ICYMI: Can a Shopping App Be the New Instagram or TikTok?

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⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY

• LTK is reinventing itself from creator commerce to social lifestyle platform — and rolling out video editing tools

• Plus, an interview with LTK’s co-founder and Creator Economy OG Amber Venz Box

• Instagram may launch a stand-alone app for Reels

• Meta apologized for violent and graphic content flooding Instagram Reels this week

• YouTube announces it hit 1B podcast listeners

• TikTok launched an Oscars hub for this weekend’s ceremony

• TikTok’s desktop experience just got a glow up

• LinkedIn released a guidebook to B2B marketing measurement

• John Oliver wants you to mess with your Meta ad settings

• The Alix Earle x Alex Cooper crossover is no more

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💻 ROADMAP

📲 Meta Updates

• Instagram is considering launching a stand-alone app for Reels, code-name: "Project Ray," according to news leaked to The Information. In semi-related news, Meta just fired 20 employees for leaking confidential information.

• Instagram was NSFW (or anywhere else) this week. Meta issued an apology after app users complained about seeing a flood of violent and graphic Reels. “We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We apologize for the mistake,” a spokesperson shared with CNBC.

• Last year, Instagram said it wanted to help smaller creators find new audiences for their Reels. Those changes are now fully launched, and recommendations are said to be more relevant, personalized, and timely.

• Meta announced a $50 million Creator Fund for creators of mobile and mixed reality worlds (aka the Meta Horizon platform).

• Meta is cracking down on the buying and selling of Instagram accounts and "unauthorized" account reinstatement services, according to Business Insider.

📲 YouTube Updates

• YouTube just racked up another win: it’s now the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the U.S.

• YouTube announced it would show more mid-roll ads at natural break points and less interruptive experiences, like in the middle of a sentence or an action sequence.

📲 TikTok Updates

• TikTok announced a new and improved desktop experience with a sleeker interface and the ability to go LIVE in portrait or landscape mode.

• TikTok launched an Oscars hub for this weekend’s ceremony. The 97th Academy Awards are on March 2 at 4pm PT.

• TikTok released a research paper: Commerce Redefined, on how it's "reshaping the commerce landscape"

📲 LinkedIn Updates

• LinkedIn published a hub for 2025 Content Marketing Resources, including a guidebook to The Future of B2B Marketing Measurement.

• LinkedIn is showing some people how many impressions their comments have received on a post. Note: Only you can view the impressions of your comments.

• LinkedIn is testing a customizable feed. Tabs at the top of the feed will give users the option to filter by “All” and “My Network,” which displays content from your connections, as well as people and pages you follow.

📲 Twitch Updates

• Twitch announced it was launching Creator Profiles on streamer dashboard and a partnership with Stream Elements to increase sponsorship opportunities for streamers on the platform.

📲 Snapchat Updates

• Snap and Later celebrated a new partnership by releasing a guide: How to Work with Snapchat Creators.

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🛍️ 🤳🏽 Can This Shopping App Be the New Instagram or TikTok?

The social space just got a little more crowded: LTK, a creator economy sleeper hit that’s been around since 2011, is evolving into a social app to rival Instagram and TikTok.

Last year, LTK introduced video and removed the requirement to tag shoppable products within posts, allowing creators to share a variety of content on the platform.

Now, the ecommerce platform is adding features designed to deepen the connections and sense of community between creators and consumers, including:

• A Profile tab: a new centralized page for app users

• A Home tab: a reverse chronological feed from the creators you follow

• An Activity tab: to see the latest from Creators, products, and brands

• A Watch tab: to discover new creators based on interest and location

They’re also rolling out a suite of creative tools for video editing, effects, music, and voiceovers — an especially relevant move as CapCut’s future remains uncertain and Instagram builds its own video editing app.

But with so many platforms fighting for attention, why does LTK stand out? Especially since Amazon just shut down its TikTok-style Inspire tab?

Here’s why LTK has a real shot: 38% of all Gen Z and Millennials in the U.S. already use the platform. They just don’t realize their friends are there too.

This isn’t an app struggling for awareness — the company just needs to convince its 40 million existing shoppers and potential new users to socialize while scrolling through shoppable fashion, beauty, and lifestyle picks.

If I’m a lifestyle brand or one of the 350K LTK creators already benefitting from the $4B the company has paid out, this evolution is a no brainer: Gen Z (73%) and millennial (57%) consumers rely on creators for purchase decisions while 74% of consumers say social has lost its sense of community.

But the biggest shift seems to be for consumers: Is shopping better with friends?

A quick survey of ICYMI friends indicate people are mostly receptive but ultimately it will be up to consumers to decide if LTK is the future of social shopping.

"This is a great idea. Look forward to seeing it come to life. I always love scrolling through for inspo when I'm itching to buy something new. But I’d prefer if they allowed us to choose an experience so I could only see fashion. I go for a very specific reason, I want to find ways to spend money I shouldn’t be spending. I don’t want the distraction of other things. That’s why I don’t follow fashion people on other channels — too high effort to find what you need. I think I’d end up unfollowing LTK folks who do more than the occasional non-fashion post if it comes to that." - marketer Nycole Hampton

“I love LTK. Best place (second only to The Great Pinterest) for cute plus size fashion! It's like what I do in person with friends and family, but with way more options since users are from all over the UK. I got into it because a YouTube creator I like (Tam Kaur) uses it and when I started using the app I found so many stylish, interesting people to draw inspiration from. This whole thing makes me want to start posting on there myself to be honest 😂 it's just so fun! Like a piece of girlhood you can take into your adult life.” - entrepreneur Anna Bullock

“I’m of two minds — I definitely enjoy the convenience of shopping where I’m already scrolling. Even if it’s hard to vet product quality, it still feels fun, communal, and lightweight. Sometimes customer service is an issue, and since the shopping platform isn’t usually the merchant, it can feel like a gamble” - marketer Cindy Qiu

“I've always thought LTK was such a good business idea and this is a VERY smart move for them, especially for how social fashion has become. There's so much opportunity for brands too — get your top influencers to stream front row from your fashion show and make it shoppable. Or do a limited edition drop of a new product live with influencers around the world at the same time” - marketer Michelle Blaser

“This transition feels like a natural evolution because consumers want more than recommendations, they want an experience. I think the benefit is that it brings conversations that would otherwise happen inside group chats directly to the app, like a virtual mall shopping trip with your friends so to speak. We look to our friends for validation so it just makes sense” - talent manager Taylor Jeffers

▶️ Q&A With LTK C-Founder Amber Venz Box

I spoke with LTK’s co-founder, Amber Venz Box, to learn where the company sees itself fitting into the social ecosystem now and what happens next.

ICYMI: We talked at LTKCon back in 2023. At the time you said you didn’t consider yourselves an entertainment platform?

Amber Venz Box: I think a couple of things happened. What I’m selling as a creator is trust, and the way that I earn the trust of my audience is by giving them context of my life. We saw our creators putting their lifestyle on one platform then the high purchase intent content on the LTK platform.

So, in January 2024, Adam Mosseri came out and said ‘If you have a large reach, expect that to shrink.’ And he even said, “I’m so sad because I'm going to lose my reach, too.”

What we saw in our data was that if you had 100,000 impressions per post in January, by December, you had about 30,000 impressions per post.

So what we are now doing is saying, ‘We need both of those types of content. We need your lifestyle, contextual content, and the information about how to shop.’

The shift in environment moved from something that we were predicting to something that was a hard reality. Candidly, I didn’t see any other option than making this move.

ICYMI: What space do you see LTK in now? Are you competing against Instagram and Tiktok, Pinterest, Amazon, or all of the above?

AVB: We're actually moving into the lifestyle category on the App Store. The sub category will be shopping, but the core category is lifestyle.

As far as a competitive set, I really think that in the same way LinkedIn carved out their own space where if you want to go see what professionals are doing, you're going there — we're really carving out a new space...

I think that other social media platforms have written creators out of their narrative. Trust is why this industry works and why I'm sitting here in a room full of beauty brands, and they are not talking about using Gen AI creators to sell products. They're talking about real people with real communities who could really compel an audience around a product. And it's amazing to me that the social media platforms have lost the plot.

ICYMI: The creator and brand experience doesn’t seem drastically different to me, but this is very different for consumers. What do you foresee as your biggest challenge in educating audiences and getting them on board?

AVB: So, a couple things. One, the product has to be incredible and shareable and viral in a lot of ways, and so we're building it with that being the goal.

The creators are highly motivated, they have moved a huge chunk of their audience to this app.

As far as connecting friends, you don't have to do it, but if you want to, you can connect your phone book. Unlocking value is the key. So, unlocking who your friends follow, that discovery element, and then it's a little bit entertaining too.

When I open up the new activity feed, I can see what content my friends are liking and what they're discovering. That used to be… remember the early days of Instagram? That was one of the most fun places.

*This interview was edited for length

Related: Can LTK Become The AdSense Of Affiliate Marketing For Creators?

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👀 ICYMI: JUST THE HEADLINES

• Alix Earle’s ‘Hot Mess’ Podcast Dropped by Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network (someone chose violence with this phrasing) -Variety

• Disney tapped Influential to work with influencers who will show up on the Oscars red carpet before the show -Marketing Brew

• Dave Jorgenson, aka The Washington Post’s TikTok guy, launched a new weekly news skit show on his own account -Nieman Lab

• Inside The RealReal’s latest marketing bet: a new Gossip Girl-esque Substack newsletter (with thoughts from me!) - Glossy

• Tickets just went on sale for Fyre Fest 2 (how are we still talking about this?!) -The Guardian

• John Oliver wants you to mess with your ad settings to make yourself less valuable to Meta -Last Week Tonight

• Meta hopes creators can make Facebook cool again (maybe call John Oliver?) -The Information

• A new photo-sharing app is gaining traction with Gen Z and VCs -TechCrunch

• Smaller, purpose-driven communities are the future of the internet -The Verge

• Your brand’s comment strategy is blending in — Here’s how to stand out -Plot

• Pinterest has done the legwork on infrastructure and ads to support conversions (aka doubling down on one-click shopping) -Retail Brew

• Matt Navarra has the scoop on the highest paying Social Media Manager job in 2025 -LinkedIn

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🪩 🏢 🚕 UPCOMING EVENTS

📌 The Oscars air March 2 at 4pm PT on ABC and Hulu; Watch

📌 Stan CollabFest takes place in LA Feb 28 ; Register

📌 SXSW takes place in Austin March 7-15; RSVP

📌 The Platform takes place in Pittsburgh March 21; RSVP

See more online events in the ICYMI Events Database!

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☝🏻 ONE MORE THING

In last month’s poll, 73% of you said probably don’t or absolutely don’t buy into Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for Facebook.