Features & insight
Features and insight
Expert analysis, reporting and long reads on the platforms, people and strategies shaping social media.
TikTok's Flip Stories hands early adopters an algorithmic boost as platform pushes photo-first content
TikTok is actively promoting Flip Stories and other photo formats with extra reach, creating a window for creators to gain visibility before the format saturates. The pattern mirrors every new feature launch, but this time the reward is built into how the algorithm weights photo engagement.
YouTube's TV companion mode turns second-screen browsing into an engagement tool creators can finally measure
YouTube has shipped a major control upgrade that lets viewers browse Shorts, comment and subscribe on their phones without interrupting what's playing on TV. For creators, it solves the retention paradox that's been killing long-form watch time since the living room became YouTube's biggest screen.
LinkedIn launches invite-only Next Gen Community to lower the barrier for early-career creators
The 12-week cohort targets creators talking about work, culture, and navigating early career life, as LinkedIn bets on building creator infrastructure for younger professionals who fear showing up authentically.
Pinterest bets search intent beats ad expertise with Promote a Pin launch
The platform is letting anyone boost a Pin in a few taps, but the real story is not the simplicity. It is where Pinterest is placing its competitive edge: on 40 billion monthly commercial searches that convert differently from social feeds.
Snapchat hands campaign bidding to advertiser measurement partners as Unified Attribution cuts app acquisition costs 26%
Snapchat is now letting AppsFlyer and Adjust control how campaigns are optimised, not just how they're measured. The global rollout closes a gap that has cost app marketers millions in misaligned data and wasted spend.
How CNS Media used creator-led social to reach young people outside work and education
In our Social Media Marketing Awards finalist series, The Sauce is looking at the campaigns that earned a place on this year's shortlist, the problems they were built to address and the work behind the results. CNS Media is a finalist in Purpose-Led or Social Impact Campaign of the Year for Youth Trailblazer.
California passes sweeping AI and social media restrictions as tech's home state tightens grip on platforms and automation
Twenty-six bills now sit on Governor Newsom's desk, targeting everything from addictive feeds for under-16s to robo-boss firings and data center energy costs. The state's response to AI and platform harm just became the most comprehensive in the US.
Creator economy hits $323bn but 56% of full-time creators still earn below living wage as subscriptions replace sponsorships
The creator economy grew 26.5% to $323.48bn in 2026, yet more than half of full-time creators earn under $44,000. The gap exposes a fundamental shift from brand deals to recurring revenue models, rewriting what sustainable creator income actually looks like.
The Key to Organic Social Media That Actually Gets Enquiries
Social media marketing is constantly evolving, but the one constant behind it is that real people are selling real things to real audiences. Looking at organic socials through a more soulful, connection-led lens is helping my clients get enquiries on repeat, without sacrificing their authenticity.
Snapchat's Harry Potter activation shows what pre-launch marketing looks like when you own the platform, not just the ad space
HBO and Snapchat are rolling out 12 AR lenses, Bitmoji fashion and physical mirrors months ahead of the HBO series premiere. The real lesson isn't the partnership. It's the timing, the surface area, and what it says about where TV budgets are moving.
Reddit's 15-second video ad goal is built for messages that take longer to land
The new optimisation option rewards watch time over raw views. Brands running trailers, demos and testimonials now have a billing structure that reflects the full message, not just the opening seconds.
ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox face the EU's toughest platform rules. Here's what that changes for social marketers.
The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a search engine and Reddit and Roblox as very large platforms under the Digital Services Act. For social media marketers, that means stricter content moderation, new transparency requirements for ads, and fresh uncertainty around organic reach on platforms already under regulatory pressure.
LinkedIn ramps up fight against AI slop as EU user growth stalls
The platform is blocking billions of automation attempts while its latest transparency reports show active user numbers in the EU have flatlined, exposing the tension between growth ambitions and content quality.
How UK Anti-Doping challenged SARMs misinformation online
In our Social Media Marketing Awards finalist series, The Sauce is looking at the campaigns that earned a place on this year's shortlist, the problems they were built to address and the work behind the results. UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) is a finalist in Purpose-Led or Social Impact Campaign of the Year for Clean Sport Week 2026.
TikTok Shop hits $23.4bn in US sales, with creators driving three-quarters of revenue
The platform now exceeds Target's online business as the fastest-growing US retailer for the second consecutive year, rewriting the rules of how products reach buyers and who controls the transaction.
Ken Burns brings classroom courses to YouTube as educational content stakes rise
The documentary filmmaker and PBS LearningMedia are putting curriculum-aligned courses on the Ken Burns YouTube channel, starting with The American Revolution. It's a signal of how seriously YouTube now treats educational credibility.
WhatsApp's new security upgrade targets the account takeover risk that's haunting brand teams
Meta just replaced WhatsApp's six-digit PIN with full passwords and added caller context on Android. The changes are quietly solving one of the biggest blind spots in social and customer service workflows: who actually controls the account talking to your customers.
LinkedIn's AI slop button was used over 1 million times in two weeks. Now it's showing creators private warnings
More than one million LinkedIn users flagged content as AI-generated within two weeks of the button's launch. Flagged posts now see 40% fewer views, and the platform has started privately warning creators when their content is marked as inauthentic.
Instagram Gives Creators More Control Over Reposted Content
Instagram's repost controls let creators prevent their work from being shared to other users' profile grids, building on the platform's year-long push to protect original content and curb aggregator accounts.
Reddit's Shopify integration rolls out globally as platform builds DTC commerce infrastructure
Reddit has opened its Shopify integration to all advertisers globally, automating product catalog syncing and conversion tracking for Dynamic Product Ads. The move positions the platform as a purchase research channel rather than a competitor to TikTok Shop's transaction layer.
YouTube's Demand Gen now lets viewers message brands directly from video ads
Google is testing conversation starters on YouTube ads, expanding travel inventory for local activities, and rolling out AI video creation to all advertisers as part of its August Demand Gen Drop.
YouTube doubles entry bar to 8,000 watch hours while adding first ongoing performance threshold for Shorts
YouTube is doubling Partner Program entry requirements from February 2027 and introducing a rolling 10 million Shorts views threshold that will pause creator earnings. The changes reshape who gets paid and how they stay paid.