok shop.

Thanks for reading! If you haven’t subscribed already, click here to sign up for weekly updates about the latest social media tools and trends.

Until next week,

Social Buddy