Trends in social media: The Motherhood scours the headlines so you don’t have to. Check back throughout the month for more!
Influencer Marketing Industry Resources
What Blue Apron’s move to in-house its influencer marketing strategy says about the creator economy – August 22, 2025
As if anyone needed yet another sign that the creator economy has become a core part of any marketing strategy, meal kit delivery brand Blue Apron has taken its influencer marketing in-house. The move is to move influencer marketing in-house to curb costs, improve go-to-market campaign speed and build closer relationships with more than 100 creators. It’s part of Blue Apron’s larger brand refresh announced earlier this month, which includes plans to “own the feed” on social media with influencer content, user-generated content, organic and paid social to help the meal kit company boost brand awareness, said Raina Enand, head of marketing at Blue Apron.
“I Had All My Eggs in One Basket” Hannah Witton on Brand Deals and Building a Sustainable Career as a Creator – August 22, 2025
Hannah Witton is no stranger to the world of brand deals. An OG content creator, career consultant, and speaker at this year’s CreatorFest, she’s built a career that’s seen plenty of shifts, and these days, she’s more focused on sustainability, both in her income streams and her relationship with her audience. Witton shared how she’s navigated her brand partnerships, diversified her income, and balanced creativity with the realities of working with brands.
6 TikTok Brand Awareness Campaigns – August 22, 2025
Heard of a skincare brand turning TikTok into a full-funnel sales machine during Ramadan? That’s exactly what The Raw. pulled off—and they didn’t rely on influencers or gimmicks to do it. Instead, this brand leveraged TikTok’s unique ad formats to execute a data-driven brand awareness campaign that merged community engagement with commerce. From occupying the top in-feed ad slot to reeling users back in with shopping ads, they proved that strategic creativity beats outdated, traditional advertising models—especially on platforms designed for scroll-stopping content.
What Keeps The World’s Best Influencer Marketers Awake At Night? – August 21, 2025
Influencer Marketing is at an inflection point. Brands are doubling down on spend and scale, with some even spending up to 50% of their marketing budgets on influencers. Against this backdrop, the inaugural gathering of the Global Influencer Council highlighted both the promise and the challenges of scaling influencer marketing. The council is a new body of marketing leaders from some of the world’s most iconic brands aiming to set standards in the creator economy through collaboration, transparency, and shared best practices. Their insights reveal an industry in transition.
Forget Follower Counts — Influence Is Now About Engagement and Community – August 19, 2025
Key Takeaways
Nano-influencers deliver higher engagement and trust than mega-influencers with reach.
Small creators drive authentic, niche conversations that boost brand credibility.
Brands gain stronger ROI by investing in community-driven, smaller partnerships.
TikTok Trendjacking – August 18, 2025
Every marketer watching TikTok’s For You feed has asked the same two questions:
Should we jump on this trend?
How do we make it ours without losing brand integrity?
Cultural moments on the platform often peak before a traditional campaign clears approvals. The brands that succeed aren’t always the fastest—they’re the ones that match trends to their brand voice, plan multi-wave content, and let creators take the lead at the right time.
TikTok Brand Awareness Strategy Architecture – August 17, 2025
On TikTok, awareness isn’t a one-time launch—it’s a system. The brands winning consistently embed themselves in comment threads, remix loops, and search behavior, rather than just chasing reach. The trend? Briefs that prioritize utility over branding, creators that structure narratives around skepticism and proof, and content designed to trigger algorithmic recirculation—without looking like ads.
Where influencer marketing goes next—from small-town events to Super Bowl 2026 commercials – August 13, 2025
After publishing the “5 influencer marketing predictions for the second half of 2025,” Ad Age Influencer Marketing Reporter Gillian Follett sat down with Senior Engagement Editor Mark Fischer to dig deeper into the state of influencer marketing. We discussed the top trend on Gillian’s radar, why brands are leaning into hyper-local influencer marketing, and what’s next for influencers at the Super Bowl. She also shares one creator to follow and one marketer doing influencer marketing right.
Affiliate Marketing vs Influencer Marketing – August 13, 2025
The ground is shifting under “creator commerce.” Marketplaces now push on-site shoppable video and storefronts, easing the traffic burden for some partners, while social platforms reward native link-and-live shopping engines that make affiliates act like performance publishers.
The Five Pillars Of A Savvy Influencer Marketing Strategy – August 12, 2025
Influencer marketing has become the hottest channel in marketing, and the industry’s market value is estimated to reach over $30 billion in 2025, according to Statista. Every major marketing event from Cannes Lions to Advertising Week is now dominated by creator and influencer marketers, with brands trying to understand how they can be social first and part of the cultural zeitgeist.
12 types of influencers that are reshaping digital marketing – August 12, 2025
The influencer marketing space is hot, and navigating it demands clarity. With a diverse array of follower tiers, content categories and emerging roles (like de-influencers), the key to social media marketing success is knowing who’s worth your time and brand dollars.
Brick by brick: Adapting influencer strategy for the era of algorithmic discovery – August 12, 2025
Social media has undergone a fundamental shift. What was once a space defined by who you followed is now driven by what you care about. Algorithmic discovery feeds like TikTok’s For You Page, Instagram’s Explore tab and YouTube’s recommendations have become the new front door to content consumption. And audiences are walking right through.
What Is Influencer Mapping and Why Does it Matter – August 11, 2025
Influencer marketing is evolving from one-off shout-outs to data-driven network strategies—and creators who ignore this shift risk leaving reach and revenue on the table.
- How do you move beyond isolated posts and tap into the compounding power of peer-reinforced endorsements?
- What if you could visualize your entire creator ecosystem—spotting the “influencer’s influencer,” hyper-local clusters, and your most engaged superfans—and turn that map into a growth engine?
Beauty and lifestyle creators are weaving “mapping” into hands-on tutorials, while brands like Rothy’s tap into micro-nodes to subtly shift audience perception. Meanwhile, community-first voices distinguish between passive audiences and active advocates, underscoring that true influence hinges on mutual engagement, not vanity metrics.
WTF is brands’ new investment in creator-generated content? – August 6, 2025
It’s no secret that the creator economy has hit critical mass. Advertisers are getting more specific in their asks — whether it be more meticulous metrics or carefully curated creators — to have more control over their influencer partnerships and content creator deals. Brands are turning to creator-generated content (CGC) as a means to solve for some of this. Think of it as another factor in the already fragmented influencer marketing landscape.
5 influencer marketing predictions for the second half of 2025 – August 6, 2025
In 2025 so far, the hottest ad channel isn’t TV or digital display—it’s people.
‘Storytelling potential’: Argos on using influencers to dial up ‘desirability’ – August 6, 2025
Argos is looking to take its influencer strategy to the next level, in a bid to build consideration and position itself as the home of “desirable products”. Positioned as its “most ambitious creator campaign to date”, the ‘Arghaüs’ social media series sees celebrities showcase Argos products in a fictitious art gallery. Developed in partnership with influencer agency Billion Dollar Boy, the episodic, fictional mockumentary format has driven a 228% increase in engagement on the retailer’s social media channels since launching in June.
Search or social? Influencer marketing finds itself in the middle – August 5, 2025
The influencer marketing playbook is getting a rewrite—or at least a few new chapters added—as the lines between search and social continue to blur, creating a new frontier for brand discoverability.
Why authentic influencer content is a must for your marketing strategy – August 4, 2025
As more college leaders turn to social media to connect with prospective students, high schoolers and their parents are increasingly relying on influencer content from college community members to guide them toward Decision Day. That’s according to a recent survey of more than 3,400 high school rising seniors, recent graduates and their parents, conducted by Carnegie, a marketing and enrollment strategy service.
Creators are ‘doubling’ their rates as they capitalize on brands’ growing interest – August 4, 2025
As brands move faster and spend more on creator marketing, creators are gaining both the confidence and the opportunity to raise their rates significantly — sometimes by 100 percent. Seven influencer marketers told Digiday that creators’ rates had risen noticeably across all platforms, although they provided a range of figures regarding the specific amount. Three of the marketers said that creators had in some cases doubled their fees from 2024, causing brands to respond with confusion or even outrage over the precipitous increase.
Why brands are turning to local leaders—not just social stars—to build trust and connection – August 1, 2025
In 2025, the most valuable influencer in a marketing plan might not have a million followers. Instead, they might be the founder of a local run club, the organizer of a weekly dinner party or the host of a neighborhood dad walk. These creators build community, and brands are beginning to recognize that embedded influence may matter more than follower count.
Nano-influencers earn impressive impression, engagement rates – August 1, 2025
Key stat: US nano-influencers, those with fewer than 10,000 followers, boast a 34.1% impression rate—more than double that of any other tier—according to a February survey from Later.
Beyond the chart:
- 66% of social media marketers worldwide use influencer marketing to support brand awareness, per January data from Sprout Social.
- Over half (59%) of creators and influencers use AI tools for content creation or business operations, according to April data from URLgenius.
Use this chart: For brands with modest budgets or niche audiences, nano- and micro-influencers offer the best value—high engagement with real, loyal followers. Great for product trials, local campaigns, or building grassroots buzz.
How deinfluencing is fixing the influencer marketing crisis – August 1, 2025
Influencer marketing in 2025 is deep in an identity crisis, and honestly, it needed one. We’re long past the days of perfectly curated, overly filtered “#ad” moments. Consumers are tired of the façade. They want realness. They want creators who actually have something to say, not just something to sell.
nonprofit
The Power Of Storytelling In Nonprofit Marketing – August 20, 2025
For mission-driven organizations, storytelling is more than a messaging tool—it’s the connection between purpose and participation. In a market defined by short attention spans and fierce competition for donor dollars, nonprofits must do more than state their mission. They must live it out loud through narrative.
healthcare
For health marketers, empowered discovery delivers – August 13, 2025
In digital health journeys, over-personalization can limit progress. Empowered discovery creates space for exploration—and drives performance results. Health journeys are rarely linear. People explore, compare, and return to questions as they navigate what’s next. But too often, marketers meet that mindset by serving only the most narrowly personalized content. But over-personalization can stall momentum and risks losing high-intent audiences before they ever reach a decision point. Empowered discovery offers a better path forward. It opens space for exploration, guiding people to relevant—sometimes unexpected—insights that deepen understanding and drive action. The result? Deeper engagement. More qualified audiences. And campaigns that convert curiosity into measurable performance.
social news
Bluesky Shuts Down in Mississippi Due to New Age Verification Laws – August 24, 2025
Decentralized social app Bluesky has opted to shut down access in Mississippi, as a result of the state’s recently updated user age requirements, which Bluesky says will be impossible for it to abide by given its staffing and capacity.
IG Chief Says Longer Captions Won’t Increase Reach – August 24, 2025
Last week, in his weekly Q and A session on Instagram Stories, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri responded to a question about whether longer captions impact your post reach in the app.
5 Trends Shaping Social Media Marketing So Far in 2025 – August 21, 2025
We’re over halfway through 2025, a good time for marketers to look back on the big trends of the year thus far to help guide their planning during the crucial holiday period. With the social media and digital marketing landscape ever changing, staying up to date on how the latest development relate to user engagement can provide some much-needed direction during the key sales period.
Instagram Adds Reels Linking for Multipart Content – August 21, 2025
Instagram has added a new feature that will enable Reels creators to effectively build their own series, via various Reels clips, by linking Reels to one another in-stream.
TikTok Implements Hashtag Limit – August 17, 2025
If you post to TikTok regularly, you may have seen this notification pop-up over the last few weeks. Yes, as per this example from user @justgee92, some users are now being told that TikTok has instituted a five hashtag limit on posts, restricting the amount of topic tags that you can append to your TikTok clips.
Meta Is Consolidating More of Its Detailed Ad Targeting Options – August 17, 2025
Hey, remember how a couple of months back, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was like “soon, we’re going to fully automate all advertising, you just give us you’re URL and we’ll do the rest?” Yeah, Meta’s already well on its way towards this, through its ever-improving AI targeting and bidding tools, as well as its generative AI creative and re-formatting options.
TikTok Implements Hashtag Limit – August 17, 2025
If you post to TikTok regularly, you may have seen this notification pop-up over the last few weeks. Yes, as per this example from user @justgee92, some users are now being told that TikTok has instituted a five hashtag limit on posts, restricting the amount of topic tags that you can append to your TikTok clips.
TikTok Updates Community Guidelines To Address AI Misinformation – August 14, 2025
TikTok has announced some updates to its Community Guidelines, in order to put more focus on user safety, while also ensuring ease of access for creators and those trying to understand the platform’s various rules and policies.
Edits Gets Updated Reels Insights, Safe Zone Mapping and More – August 14, 2025
Another week, and another couple of updates for Meta’s video editing app “Edits,” with Meta adding an improved insights UI, safe zone mapping in the editor, keyframe curves and more.
Meta Provides More Performance Insights for Creators – August 14, 2025
Meta has announced an update to its Professional Dashboard on the web, which will provide another way for creators to access insights about their content performance and tap into new opportunities.
YouTube Adds Custom App Promotions for Shorts – August 14, 2025
YouTube’s adding another way for Shorts creators to make money from their content, with an expansion of Google partnership ads to app campaigns, which will enable creators to display app promotions in their clips.
Meta Provides Tips on How To Optimize Ads With Its AI Systems – August 10, 2025
Meta has published some new tips on how to maximize your ad placement options in the app, which also puts more reliance on its evolving AI tools for ad targeting.
Instagram Chief Dispels Engagement Myth, Says Using Edits Boosts Reach – August 10, 2025
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has recently shared a couple of small tips that might help. I mean, they’re not secrets or hacks that are going to triple your post reach overnight, but they might help some within your process. First off, Mosseri recently noted that videos created in Meta’s new “Edits” app do get a little bit of a reach boost when shared to IG.
Instagram Launches Re-Posts, Friend Map and More – August 6, 2025
Instagram has officially launched three new features that it’s been testing for some time, with re-posts, friend map and a “Friends” tab in the Reels feed now available to all users. First off, on re-posts, which is probably the most contentious of the three. And not because of the function itself, re-posts are obviously fairly common across social platforms. But for years, Instagram has resisted adding a re-posting option, for fear that it might discourage original posting activity.
Instagram adds a reposts feed and rips off Snap Maps – August 6, 2025
Instagram is getting several new features that pull from competitors, and it’s updating a controversial feature that it added earlier this year. Starting today, users will have the ability to repost public Reels and grid posts from other accounts. And similar to TikTok, reposts will be collected in a designated tab on your profile and sprinkled into the feeds of people who follow you. It’s a small but meaningful shift from how Instagram currently operates: until now, the most efficient way to share other users’ content was to repost it on your Instagram Story. Now, you can essentially reblog it.
Instagram Outlines Updated Performance Metrics, Including Audience Growth Indicators – August 4, 2025
These have been floating around in testing for a little while, but today, Instagram has confirmed that it’s rolling out some updated metrics within the “Insights” tab, in order to give you more guidance as to what content is resonating with your audience.
Snapchat Shares Tips on How Brands Can Connect With Gen Z – August 4, 2025
Snapchat has published a new research report, in partnership with BBDO NY, which digs deeper into what Gen Z is seeking from brands, and how many brands are failing to resonate with younger audiences.
A Look at Meta’s ‘Value Rules’ for Specific Ad-Targeting Approaches – August 4, 2025
Looking for a way to refine your Meta Ads targeting, and reach more specific audiences with your promotions? You may now have a means to do just that. In recent weeks, you may have noticed a new “Value Rules” setting in your Meta campaign set-up options, providing another way to target your ads, by increasing your bid limits for certain audience subsets.
Click here to sign up to receive info on trends in social media, the influencer marketing industry, best practices and news straight from our experts to your inbox at a frequency that works best for you.
