TikTok...US? 🇺🇸

TOGETHER WITH INSENSE

TODAY’S EDITION

• ByteDance is reportedly working on a U.S.-specific version of TikTok

• YouTube creators can opt in to share Channel Insights with brands, advertisers, and platforms

• LinkedIn hits another milestone as third-party tools can now pull in creator analytics

• Pinterest reports Gen Z men are joining in record numbers

• TIME Magazine drops its first list of top creators.

ICYMI: 2025 Mid-Year Recap: Six Creator Economy Trends to Know

NEWS, TRENDS & INSIGHTS

YouTube

YouTube now lets creators share their Channel Insights with third-party advertisers, brands, and platforms through a new setting in YouTube Studio. By opting in, creators can share channel statistics, audience demographics, and more to help unlock more earning opportunities like brand deals or affiliate partnerships.

YouTube is testing a new AI creative assistant called Ask Studio. Spotted by strategist Aniket Mishra, the tool summarizes comments, surfaces video performance insights, and generates outlines and ideas. It’s a time-saver for creators without full strategy or analytics teams.

YouTube issued a “minor update” to its guidelines on “repetitious content,” which has long been ineligible for monetization under the YouTube Partner Program. The original announcement sparked confusion, with many interpreting it as a crackdown on commentary, reaction, and AI-generated content. However, YouTube clarified its referring to content that is typically considered spam.

YouTube is phasing out its Trending page, replacing it with category-specific charts like Trending Music Videos, Top Podcast Shows, and Trending Movie Trailers. This aligns with how viewers today discover trends through a variety of experiences across YouTube, like Shorts, search, and communities, as well as an explosion of vertical-specific micro-trends.

YouTube is developing an iOS version of its video editing app, YouTube Create. After a quiet post-launch phase, the platform sees renewed opportunity as short-form content grows and demand for CapCut alternatives increases. Like Instagram’s Edits, a better YouTube Create could help more creators produce native content for the platform.

TikTok

ByteDance is reportedly developing a U.S.-only version of TikTok, internally called “M2.” Reports suggest a September launch with US users needing to switch to the app by March 2026. The app would have its own algorithm and data, similar to Douyin in China. TikTok has denied the claims as inaccurate, but if true, the split could significantly impact creators, brands, and the broader experience. Competitors like Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat are likely to capitalize on the uncertainty with creators and advertisers.

TikTok is pulling sponsorship from several Canadian arts institutions, including the Juno Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The move comes in preparation for shutting down operations in Canada due to a federal order. This adds to the legal challenges TikTok is facing in the U.S. and other regions worldwide.

TikTok launched TikTok Sans, its own custom font inspired by the platform’s most-used fonts. It gives creators and brands a new option for text in their content, both on and off the platform, and helps TikTok establish a stronger visual identity beyond the app itself.

Meta

Instagram now allows search engines to automatically index photos and videos. While Instagram content has shown up in search before, this wider rollout makes keywords in bios and captions even more important for off-platform discovery, including Google searches.

Edits received another round of updates, continuing to make it more robust than when it first launched. New Reels insights now include data on new followers and accounts reached, along with the ability to sort Reels by likes, comments, or saves. There are also improved controls for voice enhancement and noise reduction, plus more options for creators to export and share content made in Edits.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn introduced its Member Analytics API, allowing third-party social media tools and platforms to pull in profile metrics for individual pages for the first time. Creators can now track follower growth and post performance using the same tools they use for other platforms. It also should eventually help accelerate influencer marketing on LinkedIn, as influencer marketing platforms will be able to show brands metrics for creators as well.

Pinterest

Pinterest is seeing record Gen Z male growth, with men now making up over a third of its global audience. Its first-ever Men’s Trends Report highlights categories like Holistic Health & Fearless Fitness, and Next-Gen Tech & Finance. The insights give marketers a new roadmap for content and creator campaigns aimed at this rising demographic.

X

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of the platform formerly known as Twitter (X), announced she is stepping down. Hired from NBCUniversal to help revive X’s ad business, her tenure saw limited progress as the platform continued to be engulfed in controversy.

Substack

Substack expanded its livestreaming features. Creators scheduling a stream will receive automatically generated promotional assets, plus short clips after the stream that can be shared directly to YouTube Shorts. These can help creators grow on and off the platform through live video.

Beehiiv

Beehiiv rolled out a MySpace-inspired Top 4 feature that lets creators recommend up to four newsletters during signup. While Substack has a similar tool, Beehiiv’s version emphasizes quality recommendations that are more likely to convert.

Bluesky

Bluesky added more control over notifications. It’s now letting users customize push alerts, choose specific accounts, and get notified when posts are liked or reposted. It brings the platform closer to what users expect from Threads and X..

Spotify

Spotify is testing "Your Updates," a new personalized notification feed in the app’s sidebar. Users in the test will receive alerts about new followers, playlist collaborations, replies to comments, and more. It’s another step in making Spotify feel more social, especially with its push for more video creators.

TOGETHER WITH INSENSE

Find Your Perfect UGC Influencers in 48 Hours — Who Actually Follow the Brief

User-generated content (UGC) continues to outperform traditional ads, driving 4× higher CTRs and 50% lower CPC.

But finding the right creators, briefing them, and managing the process can be time-consuming.

That’s where Insense can deliver. They have over 68,500 carefully vetted creators across more than 35 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, APAC, and Latin America.

Major eComm brands like JLO Beauty, Blvck Paris, and LARQ use Insense to find niche creators and run end-to-end collaborations of all kinds, from product seeding and gifting to TikTok Shop activations, affiliate campaigns, and whitelisted ads.

Here’s what some brands have achieved:

• Quip saw an 85% influencer activation rate with product seeding

• Revolut partnered with 140+ creators for 350+ UGC assets

• Maty’s Health saw a 12× increase in reach through creator-led TikTok Spark Ads

Try Insense yourself. Book a free demo by July 25 and get a $200 bonus for your first campaign.

WHAT I’M READING

How We Chose the 2025 TIME100 Creators (TIME Magazine)

TIME expanded its iconic TIME 100 list to highlight 100 of the most influential digital creators of 2025. Led by streaming sensation Kai Cenat, it’s the latest legacy media list giving creators the same spotlight often reserved for Hollywood celebrities.

How Unilever Used AI to Make Soap Go Viral (The Wall Street Journal)

Remember when Unilever’s Fernando Fernandez said the brand would boost social spend, work with 20× more influencers, and lean into AI? This piece breaks down how Unilever is using AI to generate assets for creators and scale content repurposing.

2025 Monetization Trends Among Next-Gen Creators (Collective Voice x Suzy)

New research shows that creators across generations now view content creation as a professional pursuit, not just a side hustle. Affiliate remains a top monetization method, with 64% of creators actively leveraging performance-based models.

2025 H1 Creator Economy M&A Report (Quartermast Advisors)

The first half of 2025 saw M&A activity up 73% year over year, as influencer platforms acquired competitors, holding companies snapped up creator tech, and even companies outside the space got involved.

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