YouTube keeps rolling out shopping tools: The latest update enables creators to make the shopping button appear at relevant points in their videos.

Brands, social platforms, and creators seek the right balance in AI rush: Creators eye opportunities as well as risks for sponsored content.

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.

TikTok continues to attract a lot of attention, both good and bad. The hype around its heavily engaged and coveted Gen Z audience is real. But concerns over alleged privacy violations have made it a target for regulators, and user trust of the platform has suffered as a result.

The Hollywood strikes are revealing the full power of creators. They’re accelerating the diversification of platforms and revenue streams, and they will lead to more TV-like content and creator-owned media. Here’s how marketers, social platforms, and media companies should respond.

Threads has staying power, but Meta must ensure that the novelty and intrigue don’t wear off before the network effects take hold. It’s already a formidable rival to Twitter, but it’s not a replacement, and Threads must find its identity outside of Instagram to become a viable platform for users and advertisers.

Threads turns one week old today, and the platform already has 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing platform ever. Instagram’s new venture looks just like Twitter but feels kind of like Facebook, and its first few days have been a wild west for marketers. Here’s what marketers should consider in their Threads strategy.

This year, TikTok will ride the social video wave to become the third social platform with more than 100 million users in the US. But text-based platforms are also set for a revival thanks to Instagram Threads, Bluesky, and even Meta’s Messenger.

TikTok Shop is far from DOA, but early reports suggest its rollout hasn’t been easy. As TikTok works to build its livestreaming and in-app commerce business in the US, including by restructuring its commerce division, US merchants must decide whether the investment is worth it.

BuzzFeed has created a commerce site for its lifestyle brand, Goodful, while Time has launched a platform for product recommendations and reviews. TikTok’s Pulse Premiere program offers publishers 50% of ad revenues and a brand safety guarantee.

TikTok is going all-in on in-app purchases; Meta is focused on shoppable ads; and YouTube hopes to gain a competitive advantage through its strong creator relationships. All of this is happening as we forecast US retail social commerce sales will grow nearly 30% this year to hit $68.92 billion

US marketers will spend over $1 billion more on influencer marketing in 2023 than they did last year, per our forecast. We lay out six tactics to maximize the impact of those dollars.

Reels and Shorts are gaining users and adding ad options. They still lag TikTok in several key areas, but now is the time for video advertisers to give them another look.

Snap’s new product lineup, revealed at Snapchat Partner Summit 2023, proves the company is still as innovative as ever. But under the excitement lie big questions about the state of its core ad business.

Gen Zers make up about 20% of the US population, and they’re growing up. The digitally native generation has unique shopping habits after going through the pandemic during their formative years. From TikTok to the creator economy to payments trends, here’s how our analysts predict Gen Z will change shopping.

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

TikTok has broken social media with its addictive short-form videos, according to The Economist. While “broken” may be a bit strong, our analyst Debra Aho Williamson agrees that TikTok has irrevocably changed the way we engage with social media, including how much time we spend on the platform.

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.

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.