ICYMI: November's Biggest Headlines
Bonus: monthly recap newsletter
Welcome to November’s ICYMI: You Need to Know It, a monthly newsletter for paid subscribers packed with all the major platform updates. I’m opening this month’s edition up to everyone — because there’s a lot to catch up on.
This month, TikTok shook things up with affiliate links, cross-app sharing with Lemon8, and plenty of FREE resources. Meta introduced a tool to reset Instagram’s algorithm and added a “Collage” option for Stories. Meanwhile, YouTube is sharing tips on producing TV-friendly video, Roblox is chasing ad dollars with its “Clip It” feature, and Canva dropped its 2025 design trends.
Whether you're a creator, marketer, or just a curious observer, this is your cheat sheet for staying ahead in the creator economy.
💻 ROADMAP
📲 TikTok Updates
CapCut launched Commerce Pro, a desktop tool for ads and branded content, targeting businesses and creators.
TikTok is giving creators the ability to cross-share photo content between its app and Lemon8.
TikTok shared ten tips for creating long-form videos at a live creator event.
TikTok released a new “Share to TikTok” feature that allows users to directly share tracks from Apple Music and Spotify to their For You feed, their Stories, or DMs.
TikTok has introduced affiliate links in organic creator posts.
More creators are getting access to TikTok Collaborations.
TikTok resources that were released last month:
Unlocking Business Impact Through Personal and Cultural Relevance, 35-page thought paper emphasizing the need for brands to be deeply engaged in online culture
New Year, New Me on TikTok, lead generation playbook for January 2025
SportsTok 2025, a guide to tapping into sports fandoms on TikTok
Q5 Season on TikTok, a guide to capitalize on the post-holiday shopping window
📲 Meta Updates
Instagram launched a ‘Collage’ option for Stories.
Instagram announced new DM options, including stickers, nicknames and location sharing.
Instagram announced that paid boosts can now include GIFs and stickers and will give you the option of swapping out copyrighted music to make posts eligible for boosts.
Adam Mosseri said sponsored content on Instagram doesn’t get downranked.
Instagram now has an option to nuke the algorithm and start fresh with all new Recommendations Reset for your Feed, Reels and Explore.
The Instagram for Business website will no longer be available after December 2024, merging with the Meta for Business website.
Meta is developing a feature for Threads based on Bluesky’s “Starter Packs,” made up of hand-curated lists of suggested users to follow.
Threads will now prioritize content from people you follow, with less of an emphasis on recommended content from accounts you don’t follow.
Threads announced a new way for people to create custom feeds of topics and people they want to follow around a given subject.
Facebook announced that "views" will be the primary metric for all content types — Reels, photo posts and Stories.
📲 YouTube Updates
YouTube provided tips for creating CTV-optimized videos.
YouTube is allowing creators to send video linking requests to advertisers via YouTube Studio.
YouTube is allowing viewers to set a reminder for upcoming streams straight from the Shorts feed.
YouTube will now let fans buy ‘jewels’ to support live creators.
YouTube and the YouTube Music app are now providing your personalized 2024 Music Recap.
📲 Pinterest Updates
Pinterest launched a holiday hub for advertisers.
Pinterest launched a special gift guide hub from celebrities and brands, plus a new pin that automatically creates shoppable wishlists.
📲 Roblox Updates
Roblox’s Clip It is a TikTok and YouTube Shorts lookalike that lets creators post clips from the game or create their own.
📲 LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn is retiring Audio Events as of December 31, 2024 and merging the format with LinkedIn Live.
LinkedIn released a guide on how to stand out with video on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn shared tips on how to write an engaging LinkedIn feed post.
📲 Bluesky Updates
Bluesky is reportedly delivering more referral traffic than X for some publishers
📲 Patreon Updates
Patreon announced new membership options, including membership gifting and discounts.
📲 Canva Updates
Canva released its 2025 Design Trends report with aesthetics such as Opulence Era, Analog Meets AI and Refined Grit.
📲 Spotify Updates
Spotify launched Spotify for Authors, a new creator platform for authors and publishers.
📲 Linktree Updates
Linktree released a Creator Commerce Report.
Coming this Friday: The ICYMI survey results with your 2025 Social Predictions!
Other updates you might like:
🎟️ Reminder: Rebecca Gann and I launched the new 2025 ICYMI Event Database. It’s still light on events but if you have something in the works, let me know and we’ll add it!