📢 January 2025 - Influence Recap: What Mattered & What’s Next
"The creator economy isn't just growing—it's evolving. From brand shakeups to record-breaking digital moves, here's what shaped January and what it tells us about the future of influence."
📌 Platforms, Trends & Monetization
TikTok’s Ban on Pause, Instagram’s Grid Changes & AI’s Growing Role in Content
It’s been a wild month for platforms—from major policy battles to quiet algorithmic shifts that left creators scrambling. These moments tell us where content is headed and how creators will need to adapt.
The TikTok Ban Battle Is on Hold (For Now): Just when it seemed like TikTok was on its way out, Trump stepped in, granting a 45-day reassessment period. While this keeps the platform running for now, lawmakers on both sides are pushing for stronger regulations, meaning the uncertainty isn’t over.
Instagram’s Grid Update Left Creators Frustrated: If your feed looked off this month, it wasn’t just you. Instagram quietly rolled out a four-column desktop grid, throwing off visual layouts. The move signals a shift toward desktop prioritization, but the real question is: why make a change that disrupts creator workflows?
AI in Content Creation: Innovation vs. Ethics: Meta launched Liv, an AI-generated influencer, but backlash followed when it was revealed no Black women engineers were involved in her creation. The move raises a bigger conversation: Can AI represent diversity when the teams building it aren’t diverse?
My Perspective:
One thing is clear—platforms are shifting fast, and creators have to be ready.
✔ TikTok isn’t in the clear yet. This pause isn’t a guarantee of survival, so creators relying on TikTok should be diversifying their presence now.
✔ Instagram’s changes are a reminder: you don’t own your audience. Building outside of social platforms (email lists, websites, etc.) is a must.
✔ AI isn’t going anywhere—but it has to be held accountable. The industry is learning in real time what works, what doesn’t, and where ethical lines need to be drawn.
🔮 Prediction: Expect new FTC regulations around AI transparency, platform-driven AI tools for creators, and more creator-led pushback against AI-generated influencers.
🏀 Brand Deals, Partnerships & Industry Moves
Angel Reese’s NIL Power Move, Popeyes x Don Julio’s Late-Night Collab & DEI Rollbacks Raise Questions
Brand deals are evolving faster than ever. This month showed who’s leading the shift—athletes becoming major marketing forces, unexpected food collabs proving culture is king, and some brands quietly stepping back from their DEI commitments.
Angel Reese x McDonald's: A NIL Milestone: Reese became the first female athlete to land a McDonald’s NIL meal deal, putting her in the same tier as celebs like Saweetie and Travis Scott. She’s already bagged deals with Reebok, Beats by Dre, and Amazon—proving that athletes are becoming the next wave of top-tier influencers.
Popeyes x Don Julio: The Ultimate Late-Night Collab: This wasn’t random—it was a cultural play. Late-night fast food runs are a ritual, and Popeyes leaned into it with a special meal and influencer kit. This collab felt like something straight out of Ludacris’ Chicken + Beer playbook, tapping into both club culture and comfort food cravings.
The DEI Rollback Trend: Walmart, McDonald's, and Target quietly pulled back on diversity programs that once prioritized Black and LGBTQ+ creators. With Black History Month and Pride Month approaching, the pressure is on for these companies to prove if their past initiatives were real or just trend-driven.
My Perspective:
✔ Athletes are officially in their influencer era. Angel Reese’s deal proves that sports figures are now competing with musicians and actors for brand partnerships.
✔ Food & alcohol collabs are the new frontier. Expect more late-night, “high-low” brand pairings like this.
✔ DEI isn’t optional—consumers are watching. Brands that backpedal on diversity will lose trust fast.
🔮 Prediction: The NIL space will only grow, brands will get bolder with unexpected collabs, and creators will start owning their own brands rather than just taking partnerships.
💼 The Business of Influence
FTC Cracks Down, xQc’s $70M Streaming Deal & Kai Cenat’s WWE Moment
If there was any doubt that creators are full-fledged business owners, January erased it. The biggest regulatory moves, biggest contracts, and biggest audience engagement wins all involved content creators taking control.
The FTC Tightens Rules on Influencer Marketing: New disclosure rules mean creators and brands will face higher scrutiny in 2025. The days of casual, unregulated brand deals are over.
xQc’s $70M Kick Deal Still Holds Weight: Just over a year ago, xQc signed a massive $70M contract with Kick, proving that streaming platforms will go all-in to secure major talent.
Kai Cenat’s Record-Breaking Year: In November 2024, Kai’s Mafiathon 2 drew 728,000+ subscribers, breaking Twitch records. Then in January 2025, he popped up on WWE's Monday Night Raw, teasing his crossover into mainstream entertainment.
My Perspective:
✔ Regulation is catching up to the creator economy. The FTC’s involvement means influencer marketing is entering a new era of professionalism.
✔ Kick vs. Twitch is officially a battle for top talent. xQc’s contract set a high bar for future streamer deals.
✔ Creators aren’t waiting on brand deals—they’re making moves on their own. Kai Cenat’s transition into entertainment is just the beginning.
🔮 Prediction: More creator-owned brands, tighter influencer regulations, and streamers evolving into full-scale media brands.
🌍 Influence & Culture
HillmanTok Goes Viral, The Podcast Boom & Creators Driving Real-World Impact
Creators are no longer just following culture—they’re leading it. January saw new trends emerge that will shape digital spaces for months to come.
HillmanTok University Goes Viral: Black TikTok creators built a digital HBCU with syllabi, professors, and classes—proving that social media can be a powerful space for cultural education.
The rise of creator-led podcasts is proving that short-form success isn’t the final destination—it’s the launchpad. Drew Afualo has mastered this transition with The Comment Section, where she expands her viral feminist commentary into deeper conversations, and Two Idiot Girls, a more personal, lighthearted podcast co-hosted with her sister. Both shows highlight how creators are moving beyond fleeting trends and building long-term, multi-platform influence. With podcasting offering creative control, stronger audience connections, and monetization opportunities, expect more creators to follow this playbook in 2025.
Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt’s Fire Relief Fundraising: The former reality stars leveraged social media to raise money for LA fire victims, proving that influence can move beyond viral moments into real-world impact.
My Perspective:
Creators aren’t waiting for mainstream approval anymore—they’re building their own lanes. And this month, we saw exactly what that looks like.
✔ TikTok as a digital classroom? I love it. HillmanTok shows that creators don’t need institutions to give them legitimacy—they’re creating their own. The fact that an entire digital HBCU-style movement took off on TikTok proves that education, culture, and community thrive when they meet people where they already are.
✔ Podcasts are making a major comeback. I’ve seen so many creators pivot into long-form conversations that let them go deeper, build community, and escape the hamster wheel of short-form content. Everyone who swore "people don’t have the attention span for long-form anymore" is eating their words. Quality content wins every time.
✔ Influence isn’t just about brand deals—it’s about impact. I’ve been in this space for a long time, and Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt flipping their platform into a real-time disaster relief effort? That’s exactly the kind of move that makes me believe we’re only scratching the surface of what digital influence can do.
🔮 Prediction: Edu-tainment will grow, podcasting will dominate digital media, and creators will take on larger roles in activism.
💡 What This Means for 2025
✔ Regulation is catching up to the creator economy.
The days of wild west influencer marketing are numbered. The FTC’s crackdown means transparency, contracts, and compliance are becoming standard—not optional. Creators who treat their platforms like real businesses will thrive, while those who rely on shady brand deals or AI-generated content without disclosures will risk penalties. If you’re a creator, knowing the rules will be just as important as knowing the trends.
✔ Brand loyalty is shifting—consumers want authenticity.
The DEI rollback conversation proves that audiences are paying more attention than ever to where brands put their money—and where they quietly pull it back. The days of rainbow-washing for Pride Month or slapping a Black square on Instagram for optics are over. Consumers want to see real investment in communities, and they’re quick to call out companies that only show up when it’s trendy. This means brands that double down on long-term DEI strategies will win big, while those that play it safe will lose relevance.
✔ Creators are expanding beyond content into businesses, activism, and entertainment.
Creators are no longer waiting for traditional media or corporations to hand them opportunities—they’re creating their own. From Kai Cenat stepping into WWE, to HillmanTok proving TikTok can be an educational space, to Heidi & Spencer turning their platform into a crisis response tool, the creator economy is no longer just about content—it’s about impact. In 2025, we’ll see more creators launching businesses, leading movements, and building brands that extend far beyond social media.
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as a startup and new brand, what’s the one/most important thing we need to be doing to introduce ourselves to new audiences?
Informative round up of trends!!