# Understanding Sources {% embed url="" %} Sources are the raw materials you use to generate social media post drafts. Add a YouTube video, article, or PDF as a source, then Blotato uses AI to remix that content into post drafts for each platform. Sources and drafts are different: * **Sources** = raw materials (videos, articles, PDFs, text) stored locally in your browser * **Drafts** = social media posts generated from sources, saved to Blotato's database Here's a step-by-step guide to using sources effectively in Blotato: ## Sources Supported Click "+ Add Source" in the top-left corner of the "Remix" screen. To generate rich well-researched posts, focus on the QUALITY of each source! Here are all the sources currently supported by Blotato: * **Text Sources:** Copy and paste any relevant text from articles, notes, or documents. * **Articles & Websites:** Input the website URL and Blotato will extract the text content. * **YouTube & TikTok:** Simply add a link, and Blotato will extract the transcript. The video must have captions (subtitles) for transcript extraction to work. If a video has no captions, copy-paste the content as a Text source instead. Note: Facebook Reel and Instagram URLs are not supported as video sources — use Text or Articles instead. * **Audio, Podcasts, & Meeting Recordings:** Upload audio files to extract useful content. * **PDFs:** Upload PDF documents, ebooks, research papers, case studies, etc. * **Perplexity AI:** Research any topic by using Perplexity's AI-powered real-time web search. > :bulb: The quality of your sources directly affects your final output — use reliable, well-structured sources for the best results. Garbage In, Garbage Out. > :warning: Sources are stored locally in your browser and are NOT saved across devices. If you switch from laptop to phone, your sources will not transfer over. *** ## Toggling Sources On/Off Once you've added sources, toggle them on or off based on relevance. Only the toggled-on posts will be used when you generate a new post or re-generate an existing post.
🚀 Pro Tip: If you're overwhelmed adding sources, start by adding ONE high-quality source. I personally don't often use more than 2-3 sources. A SINGLE high-quality source of information can be used to generate many diverse posts. *** ## Workaround for Paywalled or Inaccessible Websites Blotato can only extract the visible text from websites that are publicly accessible. Paid articles are not supported. Here's a workaround if adding the website URL does NOT work: * Manually copy and paste the website's text. * Add it as a "Text" source. *** ## Research Any Topic with Perplexity AI If you're not sure what sources to use, let Perplexity do the research for you! :point\_right: Add "Perplexity" as a source. 🔍 Type any prompt (e.g., “latest AI trends”) 📜 Blotato uses Perplexity AI to research the web. *** ## Custom Instructions to Pre-process Each Source "Custom Instructions" allow you to apply a prompt to each source before generating your final content. When using multiple sources, custom instructions helps AI prioritize key information – ensuring only the most impactful data, statistics, or insights are used to write your posts.
Example: if you're using a long Youtube video as a source, a custom instruction like *“Extract the top three takeaways”* ensures the post remains concise and valuable. If you have multiple sources, I highly recommend using custom instructions. They lead to **higher-quality content by instructing AI to focus on what's important.** *** ## Examples of Custom Instructions Here are some examples of custom instructions. | Purpose | Custom Instruction | | ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Extract Main Content Only | Ignore sidebars, ads, and navigation menus; extract only the core article or video transcript. | | Summarize Key Points | Generate a concise bullet-point summary of the most important insights from the source. | | Highlight Actionable Tips | Identify and list any actionable tips or strategies mentioned in the content. | | Emphasize Quotes | Extract and highlight impactful quotes, ensuring they’re clearly formatted and attributed | | Conversational Rewrite | Rephrase the source material in a friendly, conversational tone suitable for social media. | | Create a Step-by-Step Guide | Break down the content into a simple, numbered process or checklist. | | Focus on Data-Driven Insights | Prioritize statistical data and research findings. | | Format for Readability | Reformat the content into short, digestible paragraphs with subheadings where applicable. | | Identify Trends and Patterns | Highlight any emerging trends or recurring themes mentioned in the source. | | Generate FAQs | Based on the content, produce a list of potential FAQs with brief answers. | | Extract Problem/Solution Pairs | Identify any problem statements and their corresponding solutions, listing them side-by-side. | | Focus on Expert Opinions | Extract and emphasize expert opinions, including any credentials or references. | | Emphasize Urgency | Highlight any points that suggest urgency or immediate action, framing them as timely advice. | | Data Exctraction | Extract only the most shocking facts and numerical data. | --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://help.blotato.com/start/sources.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.