YouTube Bets On TV-Style Content

Welcome and thanks for reading! I had two really cool opportunities this week, getting to visit Whalar’s new creator space in Venice called The Lighthouse with creators in residence Colin & Samir — if you're curious, I always post behind the scenes footage on Instagram Stories whenever I go anywhere interesting.

And then I got to speak to a USC journalism class on Thursday about the rise of creators. I posted some tips about getting involved in influencer marketing and the creator economy on LinkedIn. I’d love to hear from you if you’ve got any advice to add?

? 1-SECOND SUMMARY

• YouTube announced its 2024 priorities; plus my take on the one that matters most
• ?Threads is testing the ability to save posts
• Meta will label AI-generated images on Instagram and Facebook
• Benchmark Report: See the content formats consumers want brands to focus on in 2024*?
• At least 14 creators to look for at the Super Bowl this weekend
• TikTok’s is trying to attract Etsy sellers to TikTok Shops

?? ROADMAP

?? Meta Updates

• Adam Mosseri announced that Threads is testing the ability to save posts, allowing you to bookmark posts to revisit them later.
• Meta announced it will start labeling AI-generated images on Instagram and Facebook and is working with industry partners to develop common technical standards to signal when a piece of content has been created using AI.?
• Spotted in the wild: Instagram and Facebook are testing a feature called "Write with AI" to help generate options.?

?? LinkedIn Updates

• LinkedIn is launching a new “Catch Up” tab that will highlight things from your connections like a new job, work anniversary or if they are hiring. Connection requests, invites to newsletters and events, will move to a new tab called “Grow.”

?? TikTok Updates

• TikTok is testing a prompt that encourages users to add a search shortcut to their home screen.

?? Snapchat Updates

It’s been a busy week at Snap:

• laying off 10% of global workforce
• seeing shares drop 35%
• growing its monthly active user count to 800M
• launching a campaign to distance themselves from being just another social media app

?? YouTube Updates

• YouTube is testing feeds organized by color: Red, Blue, Green; the color selection seems tied to the thumbnail of the video and not the subject of the video.
• YouTube viewers can now discover vertical Live streams in their Shorts feed. The vertical live experience was first announced last year but the increased visibility is new.
• YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced the platform’s 2024 priorities: AI; creators; TV-style programming and subscriptions. Scroll down for my hot take on the most important element.?

?? RESOURCE

2024 Social Content Trends & Benchmarks Report

The speed of social keeps accelerating. As you plan, schedule, and post, are you aware of consumer’s content preferences?

The latest report from Sprout Social gives you industry trends and average post performance metrics to guide your social strategy so that your content stands out. Get Sprout Social’s free report to understand what your audience wants to see more of in 2024.??

Download the FREE report!

*sponsored

?? HOT TAKE

YouTube’s 2024 Priorities

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared his vision for 2024, and four big bets the company is making. I read the blog post so you don’t have to and added my interpretation of what each item is really trying to convey. Seriously, all opinions are my own.

Let’s get into it:??

#1: AI will empower human creativity — not replace it. Expect to see more AI powered content creation tools this year that build on last year’s Dream Screen and Dream Track for Shorts release.?

What YT is saying: You can expect the latest in technological advances to help you create better, faster, quality content your audience will love

#2: Creators should be recognized as next-generation studios. Creators are redefining the future of the entertainment industry with top-notch storytelling that shouldn’t be dismissed as simply “user-generated content.” And they should be compensated and respected accordingly. To that end, there are more than 3 million channels in the YouTube Partner Program and YPP has paid out over $70 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the last three years.

What YT is saying: At YouTube, you are valued and compensated for your work. Warm fuzzies… check!

#3: YouTube’s next frontier is the living room and subscriptions. Globally, people watch more than 1 billion hours on average of YouTube content on their TVs every day and, over the last three years, the top creators who got the majority of their watchtime from TV grew by more than 400%. There are also now more than 8 million subscribers to YouTube TV. Meanwhile, Shorts is averaging over 70 billion daily views!??

What YT is saying: ?? Pay attention to the numbers and actionable insights ?? It’s time to think beyond mobile. Optimize your content for living room viewing, aka big screen TVs. And aim to produce television-style programming (think social series, documentaries and long-form features) that people can watch instead of spending time on other social apps or streaming services.?I wrote about this last year: What Creators & Brands Can Learn from TV

But don’t ignore multi-format video: Shorts views are huge and still a priority for YouTube as they should be for you: channels uploading Shorts grew by 50% year over year.???

#4: Protecting the creator economy is foundational. That means delivering high quality content; prioritizing high quality information; adding layers of transparency and protections such as labels to identify AI-generated content.?

What YT is saying: Users should feel confident that spam, misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes will be deprioritized; YouTube is home to the best and most reputable creators.???

???? CREATOR MOVES

• Issa Rae has secured investors for a studio to generate opportunities for other creators -AfroTech
• Harry Jowsey is the latest creator to join Alex Cooper’s The Unwell Network -Deadline

• Super Bowl Watch: Influencers are no strangers to Super Bowl spots (remember this ad or this one from 2020?!) and this year is no different. Here are some of the digital creators to look for on Sunday — whether in Las Vegas or featured in ad spots.Alix EarleLonnie IIVKhaby LameZach KingAddison RaeBennito SkinnerMrBeastHaley KalilAdam WaheedRyan TrahanKristin JuszczykMary MartinezRobyn DelMonteVictoria Browne

Related:?

• Inside the NFL’s Creator Strategy
• Super Bowl And Influencers—Why Creators Are Involved In More Big Game Marketing
• The Taylor Swift and Alix Earle effect: Female-focused ad spots take the Super Bowl?

?? QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The message from TikTok is to take advantage of the live shopping component and large audience reach”

- Andrew Lipsman, an independent analyst at Media, Ads + Commerce, quoted in Modern Retail about TikTok’s efforts to attract Etsy sellers, and how he sees a long term opportunity in growing a roster of small- and medium-sized merchants on the ByteDance app.?

?? IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• Influencers are landing paid brand partnerships and UGC deals in an unexpected new way: Slack groups -Business Insider (paywall)
• Famous Birthdays enlisted a Creator Economy veteran to spearhead it’s Pro Platform push -Net Influencer
• Google rebrands Bard AI as Gemini and launches a new app and subscription -CNBC
• 'Pookie' is more than a pet name. TikTok's new favorite word is rooted in a rich cultural history -Mashable
• No, Michael Cera isn’t the mastermind behind CeraVe; and yes there will be a SuperBowl commercial -The New York Times
• TikTok is showing outrageous search suggestions that’s manufacturing influencer drama and boosting engagement -The Washington Post
• Against trendbait: TikTok has seen a bizarre (and annoying) explosion of language as creators rush to coin terms -Vox