ICYMI: Did you attend the royal influencer wedding? 🕊️🥂
Watching it on TikTok totally counts as an RSVP
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
I met some subscribers at a Substack event this week, including one who said, ‘You create those lists of updates, right?’ 😄
Google is testing Google Lens search results in YouTube Shorts
Instagram now allows you to leave 5-minute voice messages in DMs
Instagram now supports 3:4 aspect ratio photos
LinkedIn will help you figure out which posts drove new followers
Pinterest partnered with the WNBA’s New York Liberty for its first sports partnership
4 new books to add to your summer reading list
This influencer wedding is a reminder to empower your creator team to act on the moments that matter
Plus, a recap of May’s 6 most important platform updates, 4 social trends and 2 creator stories (✨ member exclusive ✨)
I’ve got a quick favor to ask. I publish this newsletter on Substack and LinkedIn — and while I think the audiences are different, I’d love to know for sure.
Can you please take a short survey to help me understand who’s reading on each platform, and what each audience cares about most?
I’ll share the results in a couple of weeks. Plus, everyone who fills it out will be entered to win a stack of summer books (more details below)!
💻 ROADMAP
📲 YouTube Updates
Google is testing Google Lens in YouTube Shorts, which lets you search for anything you see while watching Shorts. This is especially interesting for any location-based businesses and sounds a lot like location pins on TikTok videos.
YouTube announced an update to its monetization review process: "To improve the accuracy of our yellow icon decisions and get your videos monetizing faster, we are automatically sending videos that receive a 'Limited or no ads' rating for an additional review.”
YouTube announced the launch of side-by-side mid-roll ads during livestreams that can be shown to viewers on living room or desktop display.
📲 Meta Updates
Instagram announced several DM updates. New features include 5-minute voice messages in DMs, audio transcription (when you don’t want to listen to a 5-minute message!) and the ability to follow everyone in your group chat if you're not already connected.
Instagram announced it now supports 3:4 aspect ratio photos. Now if you upload a 3:4 image it’ll now appear exactly as you shot it.
Instagram launched 12 new animated ‘End of School’ stickers.
WhatsApp announced an iPad app, available to download from the App Store as of Tuesday.
📲 LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn announced it removed the option link out from your profile page. Moving forward, only Premium Business subscribers and Sales Navigator and Recruiter customers will be able to add a web link.
LinkedIn announced new post analytics to help you see when a post drives profile viewers and new followers (available to all members) — plus outbound clicks to your website or newsletter if you’re a Premium Business subscriber.
📲 Discord Updates
Discord is testing unskippable, reward-based video ads
📲 Pinterest Updates
Pinterest partnered with the WNBA’s New York Liberty for its first-ever sports partnership. The deal will include content series, community outreach programs, in-arena activations and on-platform experiences that give fans a new creative outlet and ways to connect with their favorite players.
📚 SUMMER READING LIST
I received several books lately with career advice for creators and marketers. So I’ve decided to send my stack to one random U.S.-based subscriber who responds to my reader survey.
Unforgettable Presence by Lorraine K. Lee — If you want to get better at advocating for yourself, leading meetings and standing out at work, this is the book for you. Lorraine is really good at creating easy-to-follow frameworks for getting the recognition you want at work.
You’re the Boss by Sabina Nawaz — If you’re a new manager or feel like you never got the secret handbook on how a good boss is supposed to lead, this is the book for you. Sabina shares leadership secrets of highly successful managers, along with strategies and habits you might want to adopt to be a better manager.
Sponsor Magnet by Justin Moore — Whether you’re a creator looking for brand deals or a marketer who wants a better understanding of what’s involved with brand partnerships, this is the book for you. Justin shares his detailed framework for pitching, negotiating and producing sponsored content.
The Little Book of Data by Justin Evans — If you want to embrace AI and data-driven problem-solving at work but don’t know where to start, this is the book for you. It’s filled with anecdotes and thought starters, making the topic really approachable and easy to understand.
*Note: this book list wasn’t created by AI, unlike the Chicago Sun-Times summer reading list. If I was this writer, I’d want the earth to swallow me whole.
💍🥂 YOU’RE INVITED
Influencer and Delusional Diaries podcast host Jaz Smith (aka @JustJazzzyIDK) got married last weekend in an event people are calling the Royal Wedding. “She made Sofia Richie’s wedding look like amateur hour,” joked TikToker Julie Turkel.
The bride posted at least 20 TikToks from her wedding — along with supporting content from the maid of honor, Halley Kate, and wedding guests like Remi Bader, Bran Flakezz and Acquired Style’s Brigette Pheloung.
Why you should care: As she and her new husband, Kevin Callari, left for their honeymoon, Jaz posted a video asking “how many brands can we get in the comments before we land.” And the brands showed UP! Tide, Smash Burger, the LA Clippers, Open Table, Evite, Estee Lauder and the list goes on.
This really reinforces how creator teams need to be plugged into the moments that matter and more importantly, be empowered to act on them — whether it’s showing up for roll call, sending a PR box or immediately reaching out for a partnership.
Also, raise your hand if you’re old enough to remember the wedding drama of 2019 when Goop’s head of brand partnerships created a pitch deck to get her own wedding sponsored. The aspiring influencer was SO harshly judged and it may even have cost her the job at Goop. It is wild to see how far we’ve come.
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
54% of Gen Z like to watch Creators post deals and savings, while 91% plan to shop sales during back-to-school
-via LTK’s Back to School Shopper Study, revealing the growing importance of shopping through creators and how Gen Z is seeking deals
👀 ICYMI: JUST THE HEADLINES
Diary of a CEO’s host Steven Bartlett is now co-owner of creator economy company Stan alongside founder John Hu -Steven Bartlett’s LinkedIn
Brands are starting to use AI agents to execute creator deals—what it means for the industry -AdAge
How Ulta is tapping in-store associates for content creation with new ‘Ulta Beauties’ internal ambassador program -Glossy
92% of social media marketers consider Instagram a priority platform -Link In Bio’s Very Online Survey Results
5 creator marketing metrics that matter most in 2025 -AdAge
How YouTubers and mini-dramas are unleashing a new wave of opportunity in Hollywood -Business Insider
How YouTube is trying to cash in on big events and cultural moments -Business Insider
YouTube is swallowing TV whole, and it’s coming for the sitcom -Bloomberg
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🗓️ MAY’S BIGGEST HEADLINES
The month in review — aka the most important platform updates and social news you might have missed in May!
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