YouTube is rolling out a series of updates that will allow content creators to live stream, upload custom thumbnails and add merchandise links to videos. 

New here now live

YouTube channels with 100 subscribers will now be able to live stream content to their followers. YouTube previously reserved this feature for channels with 1000 subscribers. 

This opens the door for brands to cover more time-sensitive content such as live events.

Custom thumbs

Users can now upload custom thumbnails to accompany their videos. Until now, thumbnails had to be chosen from a still of the featured video. 

Merchandise 

Finally, YouTube will now let users use annotations to link externally to third-party websites and online stores, providing new ways to monetise from movies. 

The updates come as YouTube aggressively tries to establish itself both as a quality content producer and a valid monetary platform.

With over 1 billion monthly active users, it seems there's plenty of low lying fruit for brands looking to leverage video.

To find out more visit youtubecreator.blogspot.com.au.

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