While August may be lacking when it comes to major holidays, there are still plenty of dates that agencies, creators, and marketers should take note of.
People, animals, and products with their own special days during the summer month include beer, cats, books, sons and daughters, left-handers, women, and dogs.
Social Media Holidays to Mark on Your Calendar
- Aug. 1: International Beer Day
- Aug. 3: International Friendship Day
- Aug. 8: World Cat Day
- Aug. 9: National Book Lovers Day
- Aug. 11: National Sons and Daughters Day
- Aug. 13: International Left-Handers Day
- Aug. 14: National Financial Awareness Day
- Aug. 19: World Humanitarian Day
- Aug. 19: World Photo Day
- Aug. 23: Hashtag Day
- Aug. 26: National Women’s Equality Day
- Aug. 26: National Dog Day
Social Media Platform Updates
TikTok
Keeping Creators Safe
TikTok introduced several features to help creators on its platform stay safe and continue to thrive.
Creator Care Mode is a one-click switch that, when toggled on by creators, filters all comments identified as offensive, inappropriate, or profane, as well as comments from users who have previously been reported, deleted, or disliked.
A new tool for TikTok Live enables hosts to designate keywords, phrases, or emojis and ensure that they do not appear in chat, with users posting items on the list muted for a length of time chosen by the host.
Content Check Lite, initially rolling out through TikTok Studio on the web, helps creators determine whether their content may be eligible for recommendation in the For You feed and make any necessary changes before they upload it.
The new Creator Inbox gives creators more efficient ways to streamline their communications on the platform, with new features for managing engagement, such as Unread and Starred folders. Creators can also set up custom responses to address commonly asked questions from followers, and they can create quick replies for sharing these responses with one tap.
Finally, creators with at least 5,000 followers offering either Subscriptions or Live Fan Clubs can start a Creator Chat Room, where they can engage and interact with followers who share common interests. Up to five moderators can be appointed to assist with monitoring the chat.
Engaged Session
TikTok’s new Engaged Session tool for advertisers enables them to target users who spend at least 10 seconds on a website or retailer’s landing page after clicking an ad on the platform.
The aim is to attract high-intent users to advertisers’ websites, while providing engagement metrics such as total engaged sessions and cost per engaged session.
Engaged Session is available via the platform’s Traffic Objective, and it can be toggled on for all TikTok ad placements, including Search Ads.
More Out of Phone
TikTok added four new partners for its Out of Phone initiative: Curb, Westfield Malls, Rockbot, and Hope Hydration.
The addition of Curb will bring full-screen, sound-on, motion video from TikTok to Taxi TV, the largest taxi network in the U.S.
TikTok content and ads will come to screens in Westfield Malls’ upscale shopping centers in the U.S.
Rockbot will bring TikTok content to tens of thousands of screens at consumer-centric locations across the country through its digital media solutions, including music, digital signage, television for businesses, and retail media.
And Hope Hydration’s HydroStations, which provide free, chilled water in busy locations worldwide, will now feature TikTok fare on 55-inch digital screens.
They Write the Songs
The platform announced the beta release of TikTok Songwriter Features, a new set of features and tools aimed at highlighting songwriters on TikTok and crediting them for their work.
TikTok said the launch will bring songwriters’ musical works and shared content to the same place for the first time.
Songwriters can register for Songwriter Accounts, and labels under their profiles will identify them as such.
A new Songwriter Music Tab will let them spotlight a selection of tracks they have written and/or co-written.
Kicking Misinformation With Footnotes
The Footnotes community notes feature TikTok began testing in April is now live for all U.S. users in its pilot program.
Footnotes is aimed at helping the TikTok community add context and relevant information to content and prevent misinformation, and U.S. users will begin seeing Footnotes rated as helpful, and be able to rate them, as well.
Nearly 80,000 U.S. users are already qualified to contribute Footnotes, with more to be added. To qualify, people must be in the U.S., have had an account for at least six months, and have not committed any recent violations of TIkTok’s community guidelines.
On a Mission
TikTok introduced new feature Well-Being Missions with the goal of helping its community develop balanced digital habits and a positive relationship with the digital devices and applications they use.
Well-Being Missions are short, engaging missions that grant badges to users upon completion, and the first set is focused on awareness of the platform’s existing digital well-being tools.
Family Pairing Updates
The company added new features to its Family Pairing suite of tools that enable parents to have visibility and control of their teens’ experiences on the platform.
TikTok is testing a feature that will automatically notify a parent when their teen uploads content to the platform that is visible by others, including videos, Stories, or photos.
Another new feature lets parents see their teens’ privacy settings, such as whether those aged 16 or 17 allow people to download their content or Duet or Stitch with it. Those options are turned off by default for users 13 through 15.
Finally, a previously announced feature that lets teens alert a parent if they report a video on TikTok was enabled globally.
Other TikTok News
The company teamed up with iHeartRadio on TikTok Live singing competition Next Up: Live Music, which runs through September and concludes in a live finale at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles Sept. 26.
YouTube Music is now supported by the platform’s Add to Music App feature, meaning that TikTok users can now save music they discover on the platform directly to a playlist on YouTube Music.
YouTube
Not Short on Tools
YouTube released several tools for creators using short-form video option YouTube Shorts.
Photo to Video lets creators instantly transform an image from their camera roll into a video through techniques such as adding movement to landscape photos, animating everyday photos, or bringing group photos to life. It initially rolled out in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
New effects include swimming underwater and “twinning” with a lookalike “sibling.”
Finally, new gen AI creation tools can be found in AI Playground, which includes a gallery of examples and prefilled prompts to help creators instantly generate videos, images, music, and other content.
YouTube stressed that SynthID watermarks and clear labels are used to indicate when content was generated via AI.
No Money for Same Old, Same Old
YouTube announced an update to the monetization policies for its YouTube Partner Program, whereby mass-produced and repetitious content is no longer eligible for monetization.
The Google-owned video platform also removed sensitive category “Bare Skin (Image Only)” from the ad categories in YouTube Studio, saying that other categories can be used to control ads on a creator’s channel, such as “Reference to Sex.”
No Longer Trending
YouTube is scrapping its Trending page and Trending Now list, replacing them with category-specific data in YouTube Charts.
The new charts include Trending Music Videos, Weekly Top Podcast Shows, and Trending Movie Trailers, and YouTube said it will add more content categories.
Act Your Age
YouTube will begin using machine learning with a “small set of users” in the U.S. to help estimate their age and ensure that their experience on the platform is age-appropriate.
The system uses AI to interpret a variety of signals and determine whether a user is over or under 18, including the types of videos searched for, categories of videos they have watched, and how long the account has existed.
Age-appropriate experiences and protections will automatically be applied to those determined to be under 18, and users who were mistakenly classified as such can verify their correct age via a credit card or government ID.
Guide to Creator Marketplace
Instagram is seeking to boost interest in its Creator Marketplace with a 26-page how-to guide aimed at helping marketers get set up quickly and easily.
The guide was shared with Digiday, and it follows up its basic setup steps with four ways for marketers to find the right creators to partner with:
- Recommendations and search via Instagram’s artificial-intelligence-powered algorithm, with recommendations generating a list of creators who might be a good fit for the brand, and search letting marketers use either keywords or AI-powered search recommendations.
- Interested Creators, a list of creators who have expressed interest in working with the brand, and Follows and Tags, a list of creators who have followed the brand’s profile or tagged it in their content.
- A guide to navigating creator profiles and portfolios, including metrics such as followers and audience demographics, as well as an overview of the creator’s partnership ads, branded content and recent content.
- Creator lists, which can be created, customized, and shared among administrators on the account.
More Robust Insights for Threads
Instagram detailed several improvements to insights for its stand-alone Threads app.
The Interactions section now offers engagement by likes, replies, quotes, and reposts, while the Followers section provides geographic data, including top cities and countries, and demographic information such as age range and gender.
A new chart enables creators on Threads to track their post performance over time and determine trends over periods from seven through 90 days.
Finally, Instagram is giving creators on Threads more insights into how people encounter their content, including via other apps.
Sing Along With Spotify
Instagram users can now listen to previews of tracks from Spotify that were shared to Stories.
People had previously been able to share Spotify tracks to Stories, but they just linked back to Spotify, without audio on Instagram.
New fonts are also being rolled out for Reels and Stories, with the first inspired by the handwriting of singer and songwriter Rosalía.
Getting the Message
Instagram added direct messaging to Threads, calling it one of the most requested features for the app.
At the start, DMs will only be permitted between Threads followers or mutual followers from Instagram who are 18 and older.
The company also introduced the Threads highlighter, a new visual element that emphasizes interesting perspectives and conversations on the platform.
At launch, Threads highlighter will appear in important parts of the app where people discover content, and to mark Trending topics.
Other Instagram News
- Connor Hayes, formerly Meta’s vice president of product for generative AI, was named head of Threads.
- Look out, X: Data for June from market intelligence provider Similarweb showed that Threads had 115.1 million daily active users on its Android and iOS apps, closing the gap on X, which tallied 132 million.
It’s Academic
The new Pinterest Media Planner Certification is live on Pinterest Academy for those who successfully demonstrate the ability to deliver effective Pinterest media plans that drive real business outcomes.
The online learning platform also unveiled the Pinterest Performance Essentials Skills Badge for those who learn how to drive lower-funnel performance and make the most of marketing dollars.
Other Pinterest News
- The platform released its 2025 Holiday Marketing Guide, its Men’s Trend Report, and a guide to marketing during uncertain times.
Snapchat
The Eagle Has Landed … on School
American Eagle added Snapchat to its back-to-school arsenal, with more than 800 of its retail locations across the U.S. featured on location feature Snap Map as Promoted Places.
Users can get information about the location; see Stories and Spotlight content from the brand, creators, and other users; and seamlessly shop without leaving the app.
And a new AE Jeans Try-On Haul Lens is now available in Lens Carousel and via American Eagle’s Public Profile.
Don’t Worry … I’m OK
The platform introduced a new feature, Home Safe, that gives users a way to let friends know that they are back home safely without having to send them a message.
Home Safe alerts can only be sent to friends who the user already shares their location with, and they go out only once.
Users can set their home location by tapping their Bitmoji on Snap Map and choosing My Home.
Other Snapchat News
- Snapchat is bringing a touch of augmented reality to the Palace of Versailles with Dansez Versailles, a historical and immersive journey in four stages integrated into the Palace of Versailles’ app.
- Mary Ann Belliveau joined the company as president of North America sales. She had been leading large customer sales in North America for Reddit.
- The company teamed up with Triple Whale on a study of ecommerce ad spend efficiency on the platform.
- Finally, Snapchat joined forces with Publicis Media and NRG on a report detailing the latest trends in the quick-service-restaurant sector.
Shouting Out Creators
LinkedIn Editor in Chief Tequia Burt shared a strong endorsement for creators to become a pillar of marketers’ business-to-business video strategies.
Burt shared the following key takeaways:
- Influencer-led video earns attention by pairing subject matter credibility with authentic delivery.
- When executed well, influencer video outperforms brand-led content on engagement, trust, and retention.
- Thoughtful formats, like expert interviews or behind-the-scenes segments, ground the content in real-word context.
- Success depends on alignment: Tone, messaging, and audience expectations must be clear from the start.
- The right influencer can help you reach the full buying committee, not just the person holding the budget.
Helping Creators Monitor Their Performance
LinkedIn released an update allowing creators to plug performance metrics from the professional network directly into the third-party tools they already use to manage and track their content.
The new Member Post Analytics application-programming interface is now integrated with Buffer, Hootsuite, Later, Metricool, mLabs, Oktopost, Publer, Social Pilot, Sprinklr, Vista Social, and Zoho, and LinkedIn expects more integrations in the coming year.
More LinkedIn News
- Campaign-level revenue measurement was added to the platform’s Campaign Manager, enabling marketers to sync their customer-relationship-management platforms and optimize based on campaign elements that are successful.
- Video remained in focus at LinkedIn, with Burt stressing the role of trust as a competitive advantage in B2B video campaigns, and the professional network sharing the results of an analysis of more than 13,000 B2B videos on its platform.
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