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Get more TikTok views with custom thumbnails

Get more TikTok views with custom thumbnails

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Brian Nagele
July 30, 2024

Hello and 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.

Some highlights you’ll find this week:

🎵 TikTok’s Sound Search helps you find that song that’s been stuck in your head

🛍️ YouTube Shopping updates for affiliates and merch store owners

🎬 Instagram Live streaming tips and tricks

Check out the biggest headlines from this week in social media:

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TikTok’s latest feature helps you find a song or sound by humming it

TikTok is launching a new feature called “Sound Search” that helps users find out the name of a song, or even just a viral TikTok sound, by humming the melody into their phones. This feature will make it easier to find trending sounds and to learn the names of songs behind trending sound bites on TikTok. It isn’t widely available yet, but TikTok has started rolling it out to some users and regions. Sound Search will compete with Shazam and a similar feature on YouTube Music. Read more.

Instagram’s tips on how (and why) to live stream

Instagram released a new guide all about Instagram Live this week, including how-to info, features to explore, and tips on how to make the most of your livestream. The guide covers everything from how to go Live, what it means to go Live, and how to use features like adding co-hosts or disabling comments. Some of their tips include planning ahead on what you want to share during the livestream, promoting it in advance to improve viewership, and engaging with viewers' comments and questions. Read more.

TikTok now allows you to upload custom thumbnails to serve as cover images on videos

Another win for TikTok creators: you now have more control over the cover image on videos. When posting on TikTok, users can now choose from any still from the video to serve as the cover image, or they can upload a custom thumbnail. This extra level of control can make for a cleaner looking profile, and it can help attract more clicks and views to your videos. All you have to do is click “Upload” when you’re choosing a still frame from the video to upload a separate image. Read more.

YouTube launches a new Chrome extension for YouTube Shopping Affiliates

YouTube has a new Chrome extension that allows users in the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program to save products they want to promote in their content. While browsing any stores on Google Chrome, you can save them in the extension and even see the possible commission rates for those products. The extension will also suggest similar products and their commissions to compare. The browser extension only works on desktop for now, and it’s limited to US affiliates. YouTube Shopping has also added a Merch Shelf for anyone with a merch store, which showcases your products and links directly to your store on your homepage. Learn more.

Threads rolls out dedicated feeds based on real-time search results

After celebrating their one year anniversary this summer, Threads continues to add new features to improve the user experience on their app. The latest update is the addition of custom, dedicated feeds based on search results. Earlier this year, they added real-time search results, where users could search for a topic and find related posts. Now, users can bookmark those search results and save them as a dedicated feed that appears in the Threads Home tab. This feature was available on the desktop version of Threads in May, but is finally making its way to the app now. Read more.

Reddit launches new Lead Generation Ads

Reddit is launching a new ad format powered by a streamlined Zapier integration. The new lead generation ads will allow advertisers to collect customer information directly from their ads on Reddit, provided that users opt in. Users can choose to provide information like their name and email address in response to ads without leaving the Reddit platform. Reddit boasts a “30% decrease in cost per lead and a 25% increase in lead submission rates” with this new ad format. The integration will allow advertisers to import leads directly into their CRM from Reddit. Read more.

Also in the news this week:

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Until next week,

Social Buddy