8 Predictions for the Creator Economy in 2025

After recapping 10 key trends across social media, influencer marketing, and the creator economy in 2024, I'm diving into my predictions for the future of the creator economy. These include LinkedIn introducing new native video tools, Connected TV ads becoming a key way for brands to repurpose creator content, podcasting becoming a bigger part of influencer marketing, the fediverse gaining more attention in the creator economy, and more.

Let’s dive in:

1. LinkedIn Will Introduce New Native Video Tools & Deep Analytics

2024 saw LinkedIn go all-in on video, introducing a dedicated video tab, a "Video For You" experience, and ending the year with a redesign of video posts to make them more prominent in the feed. As the fastest-growing content format on LinkedIn, driving 1.4x more engagement than other formats, creators and marketers are jumping on this digital gold rush.

What’s impressive is that LinkedIn achieved this with minimal native video capabilities. But that will change in 2025. LinkedIn will strengthen its native video tools to make it easier for users to record, edit, and publish videos directly within the platform. Expanded analytics for video, including insights into view sources across its video touch points—will also be added to further empower creators and marketers with the right data to inform their video strategy.

2. LinkedIn’s Influencer Marketing Boom Will Cause Tension for Employers

LinkedIn officially embraced influencer marketing in 2024, and this trend will only intensify in 2025 as brands invest more in LinkedIn creators. This creates opportunities for employees to build their personal brand and monetize while keeping their 9-to-5 jobs.

However, as employees secure brand partnerships, friction will arise. Companies may welcome employees as influencers but could view the promotion of other companies as a conflict of interest, leading to new policies restricting what can be shared on LinkedIn. This shift will raise important questions about balancing personal brand-building with professional responsibility, causing tension as employers and employees navigate this evolving landscape.

3. A Major Streaming Service Will Launch a Creator Content Upload Offering

Creators have found homes on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Peacock, and Hulu through live sports, series, reality TV, and more (e.g., Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, Beast Games, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, etc.).

By the end of 2025, a major streaming service will launch a self-service initiative allowing long-form creators to submit their content for distribution. The vetting process will ensure that content meets platform standards, but with many YouTubers already producing high-quality, episodic content, this barrier will be minimal.

For streaming platforms, it’s a cost-effective way to expand their libraries with trend-aligned content and battle YouTube, while for creators, it offers new monetization avenues and larger audiences for their work.

4. Connected TV (CTV) Ads Will Become a Key Channel for Repurposing Creator Content

Brands will increasingly secure usage rights to repurpose creator content for ads across CTV platforms. From streaming services like Roku, which support the repurposing of social media content as CTV ads, to more influencer platforms expanding into creator-driven CTV ads, there are more opportunities than ever for brands to run creator content ads on streaming services.

Creator content has consistently outperformed traditional brand creative across most channels, and with CTV consumption on the rise, this trend is set to grow. CTV ads offer targeted placements, interactive features like QR codes and shoppable content, and seamless integration into cross-platform strategies, helping brands achieve their goals.

5. More Creators Will Embrace Affiliate Marketing as a Revenue Stream

Affiliate marketing is the third most popular way for creators to earn money, following sponsored content and platform payments, according to eMarketer. While its position will remain steady, the share of revenue from affiliate sales will rise for creators in 2025.

This growth will be fueled by several factors: a larger creator pool competing for sponsorship dollars, the rise of TikTok Shop, expanded affiliate opportunities on YouTube and Meta, and a continued shift toward performance-based partnerships. Notably, two of the first M&A moves in the creator economy this year have been focused on companies driving bottom-of-the-funnel results through creators: Later’s $250 million acquisition of Mavely and WhatNot’s $265 million raise.

For many creators, especially long-tail creators, sponsored content can be inconsistent, and platform payouts are becoming less reliable. Affiliate marketing offers a more proactive solution, with benefits like creative freedom that direct brand partnerships and platform payouts don’t offer. With more success stories emerging, expect affiliate marketing to shed its "dirty word" stigma and gain wider adoption by creators in 2025.

6. Podcasting Gains a Larger Share of Influencer Marketing Budgets

The 2024 presidential election, dubbed the 'podcast election,’ highlighted the power of podcasts, with both President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris leveraging major shows as part of their campaign strategies. If podcasts can influence elections, they’re certainly capable of driving product and service sales.

In 2025, more influencer marketers will allocate budgets to podcasters, especially those with video-first shows and niche audiences. Brands will collaborate with podcast creators in an omni-channel approach.

Creators will promote brands through host-read ads and integrations during episodes and expand these promotions to social media, where they also have loyal audiences. 80% of podcast listeners say they follow their favorite podcast personalities on social media.

7. The Fediverse Gains Ground in the Creator Economy

The Fediverse, a decentralized network of platforms like Mastodon, PixelFed, PeerTube, and Flipboard, gives creators an alternative to traditional social media. Unlike traditional platforms, the Fediverse allows cross-platform communication via open protocols like ActivityPub, meaning users can interact seamlessly across different networks.

As centralized platforms face algorithm changes, shifting moderation policies, and even the threat of bans, the Fediverse is emerging as a promising alternative for frustrated creators. It offers interoperability, greater control over their data, and increased flexibility.

While monetization options remain limited, initiatives like Meta federating Threads and Flipboard’s new app Surf, which aggregates content from decentralized platforms, are poised to bring the Fediverse into the broader creator economy conversation.

8. Reddit Will Connect Creators and Brands for Collaborations

Reddit has been investing heavily in tools for brands, such as Reddit Pro, a suite of features to help them grow their presence. However, it still lacks a dedicated solution for creator-brand collaborations—a standard offering on platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Introducing a marketplace to connect brands with Reddit-native creators could bridge this gap, aligning with Reddit's mission to support brands, creators, and users alike. Many brands are eager to collaborate with Reddit creators, but the platform's unique environment makes it challenging to identify the right partners or assess their willingness to collaborate.

By the end of the year, expect Reddit to launch a solution that simplifies discovering and connecting with creators. This initiative will likely complement its ad business with a creator-focused advertising solution, mirroring Meta’s Partnership Ads and TikTok’s Spark Ads.