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
The Future Of Influencer Marketing: What’s Next In 2025 And Beyond – May 19, 2025
Among the most defining shifts in 21st-century marketing is the rise of social media influencers (SMIs). Over the past decade, influencer marketing has evolved from a niche tactic into a core component of digital strategy. Today, brand partnerships with SMIs are growing by over 50% annually, underscoring their increasing value and impact.
It is time for influencers to be shaping, not just selling, your brand – May 16, 2025
Be it Nike’s creative partnerships or Dove’s community-driven campaigns, influencers are shaping the brands they are working for. Landor’s Anna Kohl believes there is more to come. For years, brands operated on a simple formula: control the message, repeat the asset, and build recognition. Now, the influencer economy has driven a fundamental shift in branding where consumers no longer experience brands in a linear, one-size-fits-all manner.
The future of influencer marketing – Not in the loudest voice, the most trustworthy one – May 16, 2025
In today’s digital economy, the ability to “influence” has never been more powerful, or more scrutinised. The truth is that real influence stems from integrity and connection.
How To Use Influencer Marketing To Reach Older Consumers – May 16, 2025
The consumer behavior of older consumers remains understudied despite the group’s large numbers and high buying power. There are over 110 million adults in North America age 55 and over, representing approximately 30% of the total population. By 2050, this group will make up 36% of the population. Moreover, recent studies show that in the U.S., consumers over 50 years old account for more than half of consumer spending.
B2B brands up influencer marketing budgets – May 16, 2025
Key stat: Over half (53%) of US B2B marketers have a growing dedicated budget for influencer marketing, according to September 2024 data from TopRank Marketing and Ascend2.
Beyond the chart:
- 56% of US B2B marketers who use influencer marketing say social media posts are the most effective content types, according to the TopRank Marketing data.
- Micro influencers, those with 10,000 to 99,999 followers, drove the most success in 2024 for a plurality (43%) of worldwide marketers who found positive results with B2B marketing, according to October 2024 data from HubSpot.
18 Emerging Influencer Marketing Trends Brands Need To Watch – May 15, 2025
Influencer marketing has evolved far beyond chasing likes and follows. As consumers demand more authenticity, personalization and value from the brands they engage with, new trends are reshaping how companies partner with online creators to drive interest and community. From the rise of nano-influencers and virtual avatars to executive-led thought leadership and B2B advocacy, recent shifts reflect a growing emphasis on trust, transparency and impact. Below, members of Forbes Communications Council explore influencer marketing trends they see gaining momentum and why smart businesses should take note now.
Why flexibility is key to building authentic influencer marketing campaigns – May 15, 2025
Flexibility, listening and getting creators involved in the creative process is key to making the most of authentic influencer marketing partnerships and storytelling. Speaking at the Creative Equals RISE conference in London today, Helen O’Donnell, Director of Development, BBC Studios, led an uplifting and honest conversation with Riyadh Khalaf, broadcaster, author, podcast host and LGBTQ+ advocate, and Megan Crabbe, author of ‘Body Positive Power’ and broadcaster.
How one influencer campaign can power an entire marketing engine – May 15, 2025
Influencer content is no longer just for social media. Today’s most agile marketers are discovering that a single creator campaign can fuel their entire marketing engine, from paid social and connected TV to digital out-of-home and retail media. What makes the difference is how you plan, build and scale the content—and increasingly, how you use technology to do it faster and smarter.
Inside the Gen Z creator mindset: what marketers can learn from LTK’s rising stars – May 14, 2025
At the LTK Upfronts in New York, marketers gathered in the hope of catching a glimpse of the future. What they got instead was something far more valuable: an honest, unfiltered look into the present from the perspective of the generation that’s shaping it.
Why Lyft and Notion Turn to LinkedIn Influencers for Brand-Building – May 12, 2025
When you think of social media influencers, LinkedIn creators aren’t usually top of mind. However, the professional networking platform has seen an abundance of thought leadership over the past few years, paving the way for a new kind of influencer.
The Creator Economy Now Outranks TV: What Marketers Must Know – May 12, 2025
Creators are not just building audiences—they’re shaping culture, redefining influence, and commanding a larger share of brand budgets than ever before. In its latest Measuring the Digital Economy report, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) declares the creator economy’s growth not only sustained but accelerating. In 2024, The New Yorker dubbed it “The Year Creators Took Over,” noting that while traditional media still matters, its cultural clout has eroded significantly. Creators now set the tone across platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, and beyond, reaching highly engaged audiences in ways legacy media simply can’t match.
From influencers to impact: Why authentic brand partnerships are winning in hospitality – May 12, 2025
Not long ago, influencers were considered the jewel in the crown of hospitality marketing. The global market for influencers more than tripled from 2019 to 2023. A single post from the right personality could send diners flocking to a new venue. But in 2025, is their influence waning? While platforms like Instagram and TikTok remain essential channels for discovery, are influencers generating the same level of trust, engagement or results?
From feed to street: why brands need to rethink influencer marketing – May 9, 2025
Influencer marketing is moving beyond social. Jenny Penich of Influencer tells The Drum why brands are now tapping creators as full-funnel partners – from CTV to out-of-home – and reshaping the media mix in the process.
Want to Work With Influencers? Here’s What Small Business Owners Need to Know. – May 8, 2025
Key Takeaways:
- Actual influence comes from people who genuinely connect with your brand, whether they’re content creators or everyday customers.
- Before partnering with influencers, make sure your own social channels are up to the task. Influencer marketing should be the cherry on top of your existing marketing strategies.
- Nurturing creators over time turns one-time partners into brand advocates.
Winning Gen Z: Five Lessons From Scaling Through Influencer Marketing – May 8, 2025
When we launched our AI writing assistant, it was just one of many experiments inside our venture capital studio. We had a simple goal: to help students write better, faster and with less stress. We didn’t have the ambition to build a unicorn. We just wanted to solve a real problem quickly. Fast forward 12 months, and our business has scaled significantly and revenue has skyrocketed. One of the key drivers behind that growth? Gen Z. More specifically, we learned to speak their language and play the game by their rules. We had to earn their trust in a way that I’ve found most modern software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies overlook.
Influencer marketing class actions target Shein, Celsius and Revolve – May 8, 2025
Influencer marketing class action lawsuits overview:
- Who: Consumers recently filed class action lawsuits against Celsius Holdings, Shein, Revolve Group and multiple “influencers.”
- Why: The class action lawsuits argue Celsius, Shein and Revolve failed to disclose that influencers were paid to promote their products.
- Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in California and Illinois federal courts.
Should you use an influencer or celebrity to promote your brand? – May 8, 2025
When partnering with talent, marketers often ask the wrong questions, says Paula Albuquerque of YKONE. Stop focusing on the big names and instead think about who’ll keep the conversations going longest.
We can still save influencer marketing before AI eats it alive – May 7, 2025
Unilever wants to spend half its marketing budget on influencers. The Secret Little Agency’s Ludovica Damonte worries that the world’s biggest brands only see ad space in place of the medium’s real strength. Unilever’s new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, recently announced that the company will increase its social media spend from 30% to 50% of its marketing budget. The real kicker? It plans to work with twenty times more influencers than before. Fernandez was even quoted as counting zip codes in India and Brazil, aiming for at least one influencer in every single one.
Fohr CEO on Influencer Marketing & How Brands Can Get It Right – May 6, 2025
Key Takeaways
- The best partnerships happen when brands prioritize alignment, shared values, audience fit, and content style over raw numbers.
- Be clear about your brand’s values and boundaries upfront, so that you can respond and act if any issue or controversy arises.
- Treat your agency like a collaborator, not a vendor. The more you share about what you want and how you want it, the better they can build a strategy.
Why Influencer Marketing is Critical to PR – May 6, 2025
It’s understandable that some in the industry might feel unsure whether PR should take ownership of influencer marketing efforts. Especially since those partnerships usually involve commercial arrangements, in contrast to traditional media relations, where payments are almost never made for editorial coverage. But despite this difference, there are too many similarities to ignore. Influencer marketing is just as much about storytelling, relationship building and reputation management as public relations is. A key role of PR is to communicate brand messages to the right audiences via trusted intermediaries such as the free press.
The most effective influencer campaigns are built on fit, not fame – May 5, 2025
Explore the disciplined approach behind today’s most successful influencer campaigns — built on insight, alignment and results. Long gone are the days of experimenting with influencer marketing. It’s now a proven lever for strategic growth. But outperforming in this space isn’t about jumping on trends or chasing fame — it’s about brand alignment, scale and strategy.
SAG-AFTRA is expanding its reach into the influencer economy – May 2, 2025
In late April, the union’s board unanimously voted to establish a new influencer committee, appointing New York-based lifestyle influencer Patrick Janelle as chair.
LinkedIn emerges as a serious player in the creator economy – May 5, 2025
Creators are flocking to LinkedIn — and brands’ dollars are right behind them. As LinkedIn positions itself more firmly as a home for creators, influencer marketers who operate within the platform’s ecosystem say that their business is booming.
Possible 2025 takeaways for marketers—Gen Z strategies, creator economy moves and media innovation – May 2, 2025
As the conference haze clears, a few dominant themes from Possible have emerged: marketers are grappling with how to effectively reach Gen Z, get influencer partnerships right and use technology to boost media buys. These topics came up repeatedly throughout the Miami Beach event. Below, Ad Age rounds up the top takeaways for marketers.
Glossy Pop Newsletter: Medicube’s influencer marketing-fueled mission to be No. 1 is working – May 2, 2025
Medicube, the 11-year-old K-Beauty brand known for its Booster Pro skin-care device, has been making waves in the U.S. since at least 2023, prior to the current “second-wave” explosion of K-Beauty. In July of 2023, the brand’s most famous gadget was seen in one of Hailey Bieber’s GRWM videos on TikTok. It was an organic mention, and Bieber had not been seeded the product, according to the brand. That post, in which Bieber doesn’t say a word but goes through her skin-care regimen, has 1 million likes.
How the ‘Jaws’ TikTok Trend Is Changing the Way Brands Approach Influencer Marketing – May 1, 2025
TikTok trends are not just for fun—they can have a massive impact on marketing strategies. The viral “Jaws” TikTok trend, where users imitate sharks circling around in humorous ways while the iconic theme from the movie plays in the background, is a perfect example of how brands can tap into viral moments for influencer marketing.
Traditional Marketing Funnels No Longer Work In The Social Media Era – April 30, 2025
The traditional marketing funnel is broken. Customers today behave differently. In the era of social media, brands need to keep up and adapt their strategies. After nearly a decade of collaborating with leading brands across hundreds of influencer campaigns, I’ve seen first-hand how brands need to engage customers through culturally relevant influencer partnerships. In today’s world, influencers and social commerce drive culture and customer demand over traditional media.
Glossy 101: The dos and don’ts of influencer partnership disclosures – April 29, 2025
In mid-April, fashion brand Revolve was hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company and its influencer partners had failed to disclose paid partnerships. The lawsuit alleged that this gave consumers the false impression that endorsements of Revolve by various influencers were organic rather than paid.
LTK wants to be creators’ post-social platform of choice – April 28, 2025
Founder and President Amber Venz Box said the platform is “playing the long game” and aiming to provide a home for creators amid social platform and economic uncertainties. Everyone is pivoting to video, and LTK is no exception. Amber Venz Box started as a creator on WordPress, and founded the platform formerly known as LiketoKnow.it and RewardStyle in 2011 as an affiliate platform for bloggers, which is now often cited as one of the original social commerce platforms. Today, the affiliate space is booming, but LTK has diversified beyond its original purpose as an affiliate marketing channel, and Venz Box, who is also LTK’s president, said it now drives less than half of the platform’s revenue. (Last year, LTK reportedly generated more than $5 billion in sales from creators.)
Leveraging Influencer Marketing In The Mining Industry: Opportunities And Challenges – April 28, 2025
The mining industry has traditionally relied on conventional marketing methods such as industry conferences, investor relations campaigns and paid media to reach stakeholders. However, a marketing trend is emerging: influencer marketing. While this strategy is more commonly associated with consumer brands, influencers are now playing a role in shaping investor relations, public perception and attracting talent to the mining sector.
Pharma
Trust in pharma and health care industries plummet with young people leading the way: report – April 30, 2025
Fewer and fewer people trust institutions when it comes to health information and advice, according to the latest 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer health report. Even worse, they think leaders are misleading them on purpose. The majority of people in the global survey believe industry leaders say things that they know are “false or gross exaggerations” when it comes health topics. That includes 59% of people who believe business leaders are misdirecting them, and 57% who believe both government leaders and journalists mislead the public.
Social News
Are AI Chatbots Taking Over Online Search? – May 18, 2025
Are AI chatbots really taking over online search, and just how long will it be before Google is supplanted by AI tools? While trends are definitely shifting towards AI, with Google recently seeing its first ever decline in search volume, Google still has a commanding share of online search traffic. And with its own AI-based summaries now being filtered into every query, Google itself could well end up winning out in the AI battle on this front, however ChatGPT has quickly become synonymous with discovery, and is rising fast.
Instagram Shares Advice on Switching Content Focus in the App – May 15, 2025
Thinking about changing up your approach on Instagram?
You may want to take a cautious approach, in order to ensure that you maintain engagement and reach in the app. That’s according to IG chief Adam Mosseri, who’s provided some new notes on how creators should go about switching up their content approach in the app, and what they should be mindful of in the process.
TikTok Adds More Accessibility Features, Including Alt Text for Photos – May 14, 2025
Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and TikTok is marking the occasion by rolling out some updates to its inclusive access features, including alt-text for photos, enhanced text presentation options, and variable color contrast.
An Ad Quality Control Checklist – May 14, 2025
Digital ads expert Savannah Sanchez has shared an overview of her key tips for ensuring your ads tick all the right boxes, and get maximum attention and engagement.
Meta Adds More Creative Options To Edits App – May 13, 2025
Meta’s certainly staying true to its word on rolling out regular updates to its new “Edits” video editing app, with another round of new Edits features now available to users.
Unlockable Reels Are Now Live on Instagram: Here’s What Marketers and Creators Need to Know – May 10, 2025
Instagram has just rolled out its highly anticipated Unlockable Reels feature, allowing creators to share exclusive content that’s hidden behind a secret code. After a successful test run, this feature is now live, offering fresh opportunities for marketers and creators to engage their audiences in unique ways. With the popularity of exclusive content continuing to rise, Unlockable Reels could be a game changer in how brands and influencers drive engagement.
TikTok Announces a Range of SMB Support Initiatives for Small Business Month – May 8, 2025
May is Small Business Month, and TikTok has announced a range of activations and opportunities for SMB, including a chance to win a share of $1 million in TikTok ad credits.
YouTube Outlines Advanced Creator Collaboration Tools at NewFronts 2025 – May 8, 2025
YouTube’s announced some new tools to help brands collaborate with creators on promotions, including an AI-powered search option that will help brands find relevant creators on any given topic.
Meta Provides Guidance for Advertisers Based on Latest Engagement Trends – May 1, 2025
Following Meta’s latest earnings call, the company has shared a listing of five key stats of note for advertisers, and how to apply them to your own ad efforts. From video, to Threads ads, to AI tools, Meta’s provided some pointers that indicate what it’s looking to capitalize on, which is likely where you should also be looking in order to boost your content performance.
LinkedIn Takes First Steps Toward Creator Monetization With ‘BrandLink’ – May 1, 2025
With video consumption rising on LinkedIn, the professional social network is adding new ways for marketers to tap into popular video content, with an expansion of its Wire program, which it’s now renaming as “BrandLink”.
LinkedIn Reports Record Engagement Once Again in Latest Performance Update – April 30, 2025
Oh look, Microsoft has published its latest quarterly performance report, I wonder whether LinkedIn saw “record engagement” in the period?
LinkedIn Shares Technical Specs and Posting Tips for Video Content – April 28, 2025
Looking to post video to LinkedIn, and tap into rising video engagement in the app? You probably should be. LinkedIn recently reported that video watch time rose 36% year-over-year in 2024, while video content also generates 1.4x more engagement than other formats.
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