Reels Go Global 🗣️

Next week, I'm co-hosting a Boston Creator Economy summer mixer to bring together the local community of creators, marketers, brands, entrepreneurs, and more. Details and RSVP here.

It's looking to be a good group as we're right at about 150 RSVPs — if you're in the area, come out and if not but know someone who is, please share!

TODAY’S EDITION

Meta expanded access to Meta AI translations, giving creators the ability to automatically dub and lip-sync their Facebook and Instagram Reels in another language using their own voice and tone.

Creators can review translations before posting, toggle the translation/lip-sync on or off at any time, and access new metrics showing views by language. It's currently available for translations between English and Spanish, with more languages coming soon.

All eligible Instagram public accounts and Facebook creators with 1,000+ followers have access. Facebook creators can also upload their own audio tracks for additional language support.

Why It Matters: Similar to YouTube's auto-dubbing tool, this helps creators reach new audiences by breaking down language barriers. In just a click, creators can potentially reach much larger audiences without extensive time and effort.

This creates a win across the board. More people can discover creators who speak different languages, enabling cross-cultural consumption. It's a plus for brands when sponsored Reels are translated to reach additional audiences.

For Meta, more accessible content means more time spent on the platform, helps with ad revenue. Because of the potential high impact, I expect this to become a baseline feature for most video experiences in the near future.

YouTube added a feature for creators to tag brand partners during video uploads or when editing existing videos. Through a Paid Promotion and Brands option, creators can indicate that a video includes paid promotion and add the relevant brand. This allows the brand to view organic performance metrics and promote the content as Partnership Ads.

Partnership Ads are now co-branded, displaying both the creator's and brand's avatars with a subscribe button option for viewers.

When tagging brands, creators gain increased visibility in the advertiser's Creator Partnership hub and may also be recommended to other brands. The feature is available for creators in the YouTube Partner Program.

Why It Matters: YouTube is streamlining creator-brand collaborations by giving brands real-time access to sponsored content metrics instead of requiring creators to provide screenshots. The feature also allows brands to easily turn organic content into paid ads for greater reach and impact.

Plus creators get more control over how their content is used by limiting permissions to a specific video instead of their entire channel.

The easy subscribe option for viewers, combined with increased visibility and potential brand recommendations, provides strong incentives for creators to add brand partners.

TikTok launched Campus Verification, a new feature that brings back memories of early Facebook days when you needed a college email to sign up.

Students can now verify their academic email, add their school and graduation year to their profile, and scroll through a directory of classmates—filtered by graduation year and even follower count.

The feature is rolling out to 6,000+ universities through a partnership with UNiDAYS.

Why It Matters: TikTok is positioning itself as a tool to help students meet others on their campus, from first-years to upperclassmen looking to expand their circles. This builds on a trend of platforms encouraging real-world connections, including Instagram's Maps.

Being able to find classmates by follower count highlights how social following has become currency among younger adults. This will be useful for students looking to collaborate with other creators and for student brand ambassadors recruiting peers.

Campus Verification comes at the right time as students return to school and the conclusion of #RushTok.

Looking ahead, it's easy to imagine TikTok expanding this with tools for colleges to promote events, surfacing trending content by campus, and helping brands connect with college students.

Instagram launched content linking for Reels, allowing creators to link their Reels to other relatable Reels and add a button for series or multi-part content

Instagram may add screenshot insights. During a recent Ask Me Anything, Instagram head Adam Mosseri responded to a question about it and said that he would look into it with his team.

Meta introduced new ways for brands to find creators, such as based on their language and region, as well as expansion of Creator Testimonials for Partnership Ads.

YouTube opened up Effect Maker to more creators. Eligible creators can use the web-based tool to create custom effects for Shorts and publish them directly to YouTube.

YouTube liaison Rene Ritchie revealed the platform is running an experiment that increases the quality of Shorts with machine learning technology such as unblurring, denoising, and improving clarity during processing.

YouTube's first-ever exclusive NFL broadcast will blend traditional and new media. On-air talent will feature former NFL players, broadcasters, and digital creators like Deestroying and Kay Adams.

LinkedIn will send notifications to users when their posts drive profile visits and followers. These will appear at 3-day and 7-day intervals after posting.

LinkedIn says it may limit the visibility of comments when it detects excessive comments or automated tools to combat fake engagement and engagement pods.

Pinterest published its Autumn Trends Report, highlighting key seasonal trends including thrifting. The platform also launched Thrift Shop, an in-app shopping activation featuring pre-owned products based on the report's findings.

Netflix signed a deal with YouTuber Mark Rober, the former NASA engineer who has over 70 million subscribers. He will create and host a new Kids & Family competition series, with some of his experiments also being added to the streamer's library.

Google Photos added conversational editing via Gemini, allowing users to make AI-powered edits by typing prompts or using voice commands, including lighting adjustments and removing objects.

The NFL Broadcast Boot Camp Is Where Today’s Players Become Tomorrow’s Pundits (Vanity Fair)

NFL players' careers average three years, after which many transition into media. Vanity Fair explores the NFL Broadcast Bootcamp that helps players make this career shift.

LTK Holiday Shopper Study Reveals Creators are Powering Holiday Spending and Shaping Shopping Behaviors (LTK)

The new study shows creators are the top source for Gen Z and Millennials' holiday purchases. Other key findings include 90% of consumers planning to shop for themselves, product availability mattering more than price, and over half seeking in-stock recommendations from creators.

Talent Managers Are Reading the Fine Print in Creator Contracts. They Can’t Always Change It (Marketing Brew)

Talent managers are trying to redline agreements to help protect their creator clients or even just align agreements with what was discussed prior, but more brands and agencies are pushing back for several reasons.

ESPN Believes a New App Will Save the Company (The Hollywood Reporter)

ESPN launched an upgraded app that includes a TikTok-style vertical video feed featuring highlights, reactions, and user-generated content, alongside a new SportsCenter for You.

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