Stay Up to Date on the Latest Trends, Platform Updates, and Social Media Holidays
Opportunities for creator marketing campaigns heat up in June, as the official start of summer.
Social Media Holidays to Mark on Your Calendar
- June 1: International Children’s Day
- June 1: Global Day of Parents
- June 7: National Doughnut Day
- June 14: Flag Day
- June 16: Father’s Day
- June 19: Juneteenth
- June 20: First day of summer
- June 21: National Selfie Day
- June 30: World Social Media Day
Social Media Platform Updates
TikTok
Fighting Back
As expected, TikTok began mounting its defense against legislation that gave parent company ByteDance nine months to sell the video sharing application before it would potentially be banned in the U.S.
TikTok and ByteDance filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit, and highlights of its defense include:
- The “qualified divestiture” demanded by the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. And certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the act.
- If Congress can do this, it can circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down.
- The act does not articulate any threat posed by TikTok nor explain why TikTok should be excluded from evaluation under the standards Congress concurrently imposed on every other platform.
The Department of Justice and TikTok asked the court to rule by Dec. 6, prior to the deadline to sell on Jan. 19. 2025.
TikTok World
TikTok introduced several new business solutions during its fourth annual TikTok World product summit.
The platform described TikTok One as a centralized destination for marketers to access creative tools and a one-stop shop for access to creators, insights, and production partners.
New creative artificial intelligence suite TikTok Symphony combines AI-powered efficiency with human imagination to help marketers scale content development, creativity, and productivity.
@tiktoknewsroomIntroducing TikTok Symphony: our new Creative AI suite that blends human imagination with AI-powered efficiency to help marketers scale content development, creativity, and productivity on TikTok.
The platform also debuted new predictive automation solutions that use machine learning and predictive AI to maximize business outcomes for advertisers by helping them choose the best creative and the right audience and ensure that their ad is shown to that audience at the best time.
A new marketing optimization solution for TikTok Shop will help automate ad management, bidding, budgeting, and creative, taking into account ad spend, affiliate payouts, and platform fees.
Unified Lift is a new tool that lets brands measure the performance of their campaigns on the platform across the entire decision journey.
Advertisers can add pop-out elements and countdown stickers to their creative via Interactive Add-Ons for TopView, helping them boost brand engagement and encourage interaction.
Duet with Branded Mission lets brands invite creators to duet with their videos, with the aim of boosting engagement and participation from audiences.
Finally, the TikTok Media Buying Certification program helps advertisers find trusted TikTok partners to collaborate with.
NewFronts
TikTok unveiled new premium ad solutions during its NewFronts 2024 presentation.
The platform introduced its Pulse Premiere option last year, enabling advertisers to place their ads in its For You feed directly following content from premium publishers such as BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Hearst, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Football League, NBCUniversal, UFC, Vox, and WWE.
TikTok added new publishers to Pulse Premiere, including the National Hockey League and Paramount Global.
Pulse Custom Lineups use generative AI to curate trending, brand-suitable content tailored to specific marketing needs for more precise and relevant content adjacency.
Pulse Premiere Tentpole Moments are designed to cover tentpole events and cultural moments, such as the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris from NBCU and The Met Gala from Vogue.
Advertisers can tap Pulse Premiere IP Lineups to buy against specific intellectual property and networks from NBCU (including America’s Got Talent, Bravo, Saturday Night Live, and Today) and Paramount Global (including CBS Sports, The Daily Show, Entertainment Tonight, and MTV).
Finally, the company announced new audience measurement partners.
Brands can now conduct cross-media reach measurement across campaigns with linear TV components through iSpot.tv, with post-campaign reporting detailing the incremental reach of their TikTok campaign versus the linear TV portion of their campaign.
And advertisers will soon have access to cross-media reach measurement via Nielsen ONE Ads, enabling them to measure campaigns across platforms including computer, connected television, linear TV, and mobile.
The Tracks Are Back
The stalemate between Universal Music Group and TikTok finally came to an end, as the two parties reached a new licensing agreement to bring music from the publisher’s artists back to the platform.
UMG began removing its music from TikTok Jan. 31 following the failure of the two parties to renew their agreement. UMG artists include Drake, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift.
The two companies said they will work together on new monetization opportunities via TikTok’s ecommerce capabilities, campaigns supporting UMG artists, and ensuring that AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to artists and songwriters.
Spotlight on Billie
Speaking of Eilish, she helped TikTok launch artist-first feature Fan Spotlight, which lets artists showcase up to five of their favorite fan videos under their music tab.
If a video is chosen as a Fan Spotlight by the artist, its creator will receive a notification, and that video will remain pinned to the top of the artist’s music tab for up to seven days.
TikTok said Fan Spotlight was a key part of Eilish’s #HITMEHARDANDSOFT TikTok takeover in celebration of the release of her new album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.
Other TikTok News
- TikTok began testing the ability to upload 60-minute videos.
- The platform teamed up with the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) and began using its Content Credentials technology to automatically label AI-generated content uploaded from other platforms. TikTok also rolled out new media literacy resources developed with guidance from experts including Mediawise and Witness.
- Mindful of the 2024 presidential election in the U.S., as well as key votes across the globe, TikTok expanded its policies for state-affiliated media with the goal of countering influence attempts on its platform.
- TikTok revealed its inaugural list of TikTok Change Makers, its first-ever global social impact creator elevation program, spotlighting creators and nonprofits that create meaningful change in their communities through TikTok.
- Finally, the company announced the winners of year three of the #TikTokShortFilm competition.
Achievements and Challenges
Instagram introduced two initiatives aimed at encouraging creators to consistently post on its platform: Achievements and Challenges.
Achievements are badges that creators can earn based on actions and milestones, such as:
- Trendspotter: Use of trending audio or effect in a Reel.
- Plays: Reaching a certain number of plays on a Reel
- Followers: Reaching a certain number of followers.
And Challenges are geared toward providing inspiration and motivation to help creators reach their goals. Examples include:
- Plays: Create new Reels and receive a certain number of plays on those Reels within 30 days.
- Daily Story: Add to your Story at least once every day for the next seven days.
Sticker Shock
Instagram released four new stickers for use in Stories:
- Add Yours Music: Users can share a song that fits their mood, a new music find, or a track they are vibing with that day, and their followers can add their tracks, as well.
- Frames: The Frames sticker turns any photo into an instant print, and followers must shake their phone to “develop” the image.
- Reveal: Users can post a hidden Story for followers and friends to find, which can only be done by sending the creator a direct message.
- Cutouts: Part of any photo or video in a user’s camera roll can be turned into a Cutout sticker and added to Reels or Stories.
Other Instagram News
- The platform’s Creator Marketplace was extended to 10 new countries: Argentina, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, and Turkey.
- Instagram started a global test of the ability to cross-post on the main Instagram app and its stand-alone Threads app.
- Threads users can now see how many times people have viewed their posts.
- Users of Threads can also limit who can quote their posts, choosing from everyone on Threads, only people they follow, or no one.
- All Threads users can now mute notifications on their posts.
- Finally, Instagram began testing pinned columns on Threads for the web.
YouTube
And the Emmy Goes to …
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan believes that creators should be eligible to win Emmy Awards.
He wrote in an op-ed piece originally published by The Hollywood Reporter, “You might not expect MrBeast to stand on the same stage as Jeremy Allen White. But if you think creators are just recording vlogs from their bedrooms, then I have some big news. Creators have writers’ rooms, production teams, and business strategies. They’re developing programming that’s not just popular and relevant—it’s breaking boundaries. Creators are defining a new era of entertainment. And they deserve the same acclaim as other creative professionals.”
Mohan added, “Creators are driving cultural trends and bringing in huge audiences, but they’re also doing something even more important. They’re leading us into the future of entertainment and pushing the industry forward. As we enter a new era driven by AI, creators continue to lead the way. They’re jumping in to make the most of this moment even as traditional studios are still navigating the path forward. Creators see AI’s potential to amplify, augment, and scale their creativity. They’re using AI tools to grow their reach and translate their videos into other languages with just a click of a button.”
He concluded, “Creators are the new Hollywood. They’re taking over television screens and finding big audiences. This puts the entertainment industry at a crossroads. If creators are not acknowledged by the Emmys, then we should ask ourselves if the awards represent the future of TV or just its past. The Television Academy has long been considered the pinnacle of creativity. In order to maintain its relevance and emerge a leader in the digital age of entertainment, the Emmys should celebrate all kinds of content, especially the creators whose storytelling is pushing culture forward.”
Brandcast 2024
YouTube revealed new ways for advertisers to connect with creators on its platform at its Brandcast 2024 upfront presentation at Lincoln Center in New York.
YouTube Select Creator Takeovers let brands own 100% share of voice on the channels of top creators.
Video Reach Campaigns Non-Skips, powered by Google AI, enables brands to use their existing non-skippable assets to reach their awareness and reach goals.
The platform is also providing more opportunities for brands to take over its TV experience, saying that interactivity on TV screens has more than doubled in the past year.
Other YouTube News
- YouTube TV Multiview is now on mobile and tablets via Android and iOS, letting viewers watch four streams simultaneously.
Meta
New AI Tools for Advertisers
Meta announced a batch of gen AI features and tools for advertisers, as well as AI-powered tools to help them boost performance with creators and Reels.
Brands can now create full image variations based on their original ad creative, with text overlay capabilities. Those AI-generated assets can fit different aspect ratios across multiple surfaces.
Meta’s text generation feature now creates variations for ad headlines, as well as primary text, and the company said it is testing the ability for the generated text to match the brand’s voice and tone by analyzing key selling points from previous campaigns and text input.
Those new tools will be available in Ads Manager through Advantage+ creative, and updates within that product suite include:
- Video ads can be optimized for viewing on Reels or the mobile Facebook and Instagram apps with a 9:16 ratio.
- Catalog ads deliver product recommendations to users based on their interests, and advertisers can use branded videos and customer demonstration videos along with static images.
- Hero images or videos can be uploaded for the center of catalog ads, and Meta AI will dynamically show people the best products from the catalog.
The company also announced that its test of Meta Verified for businesses on Facebook and Instagram was extended to Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, and Peru, and WhatsApp will soon be incorporated.
At its IAB NewFronts session, Meta unveiled personalized, machine-learning-powered creator recommendations for brands in Instagram’s Creator Marketplace.
Brands can also search by filtering for audience attributes and creator, and they can then send detailed campaign briefs to specific creators or make those briefs available to several creators, slashing money and time spent on sourcing creators.
The company is also testing a new tool that leverages AI to predict which organic branded content will perform best if used in paid campaigns as a partnership ad.
Multi-destination product ads for Reels, powered by Advantage+ catalog ads, let people easily swipe through multiple products at once, and catalog-based videos can now be used.
Finally, Instagram reminder ads help advertisers build anticipation, awareness, and consideration prior to events, launches, and moments.
Other Meta News
- Enterprise solution Workplace from Meta will shutter in 2026. The company said business clients can use the platform as usual through Aug. 31, 2025, but from Sept. 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, it will only be accessible to read and download existing data, and it will be no more as of June 1, 2026.
- The latest updates to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses include access to meditation app Calm, the ability to stream Amazon Music, and the option of sharing directly to Instagram Stories. New Skyler and Headliner Low Bridge Fit styles were also introduced.
Snapchat
NewFronts Announcements
Parent company Snap Inc. detailed several new programs and solutions for advertisers at the platform’s 2024 NewFronts presentation.
AR Extensions enable advertisers to integrate augmented reality filters and lenses directly into all of the platform’s ad formats, including Collection Ads, Commercials, Dynamic Product Ads, Snap Ads, and Spotlight Ads.
Brands can create branded AR ads with gen AI technology enabling the creation of custom-produced lenses via ML Face Effects.
The company is teaming up with award-winning actress, producer, and writer Issa Rae and her branded entertainment company, Ensemble, to help brands partner and produce content with participants in Snap’s 523 creator accelerator program.
For the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, popular creators including Livvy Dunne and Harry Jowsey will report on the events in partnership with NBCUniversal. Snap’s in-house Arcadia team will create new AR experiences, and daily shows from NBCU will feature highlights from the Games.
Snap is also continuing its longstanding sports partnerships with the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and Women’s National Basketball Association, and Snapchat is launching sports channel Snap Sports Network to cover less mainstream sports, such as dog surfing, extreme ironing, and water bottle flipping.
Finally, Snap and Live Nation introduced Snap Nation, giving users access to exclusive festival and tour experiences such as behind-the-scenes content, curated Stories, and public Spotlights. Advertisers can take part via initiatives such as branded content across creator Stories, ads in Snap Nation Stories, and AR Lenses leveraging Live Nation intellectual property.
Ad Platform Updates
Snap detailed several updates to its ad stack.
Snapchat’s ad formats were redesigned to unify their look and feel across the platform, and a new, streamlined app download experience on iOS lets Snapchatters install apps with fewer taps and without leaving Snapchat.
New bidding capabilities were introduced with the mobile gaming category in mind, such as Value Optimization, which lets advertisers bid on the value of purchases driven, rather than just quantity of purchases.
Click-only app optimization products like App Install 7/0 and App Purchases 7/0 were also updated.
On the lead-generation front, Snapchat is working with customer-relationship-management platform partners to integrate their systems and further optimize the lead-generation process.
On the web, the new Landing Page View optimization goal helps marketers deliver on key performance indicators such as landing page views, reduced bounce rates, and session volume.
v3 of Snapchat’s Conversions API (application-programming interface) lets advertisers send events to the Snapchat server in real-time, at which point Snap matches app, offline, and web events to their ads, resulting in better measurement, optimization, and targeting.
Snap also announced third-party Conversions API partnerships with companies including Datahash, LiveRamp, Snowflake, and Tealium.
New Features for Users
Snapchatters now have access to a batch of new features:
- Editable Chats: Users can edit their messages for up to five minutes after sending them, rolling out first for subscribers to the Snapchat+ premium service.
- Emoji Reactions: Users can now react with any emoji. They had been able to do so with Bitmoji since 2022.
- My AI Reminders: Users can tap My AI for reminders in conversations with one friend or direct chats.
- Map Reactions: Snap Map users can now send a wave to one another as they pass each other, or a heart when a friend arrives safely at their destination.
- Custom Bitmoji looks: Snapchatters can design their own wardrobes for their Bitmoji with a short description and help from AI.
- New AI lenses: Snapchatters created nearly 40 million Snaps with the new 90s AI lens in just four days.
Other Snapchat News
- Snap hosted its first Snap Direct Response Summits in Santa Monica, Calif., and New York. Co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel, Vice President of Small and Medium Customers Sid Malhotra, VP of Product Growth Ty Ahmad-Taylor, and other executives shared details about Snapchat’s revamped ad platform.
- The company teamed up with collaborative sustainability platform Scope3 and announced new emissions solutions.
Pinterest Media Buyer Certification
Pinterest Academy added free program Pinterest Media Buyer Certification, which enables marketers to demonstrate their skills on the platform and helps agancies and brands find quality talent.
Media buyers must complete a 60-question multiple-choice exam covering topics including ads reporting, campaign activation, and optimization.
The company recommends it for people with two to five years of media buying experience, including one to two years specifically using Pinterest.
Summer Style
Pinterest shared data on trending searches on its platform as the summer begins. Highlights include:
- Pinners are planning for big and bold fashion, such as rock and roll style, alternative outfits, eye-catching patterns and unconventional silhouettes.
- Beauty is reverting to the 1990s and 2000s, with searches up for bold makeup looks and edgy hairstyles.
- Home decor will be vibrant and personalized, based on a spike in searches for dopamine decor.
- Thank you, Bridgerton: Searches for trending tea recipes and gatherings based on high tea and floral decor are on the upswing.
- Pinners are looking for new twists on healthy staple summer ingredients like avocado and mango, as well as reinvented sourdough recipes and exciting new tea drinks.
C2PA
LinkedIn began automatically labeling AI-generated content containing the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity’s industry-leading Content Credentials technology (C2PA).
The “Cr” icon will begin appearing on images and videos that contain C2PA metadata, and clicking on the icon will let members trace the origin of the AI-created media, including the source and history of the content, and whether it was created or edited by AI.
This initiative is rolling out on LinkedIn’s feed, with other surfaces to follow.
Other LinkedIn News
LinkedIn shared a primer on the basics of business-to-business influencer marketing.
Some fun was added to the professional network in the form of three logic puzzle games: Queens, a Sudoku-like game in which players are tasked with arranging crowns in patterns that do not overlap with each other; Crossclimb, a trivia game that shares clues with players for words that must fit on a grid, with words changing by one letter with each subsequent clue to eventually form a different words; and Pinpoint, very similar to The New York Times’ Connections game, where players must find connections between words.
X
Story Time With Grok
X is using its Grok AI chatbot to curate Stories for its X Premium subscribers.
The feature launched for iOS and web, and it summarizes a user’s personalized trending stories in the app’s Explore section, located under the For You tab.
Stories aggregates news and stories being shared across X’s platform that are popular within a user’s network, along with other suggested items.
Communities Updates
X detailed updates to its Communities feature:
- Posts from new Communities that are currently trending can be found in Explore.
- Recommendations for Communities a user may enjoy are being added to their timeline.
- Communities are now searchable by topic.
- Users who are part of Communities can sort by trending.
The platform also shared a preview of changes that are coming soon:
- Community analytics for moderators.
- Community Spaces.
- Better moderation tools.
Other X News
- All of the platform’s core systems have moved from Twitter.com to X.com.
- An AI Audiences option set to launch soon will briefly describe the target audience for a brand’s ads and use AI to generate a pool of the most relevant X users to target.
- Videos up to four hours long can now be uploaded.
- X said it is providing financial support for “numerous legal proceedings” related to free speech.
- iOS users worldwide now have access to an Expanded Bio feature that lets them share more about themselves in their profile.
- X users can view their chat history with Grok on iOS and web.
- The platform said there are now more than 500,000 users of its Community Notes feature in over 70 countries.
- Finally, Grok was rolled out to X Premium subscribers in Europe.
OpenAI Partnership
Reddit and OpenAI announced a partnership with the aim of benefiting the user communities of both platforms.
OpenAI will gain access to Reddit’s Data API, using real-time, structured, and unique content from Reddit to bring content from the platform to ChatGPT and future products, helping people discover and engage with Reddit communities.
And Reddit will build on OpenAI’s platform of AI models and bring new AI-powered features to its moderators and users.
Finally, OpenAI will become a Reddit advertising partner.
Ask Me Anything
Reddit revealed several updates to its iconic Ask Me Anything feature.
A new AMA tab in Reddit’s web composer, coming to mobile soon, unlocks tools for hosts and viewers.
Hosts can schedule and promote their AMA session up to 21 days in advance, add up to five co-hosts, and end sessions with a link and a note.
And viewers can opt in for reminders on upcoming AMA sessions. Three views are now available: One with all comments on a post; one only displaying replies by the host and co-hosts; and one showing where they have yet to reply.
Other Reddit News
- Reddit brought back its awards, which it tried to replace with a simplified experience last year, and it launched its Contributor Program in the U.S.
- The platform detailed its new public content policy and introduced the new r/reddit4researchers subreddit.
Twitch
The Amazon-owned streaming platform rolled out its new discovery feed, enabling users to preview clips and livestreams without preroll ads.
The Meta-owned messaging app rolled out design updates including an updated layout and icons to help users more quickly find what they are looking for, as well as new illustration with added animation.
WhatsApp also added events and replies to announcement groups in its Communities.
Brands That Stay on Trend
Summer brings hot weather and even hotter temperatures, and these three brands tapped creators to help spark sales.
Christy Lee took her followers on a tour of one of Macy’s new boutique-style stores.
@christy_ix #sponsored @Macy’s just opened boutique-style stores with the trendiest curated fashion, fragrance, and beauty🛍️ Shop my best finds in my bio! #macysstylecrew ♬ original sound – Christy Lee
Belk was the destination of choice for Courtney Michelle.
@thecourtneyc Come with me to refresh my wardrobe for summer at @Belk . They have high quality designer pieces for unbeatable deals. What are you waiting for? Shop today! #Belk #BelkStyle #belkpartner ♬ original sound – Courtney Michelle
Finally, Tabitha Amy modeled her favorite summer dress from Abercrombie & Fitch.
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Open Influence’s team stays on top of the latest trends and is here to help you maximize your creator campaigns. Open Influence is a leading global creator marketing agency dedicated to creating engaging campaigns.
