Issue 108  11 October 2022

TikTok launches Photo Mode

TikTok has launched Photo Mode which lets mobile users share carousel posts of still images that automatically display one after another.

You can add music to soundtrack the images, which viewers can swipe through at their own pace.

TikTok says the feature is available in the US and most regions globally.

Comment: It wasn't well known or used much but it's always been possible to publish photos on TikTok. However, Photo Mode could catch on, especially with Instagram moving away from photos.

 

New Reels ad formats

Meta’s has announced it’s testing new ad products for Facebook Reels.

Post-loop ads, are 4 to 10-second standalone video ads that play at the end of a Reel. When the ad finishes playing, the original Reel resumes and loops again.

Image carousel ads enable users to swipe across 2-10 image ads, which appear as an overlay at the bottom of Reels content.

 

Mixed media on Twitter

You can now mix up photos, videos and GIFs in a single tweet.

Comment: Love this! Provides lots of scope to get creative.

 

Everyone gets a handle on YouTube

I don't usually mention YouTube but this new feature is significant. Everyone will soon be able to have their own YouTube user name/handle.

Everyone will have a YouTube handle: a unique identifier to help people more easily discover and connect with you and your channel.

Your existing channel URLs, names, etc will continue to work and YouTube will notify you when you can choose your handle.

Previously, one users with a 100+ subscribers could get a handle.