Welcome back to another week of Red Hot Social Headlines. This week we cover Reddit’s ad creation updates, Instagram’s latest test, TikTok’s $2.1 million television ad to oppose the app’s ban and YouTube’s new feature that allows creators to share exclusive shorts with paying viewers.
Reddit Rolls Out Ad Creation Updates, Including Generative AI Copy Suggestions
Reddit is launching some new ad creation updates, including AI-generated headline suggestions, custom asset cropping, improved bid management options and more.
Key details:
Reddit’s new tool, “Smart Headlines,” will allow users to enter their website URL, and using generative AI, the function will ideate variations of ad copy headlines all while keeping the platform’s unique audience in mind.
Creative Asset Cropper will give advertisers another resource to customize content within the platform by allowing users to crop their images to ensure they fit within Reddit’s ad format specifications.
The platform is also enhancing some ad features that they already have within the app to optimize its bidding options to maximize results and manage budgets.
Key takeaways: After the platform’s recent IPO, Reddit seems driven to maximize its revenue by improving its business tools. There’s no doubt that it is a platform to watch in 2024 as it expands its offerings and improves its services; we’ll be watching to see if these enhancements produce good results for more brands and if Reddit advertising should become a larger part of paid media spending going forward.
Instagram Is Developing ‘Blend,’ Recommended Reels for You and a Friend
Instagram is testing a “Blend” feature that curates a private feed of Reels recommended for you and a friend.
Key details:
This new feature will allow users to invite a friend to Blend, which will prompt Instagram to generate a private, personalized feed of Reels that the platform thinks the two users will be interested in.
This new feature has the potential to be a way for Instagram to boost Reels’ watch time and discovery within the platform.
Since sharing Reels on Instagram via direct messages is already so popular, the platform will now use that data to its advantage to proactively recommend and feed users Reels that they think the users would enjoy.
Key takeaways: If Instagram decides to take this feature externally, this could give the platform a leg up on competitors as no other platform has a feature like this.
TikTok Makes $2.1 Million TV Ad Buy as Senate Reviews Bill That Could Ban App
TikTok has launched a $2.1 million advertising campaign with a message for senators in reelection fights this year: Block the House bill that could effectively ban the app in the America.
Key details:
The platform has reserved TV ad space in the states of Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which are five states represented by “vulnerable” Senate candidates. The ad will also appear in New York, Minnesota and Massachusetts, due to being identified as key markets.
TikTok’s logic behind this advertisement is to show the benefit of the app for U.S. businesses and to put more pressure on the Senators who oppose the bill.
However, the ad seems a bit misleading as the bill was not an outright ban of TikTok. The bill proposal states that TikTok would be forced into U.S. ownership to alleviate concerns about the potential influence of foreign adversaries on the American public.
A TikTok spokesperson explained, “We think the public at-large should know that the government is attempting to trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans and devastate 7 million small businesses nationwide.”
Key takeaways: This is only the beginning of the TikTok ban debates, especially as we head into the thick of an election year. Currently, the bill sits with the Senate and will be reviewed in the coming weeks and months. On the other hand, TikTok is partaking in high-pressure lobbying with its advertising plan and calling on app users to swarm congressional offices with calls demanding that members vote against the ban.
Get the full scoop on TikTok’s recent efforts to avoid a ban in the United States HERE.
All About YouTube’s New Feature That Allows Creators to Share Exclusive Shorts with Paid Viewers
Amidst speculation about TikTok’s ban, YouTube announced its new feature that will allow members to share short-form videos exclusively with their paid viewers.
Key details:
This new feature allows paying subscribers to access additional exclusive content from their favorite creators on top of their already-available perks like custom emojis, livestreams, badges and more.
During the content upload flow, creators can go to “Visibility” and select “Members only.” Creators will also have the option to schedule their content to go from members only to public, giving members special early access to videos.
Creators can use members-only shorts to announce giveaways, provide any updates, share limited-time deals, launch product lines and more.
Members will be able to access the exclusive content in their Shorts feed, subscriptions feed and from their channel on the Shorts and memberships tab.
Key takeaways:Increasingly, we are seeing platforms test and enable features that allow creators to share exclusive content with paying subscribers, so we’ll be keen to see how quickly creators will adapt to this new feature and if/how this feature will impact brand partnerships with content creators on YouTube.
