Financial institutions that have relied on the platform to reach young consumers must come up with a Plan B—or face losing brand awareness.

Instagram’s charm offensive for TikTok creators: Its product updates aim to prioritize smaller creators’ content to provide more visibility and bolster discovery.

Most brands are increasing their influencer marketing budgets. Many creators say brand deals are drying up. Both are true: More money is flowing into influencer marketing, but new high-profile partnerships are harder than ever for creators to come by.

Brands and marketers have an increasingly prominent presence at the annual technology, arts, and culture festival in Austin, Texas, which this year took place from March 8 to 16. We break down the key topics that drew the most attention from attendees.

Don’t let the myths get you down, social shopping is alive and well. Gen Z is full of contradictions. And “TikTok-famous” is becoming synonymous with Hollywood famous. Here are three key takeaways from Shoptalk 2024.

Problematic creator funds are a thing of the past: TikTok is sunsetting its creator fund one year after YouTube changed the game with a revenue-sharing model.

Despite TikTok’s strong growth, most brands continue to turn first to Instagram for influencer marketing. Instagram remains a must, but there are good reasons for more marketers to commit to TikTok—and YouTube Shorts.

Spending on sponsored content will rise 3.5 times faster than social ad spending will this year. Social ad spending, including YouTube, still dwarfs influencer marketing spending, at $83.72 billion versus $5.14 billion in 2023, per our forecasts. But the different spending patterns are a clear indication that creators aren’t tied to social media. The trend holds true on every platform, as marketers continue to shift more budget into influencer marketing, particularly video.

Generative AI takes spotlight at VidCon: As new tools debut, attendees express mixed opinions on AI's impact on content creation.

Cannes conversations: AI, creators, Big Tech, and DE&I to take the spotlight at next week’s International Festival of Creativity.

Generative AI will serve as a creative spark for sponsored content and spur new growth in the creator economy.

Plummeting VC investment in creator economy startups may make it seem like the creator economy was overblown. But VC investment is just one part of the picture, and brands should not take the funding chill as a sign to slow spending on influencer marketing.

Spotify’s $100 million fund for diverse projects starts off slow: Concerns about spending arise as the initiative marks its first year.

Creator economy features have stopped working on Twitter: Whether they’re being abandoned or are broken due to missing personnel is anyone’s guess.

The creator economy has permeated nearly every industry and redefined how people think about making a living. But the landscape is changing, driven by shifts in relationships between the key stakeholders.

The South by Southwest festival returned to Austin, Texas, in full force this year, with discussions on the future of technology, brands, and marketing. Here, we lay out the top trends and takeaways.

Generative AI is a powerful brainstorming and content refinement tool for both marketers and creators. It will streamline the content creation process, but marketers need to be aware of its limitations.

The creator economy could be a more than $100 billion industry, but market sizing is difficult

TikTok still won’t give clear info on creator payouts: Its new Creativity Program promises higher revenues but conveniently skirts around the specifics.