Bath & Body Works plans to dramatically expand its use of creators and influencers as part of its brand transformation. CEO Daniel Heaf shared during the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call that the brand will increase its investment in “influencer activity” tenfold, making it a core part of the company’s Consumer First Formula.

At its Made On YouTube event, YouTube announced over $100 billion in payouts to creators, artists, and media companies, alongside 30+ updates across shopping, brand deals, AI creation tools, podcasts, live streaming, and music.

Here's a framework for a phased UGC strategy that maps consumer psychology, content types, and campaign objectives to every stage of the Black Friday to New Year shopping journey.

According to Sprout Social’s State of Influencer Marketing report, 86% of consumers make a purchase influenced by a creator. And when it comes to daily, weekly, or monthly purchases, nearly half of consumers say influencer posts play a role.

Since long-term partnerships are a major component of influencer marketing today, in this piece, I’ll dive into the pros, the cons, and how brands should think about long-term partnerships beyond the typical “creator posts X times over a period of time” setup.

LinkedIn has released a new guide to help brands navigate B2B influencer marketing on the platform.

Unilever’s new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, formerly CFO, announced plans to work with 20 times more influencers across its brand portfolio in a fireside chat. This is part of a broader effort to increase Unilever’s social media platform spending from 30% to 50% of its total advertising budget, with the goal of rapid growth and change.

As 2024 comes to a close, I’m reflecting on 10 key trends in social media, influencer marketing, and the creator economy (in no particular order) that have shaped the year and what they mean going forward.

YouTube launched a beta test of creator-initiated video linking for creators in the YouTube Partner Program with at least 4,000 subscribers.

Instagram has announced a big change to Insights: Views will now be the primary metric across all formats—photos, Carousels (which can now be up to 20 photos or videos), Reels, Stories, and Live. This update will apply to both organic and boosted posts featuring these formats.

LinkedIn has expanded the capabilities of its Thought Leader Ads.

Solo Stove has announced its inaugural Brand Ambassador team, aimed at 'connecting audiences to Solo Stove's passion for fire, cooking, and unforgettable moments.'