Original Content, Please ✨

YouTube is putting more emphasis on original content on Shorts. The platform recently announced an update to its recommendation systems that will prioritize original work and reduce the reach of channels that primarily reupload other creators’ videos without adding significant value through original commentary, unique edits, or storytelling.

What’s Happening

YouTube is part of a broader shift across social platforms. Meta has been driving efforts to reward original content across Instagram and Facebook since 2024. In April, Instagram expanded its original content policies to include photos and carousels while making aggregator accounts ineligible for recommendations.

TikTok has also set rules around originality. Its Community Guidelines state that unoriginal or reused content without meaningful creative additions isn’t eligible for the For You feed.

X has introduced its Original Content Rewards program to incentivize original work, while LinkedIn is evolving its systems to better identify and reduce repetitive, low-value content.

What the Problem Is Today

Platforms no longer have a problem getting enough content into their feeds. They have a content quality problem.

The rise of generative AI, clipping farms, and aggregator accounts has made it easier than ever to create, duplicate, and distribute content at scale. Feeds are becoming increasingly crowded with repetitive content, making it harder for original work to stand out. Meanwhile, creators often see their work reused by larger accounts that benefit from the views, audience growth, and monetization.

Prioritizing original content helps platforms address both issues: improving the viewing experience while protecting creators and giving them more incentive to invest in original work.

Clipping farms and aggregator accounts that rely on reposting content with minimal changes will likely feel the impact most directly. But brands should pay attention, too. Brands that repost creator content on their own accounts, particularly when it has already been published by the creator, should be aware that these practices could run counter to platform policies on duplicative content.

What Creators & Brands Should Do

Whether you're a creator or a brand looking to grow and reach new audiences, original content should be a priority. As of this summer, Meta shared that 75% of the Reels recommended to users are original.

One way to make original content more sustainable is to develop a recurring format. Audiences are increasingly consuming social media like TV, and signature series give them a reason to return. Whether it's a Q&A, interview series, micro-drama, or another type of social show, a recurring format provides a familiar structure for producing fresh content consistently.

When sharing content created by others, it's important to find thoughtful ways to participate in the conversation. Native platform features can also help. Collab features allow brands and creators to co-author content, while Reposts let users share existing posts with their networks. Duets and Stitches allow creators to build on existing videos by adding their own perspectives and contributions.

The push for original content is likely to continue, but platforms will keep evolving what they consider original and how they reward it.

Short-form videos might only be 30 to 60 seconds long, but creating them takes much longer.

After researching your topic, figuring out what you want to say, and recording, you still have to edit, add captions, choose visuals, and publish.

With OpusClip’s new AI Producer, you can speed up that process. It goes beyond a typical reframing tool or video editor. Upload your raw talking-head footage, and it understands what you’re saying to build a polished edit around it, using insights into what keeps people watching.

Some of its key features include:

You can even make edits simply by typing what you want to change.

If you have ideas, knowledge, or opinions you want to share with the world but don't want to spend hours editing, AI Producer is worth checking out. You might be surprised by how quickly you can go from raw footage to a polished video ready to share.

TikTok announced new agentic commerce features centered around two tools: Shopping Assistant, a conversational AI agent that answers shoppers’ questions about products, including sizing, shipping, and features, and Buy Direct, a native in-app checkout experience that lets shoppers purchase products from brands without leaving TikTok.

Together, these tools could further shorten the path from discovery to purchase, giving shoppers more ways to research and buy products without leaving the platform.

According to PF Global’s TikTok-commissioned 2026 U.S. Economic Impact Report, economic activity supported by TikTok helped generate an estimated $81 billion in U.S. GDP in 2025. Among surveyed businesses using TikTok, 93% reported increased sales after promoting their products or services on the platform.

Facebook is testing a new immersive experience in India that puts Reels front and center, taking users directly to a full-screen video feed when they open the app. Earlier this year, Facebook head Tom Alison said the experience will be tested internationally before eventually coming to the U.S. in 2027.

Instagram has also been spotted testing a similar experience. With young adults spending about 60% of their time on Facebook watching video and Reels accounting for 50% of time spent on Instagram, Meta is making video an increasingly central part of the platform experience.

If you’re looking to improve your Reels strategy, Instagram recently published a complete guide to Reels.

Pinterest launched Beauty Guides, an AI-powered experience that turns hair and nail Pins into actionable guides, including what to ask for at the salon, relevant products, and step-by-step instructions for recreating looks. The feature helps users move from saving beauty inspiration to putting it into practice.

Pinterest also released its first-ever Beauty Trend Report, highlighting 11 emerging trends. With 85% of Pinners saying they discover new beauty trends or ideas on Pinterest before seeing them elsewhere, the report offers beauty brands an early look at emerging aesthetics to inform content and creator partnerships.

Substack introduced three new sponsorship formats to help creators monetize. Upgrade allows a brand to provide a month of paid access to a creator’s free subscribers. Unlock lets a brand sponsor one of a creator’s paid posts, making it free for everyone to read. Masthead features brands partnering with creators on content built around a theme in a dedicated destination on Substack.

With subscriptions at the core of Substack’s business model, these formats give brands a way to partner with creators while providing value to their audiences. Rather than interrupting content with ads, brands can fund access to it, creating another revenue stream for creators and a potential path to converting free readers into paid subscribers.

As I predicted earlier this year, more influencer marketing dollars are beginning to flow to the platform.

KitchenAid launched the KitchenAid Makers Club, an ambassador program for bakers, chefs, and home cooks to create shoppable content. It’s open to creators of all sizes and has two tiers: Tastemakers, who can participate in paid campaigns and events, and Affiliate Collaborators, who earn commissions through affiliate links.

The launch reflects a growing shift toward more structured, always-on creator programs that accommodate different types of creators through tiered participation models. These tiers define how creators work with brands and the opportunities, compensation, and perks available to them.

Other recent examples of this tiered strategy include Target, which sunset its original creator program and launched two new ones: Club Target for everyday creators and Target Ambassador for established creators. The Kansas City Chiefs’ Kingdom Creators program also offers three tiers, each with different perks for participating creators.

$100 million is the goal Dhar Mann set for generating new business between creators and brands, shared at Advertising Week New York.

18% of higher-income consumers (those earning $100K+) trust recommendations from creators or influencers, compared to 11% of those earning $50K to $100K and those earning under $50K.

33% of customers who initially shop through just one channel go on to shop both online and in-store within six months, according to new Pinterest data.

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