Business of Creators 💬

Stay ahead of the curve in the creator economy...

As Easter Weekend approaches us all, so do the flowering trees, the clocks going forward, the never-ending Elon Musk controversies and once again, the killer platform updates coming your way. It’s as if they’re all competing to be the best choice for creators…🤭

Industry news

❌We told you so! After critiquing X’s approach to creators in last week’s edition, The Wall Street Journal has doubled down on the platform’s failures. 

🔎TikTok and Hubspot have collaborated on a 25 page guide that will take your lead generation strategies up a notch

✊YouTube has announced the #WomenofYouTube Mentorship program, aiming to support and empower female creators by pairing them with experienced women creators. 

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Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the biggest boomer of them all…

Creator-management platform Grin recently interviewed 1,000 US consumers 18 and older. Over two thirds of Americans have bought products directly on social-media apps and FaceBook still seems to be the favored platform for millennial and boomer shoppers, for now… 

"Grin has run this survey, or versions of this, in the past, and this is the first year that we really saw a large amount of people commit to not just using social media to gather recommendations, but actually shopping on social media itself," said Ali Fazal, VP of Marketing. Here’s the low-down of the survey:

👉Almost 70% of US consumers have made purchases via social media, with 26% buying in-app weekly.

👉TikTok dominates as the preferred platform for Gen Z shoppers, while Facebook remains popular among millennials and boomers.

👉Seventy-six percent consider purchasing digital products based on social-media recommendations.

👉Over half of consumers plan to research holiday gifts on social media, with 20% intending to buy directly from these platforms.

Platform round-up

Leverage the latest updates and features across digital platforms to help you get ahead of the game…

🔤YouTube is trying to make automated subtitles on videos better by letting viewers suggest fixes to mistakes, which other viewers can vote on to show they agree.

#️⃣Instagram has updated how hashtags work: now, when you tap on a hashtag, you'll see broader search results rather than just top posts related to that hashtag.

💰TikTok is enhancing its in-app shopping features with updates like global Video Shopping Ads, new ad formats, and expanded Shopify integration, aiming to simplify ad creation and boost sales for retailers on the platform.

✂️YouTube is experimenting with a feature that lets you easily skip to the most interesting parts of a video by using AI to identify popular segments.

⏺️TikTok is trying out new benefits for live-streamers to offer subscribers, like special requests during performances, shoutouts, Discord roles, gaming collaborations, and faster response to comments.

🌸Snapchat now allows brands to sponsor filters, which users can use in their posts, providing businesses with a simpler way to create branded overlays and promotions without the need for a full AR experience.

📊YouTube is improving its viewer retention charts in YouTube Studio, giving creators insights into how various audience segments engage with their content, such as subscribers vs. non-subscribers and new vs. returning viewers, helping them understand audience behaviors better.

🔢Google is updating Google Analytics to improve data tracking consistency with Google Ads. They're introducing "Key Events" to replace conversions for behavioral analytics. This change ensures that marketers see the same data labels and insights in both applications, making measurement and optimization easier, especially for those working across both platforms.

Creating genuine community with Gen Z audiences

Creating and nurturing a true community has been a notoriously difficult feat to achieve for all, including brands and creators. Earlier this month, we attended Ad Age’s Gen Z Summit in New York and took note from several panels on some key-takeaways when making authentic personal connections and building communities with Gen Z…

👉Gen Z is the loneliest generation in our time, so whilst they crave connection, it is not earned easy. Authenticity is crucial, with creators needing to humanize themselves and focus on "rawthentic" content that feels genuine and relatable to Gen Z. 

👉You need to understand how Gen Z engages on social media and go beyond mere promotion to foster community. Successful brands/creators on social media offer value through education and entertainment, rather than just pushing products or services.

👉While Gen Z values experiences over products, brands/creators can merge virtual and real experiences through social and creator marketing to engage and sell effectively.

If you want to watch the whole thing, catch a full panel here.