Creator Economy Trend Predictions for 2025

Hey honeys and hustlers,

I’m not Raven Symone but my predictions have been known to come true from time to time. Last year I made some predictions on what I noticed in the creator economy and what I hoped we would see more of in a video. Today, I’m looking back on those predictions to see if I got any of them right, AND I’m making some more predictions for 2025. This is a long one, so let’s get to it. Bookmark it if you need to (idk if there’s a bookmark feature on this thing but you can save it for later/reference is what I mean). 🤙🏾✨

Were my 2024 creator economy predictions correct?

1. Live audio will become popular on LinkedIn since it’s the only game in town.

   • Verdict: Not necessarily live audio but live streaming on LinkedIn seems to be something brands were very interested in partnering with creators on. While I would’ve loved to have been right, it seems LinkedIn made their live audio feature too inaccessible to be practical for most. I wish they would just accept that they’re a social network, but that’s another conversation for another day.

2. Consolidation of creative tech companies.

   • Verdict: I was correct! beehiiv acquired Typedream, Paramount Plus was acquired, NVIDIA acquired an AI tech company (a sleeper), and Walmart bought Vizio. There also was/is a lot of feature growth going on though within expanded teams from previous acquisitions. As consumers have an expectation of what they’re willing and able to pay for subscription services, tech and media companies are increasingly trying to provide a value that matches the price and incentivizes current customers to stay.

3. Podcast data will become more publicly and easily available.

   • Verdict: A resounding yes. The podcast industry survived a massive round of layoffs and we’re seeing more podcast companies surveying their audience and other podcast company giants (from tech to networks to producers to data).

4. Sports and Fitness brands becoming the leader in creator trends.

   • Verdict: One word — Unrivaled. Their rollout has been a masterclass. Their newsletter is actually hosted on beehiiv and created by Athletiverse. Outdoor, sports, and fitness brands have outdone themselves in 2024 as women’s sports continue to rise in popularity.

5. The Rise of Indie Creator Networks

   • Verdict: This one is a toss-up. I think it’s happening in a more unofficial way. I think people are becoming a little slower to slap a name on a frequent partnership or collaboration. Not Jordan and I, but you know, people.

6. Social media creator funds decreasing

   • Verdict: A resounding yes. Creators on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter have been complaining all year. Many YouTubers cannot live on ad sense alone. Social media is great for discovery, but it is not a long term monetization plan.

7. Video postcards are going to become more of a thing.

   • Verdict: Yes on YouTube, no on every other platform. Though there are variations of this on Threads with people “using Threads as their daily photo journal” and counting the days they’ve consistently posted. It’s been interesting to watch. I think the section on YouTube that focuses on “documenting your life” will continue to grow. I’m not sure what that niche is called, do you know?

8. QR Codes in commercials

   • Verdict: Yes, but mainly from bigger brands. I thought/hoped we would see more from DTC (direct-to-consumer) and CPG (consumer product goods) brands. Maybe because those brands weren’t advertising on a paid streamer (i.e. Netflix or Hulu) or big TV events (like pro and college sports games), but opting to focus more on Meta ads?

9. More brands investing in workers to help them build personal brands and UGC.

   • Verdict: Ahem, the correct term is now “Employee Generated Content” or EGC. Companies are already paying them to work, so they have increased incentive to do so; it’s a win-win. Hoping more in-house creators will reap the rewards of this soon.

10. More physical print products to deepen relationships with audiences: zines, newspapers, etc

    • Verdict: The one I was most excited to be right about! I talked about Hootsuite doing this on Linkedin, and I think the trend will continue and trickle down to smaller brands and creators.

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What’s in store for the creator economy in 2025?

1. Social media > interest media. Social media has felt less social for some time. With almost every social media platform having some version of a “For You” timeline, apps are trying to curate things you’ll like to keep you on the platform longer. YouTube has done this for ages and is still the best for discovery and search. However, for short-form content, I think we’re going to have to work a little harder to actually find and communicate with our friends and network.

• Threads will see an uptick in activity from photographers and podcasters. Threads has been a great photo blogging platform.

• As people leave Twitter, Twitter will become like Facebook. It will become an everything app, where people who like to argue will spend time with lots of terrible ads. There are few great communities left, but they’re dwindling.

• Instagram will become like Linkedin. You’ll mainly see content from businesses, people with something to sell, and creators. You won’t be seeing a lot of content from your friends without some heavy intentionality.

• LinkedIn will become more relaxed as writers and creators start posting on the platform more. I’ve found tons of Substack and beehiiv writers on the platform organically, more than any other social network I’m on.

• commenting and DMs will be the name of the game for conversions.

• Threads and Bluesky will be the new versions of IG and Twitter. They will be the places where monoculture happens because of how quickly the timelines move. There will be great live-sharing opportunities available on those platforms. Bluesky has also been pretty good about trending and news events.

• Substack notes will be an outlier community for writing fans (aka what Medium wishes it could be).

• Pinterest will see a bump from creators looking to leverage SEO and the relative positivity and calmness the platform offers as the least social, social media platform.

• Discord and Slack as more intentional, organized communities with curated spaces.

While it will be inconvenient to hunt across social platforms to find news, friends, and creators, I think this increased effort of intentionality behind where we get our news sources will increase media literacy. Because of this disjointed feed situation, there are a few tech/SaaS opportunities:

• An app that aggregates social feeds

• ManyChat for Linkedin

• Substack releasing an API (so that people can build literally anything for their currently closed system)

2. 2025 will be the year of feel-good content where service-based creators and physical art creators will shine. People are tired of doomscrolling and misinformation. They’re looking for positivity and encouragement. This DJ, this barber, and this painter are good examples of what I mean.

3. We're experiencing a transition in online writing. Blogs were probably the first examples of long-form content online, pre-dating podcasts and YouTube. Short-form writing online started to blossom around the time that podcasts and YouTube became widely available. Now, we’re seeing a shift in our ability to access written content the way we used to online. The Verge and Bloomberg are creating paid-only subscriptions for their newsletters (aka no more free versions). Many Substack writers are going paid-only. Journalists are struggling with monetization efforts and increasingly looking toward Substack and beehiiv to monetize and paywall their work. I think ad partners are going to have to democratize to reach audiences effectively. I think we'll see a break in Google and Meta's duopoly of ad dollars with so many platforms coming for their piece of the pie. I think Pinterest, ConvertKit, and beehiiv may be dark horses in this race.

4. Writers will dive back into print. Zines, newspapers, posters, and books/e-books will see a nice renaissance. This is an expansion from last year’s prediction. I think people have been craving physical media since the rise of streaming platforms. We want something we can hold onto from our favorite creators.

5. Podcasters will do more live listening events. This allows audio-only podcasters to get organic video content and build community. Now that the 2020 podcast boom is behind us, we can see who's still standing and who now sees the value in returning to the medium with more intentionality. I think current podcasters are going to continue trying to find their audience AND create unique experiences for them. Event curators, this is your time to shine.

6. Creators growing other creators, but not just with courses. More so with paid apprenticeships and paid projects that allow them to learn and collaborate.

   • Chris Chu has been producing videos for Joe Greer

   • Danny Gevirtz has been having interns, apprenticeships, and collaborators on multiple aspects of his film and YouTube projects

   • Marcus Milione has been documenting his fitness brand with help from Sam Snowden

   • Matti Haapooja has had some notable editors, including his brother. In turn, he's helped grow their YouTube channel as well.

   • Gerald Undone hired Patrick Tomasso to DP his studio tour videos

   • Ali Abdaal’s long-time producer just quit

   Not every collaboration may be paid, but I think enough creators are starting to rise and have funds for strategic collaborators on projects. You’ll notice that many of the creators being hired built a sizeable audience online before being hired. Your next client could be another creator, so start creating and be found. Here are some creator jobs I think will be popular in 2025:

   • YouTube thumbnail designer (hardest thing on the planet)

   • Website designer (as YouTubers realize that their channel is not as secure as a website)

   • Motion designer (for branded digital assets)

   • Newsletter designer (because email newsletters are a visual medium)

   • Community social media manager (because building community is important)

   • Online video script writer (for people who struggle with knowing what to write or how to craft their knowledge and expertise to increase retention)

7. Social media platforms will adapt to getting better at tagging AI-generated content and deprioritizing clickbait content. Instagram has added a “Made with AI” tag to photos and videos it thinks may have been made with AI according to the metadata (not always right but getting better). YouTube has stated it will crack down on deplatforming AI content that trades on a creator’s name, image, and likeness. Twitter Community Notes are helping people detect misinformation better (not perfect but incredibly good and hilarious at times). I think this is a good thing and will continue.

Those are my Elite Eight predictions for 2025! What do you think I got right? What do you think I got wrong? What do you think I missed? Let me know!

I can’t wait to see what you guys create this year! Please Hustle Responsibly,

🤙🏾✨

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