Key Trends Shaping the Creator Economy In July 2025

How Creators are Influencing Tourism

You may have heard of the Taylor Swift effect, but what about the IShowSpeed effect? In today’s creator economy, influencers are playing a larger role as cultural curators, from kickstarting trends and developing viral brands to, now, influencing global tourism.

Streaming sensation IShowSpeed is currently embarked on a worldwide tour, visiting exciting countries and livestreaming his daily adventures for his loyal fans. How are brands getting involved? International tourism agencies are partnering with IShowSpeed to fund his excursions and promote travel to their respective countries.

Here’s how their collaboration works:

• Local press LRT reports that Go Vilnius and Travel Lithuania coordinated the tourism project with Latvia and Estonia, coming out to a cost of €30,000 (roughly $35,000 USD).
• As per LRT, €20,000 of this cost is allocated directly to Speed while the other €10,000 is spent on travel accommodations, events, and cultural experiences.
• In return, IShowSpeed livestreams and documents his experience across platforms with a combined audience of nearly 40 million followers, driving real-time engagement and exposure for the region.

Additionally, IShowSpeed has brought his tour to YouTube Shorts, expanding his reach with a multi-platform content strategy. One of Speed’s most popular clips of himself visiting Turkey now has over 63 million views on Shorts alone.

What does this mean for the future of the creator economy:

• Tourism boards and government entities are treating creators as media outlets, allocating real marketing budgets to influencer-led campaigns.
• The line between entertainment and marketing is blurring, with creators offering real-time, experiential content that rivals traditional tourism ads.
• Although trends and marketing dollars may favor longer-form content like streaming, maintaining a multi-platform approach is essential for success.

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Social Platforms Are Moving to TV Screens

According to a recent report from The Information, ByteDance and Meta are in the race to develop the next best TV apps in competition with YouTube. Data from Nielsen highlights YouTube not only as the most watched streaming service in the United States, but also the number-one platform generating watch time compared to any other linear or broadcast television network.

TikTok and Instagram have a ways to go if they plan to compete with YouTube on the “big screen,” but The Information shares that the platforms’ parent companies are hard at work developing the next best streaming apps.

Here’s what’s in the works at ByteDance and Meta:

• The Information reports that Instagram’s potential TV app would primarily feature Reels content, following Meta’s move to convert all Facebook videos into Reels to streamline video publishing.
• On the other hand, TikTok is taking a more calculated approach to TV streaming. The Information noted that ByteDance has been planning its new TV app for six months with a focus on appealing to older viewers and encouraging higher-production-value content.
• Although neither platform had an official comment for The Information, David Kaufman, TikTok’s Global Head of Product Operations and Solutions, shared at Cannes Lions that “the living room is definitely a new frontier for us that we’re taking very seriously.”

What this means for the future of the creator economy:

• Creators are already embracing TV streaming by developing FAST Apps or subscription platforms—top social platforms joining this movement are opening new doors for creators already on the trend.
• As platforms push into living room screens, audiences will diversify, offering creators access to older viewers and households beyond the typical mobile-first Gen Z demographic.
• At the end of the day, TikTok and Instagram are highlighting a growing overlap between the creator economy and traditional media, positioning influencers as mainstream entertainment figures beyond the typical social media personality.

50 States in 50 Days by the Numbers

Have you been tuning in to Ryan Trahan’s latest YouTube series? 50 States in 50 Days is Ryan Trahan’s latest YouTube mission, true to his summer tradition of doing a month-long challenge for charity. Every day, Ryan and his wife, Haley, visit unique AirBnbs in different states for their nationwide fundraiser benefiting St. Jude Children’s Hospital. It’s the series the entire creator economy and YouTube community is raving about, but what truly makes Ryan and Haley’s road-trip adventure so impactful? Here’s everything you need to know:

• With just three days remaining, Ryan has raised an incredible $11.2 million and counting for St. Jude Children’s Hospital! He surpassed his original $1 million goal by Day 30, quadrupling it, and is now on track to exceed that goal more than tenfold.
• Each daily video averages 2-4 million views, reflecting strong and sustained engagement from his 20.9 million YouTube subscribers.
• Brands like Staple Games, Letric Bikes, and T-Mobile are among the top donors for Ryan’s challenge, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What this means for the future of the creator economy:

• Content is becoming interactive and gamified, as seen with features like Ryan’s “Wheel of Doom” and donor shoutouts turning viewers into active participants.
• Creators are building story-driven personas, as Ryan discussed with creator economy specialists Colin and Samir. By sticking to a daily routine and wearing the same outfit each day, Ryan becomes a recognizable character, boosting consistency, community, and emotional investment for his YouTube series.
• Social good is becoming a growth driver in the creator economy as creators mobilize their loyal audiences for real-world causes and offer brands authentic ways to align with purpose-driven content.

Snap the Gap: Boosting Female Athletes on Social

Athletes are among the best-performing influencers on social media today. According to a study from Captiv8, college athletes outperformed standard influencers on social media, earning 1.2 times more engagement on Instagram, twice as much on TikTok, and an impressive 10 times more on Twitter (Learn more about Athletes as Influencers here). Now, Snapchat is looking to uplift the platforms of female athletes with its “Snap the Gap” creator accelerator program in partnership with TOGETHXR.

This July, Snap invited female athletes from the collegiate level to the pros to discuss how they can elevate their creator journey through storytelling and more on the short-form app.

Here’s what you need to know about Snap the Gap:

• At the heart of Snap’s new creator accelerator program is an exciting roster of 9 female athletes who will learn how to build personal brands and monetize content through Snapchat-native strategies.
• Athletes participating in Snap the Gap will receive direct mentorship from Snapchat and content guidance from TOGETHXR, transforming their sports journeys into authentic, revenue-generating stories. These skills, in turn, can be taken to other platforms in the long run.
• “This collaboration lowers the barrier to entry for revenue opportunities for the athletes, who not only excel in competition, but who are also shaping culture and growing communities across women’s sports,” Paula Hughes, TOGETHXR Chief Digital Officer, shared in a press release.

What this means for the future of the creator economy:

• Athletes are now creators in their own right, and platforms like Snapchat are actively investing in their growth not just for engagement, but to unlock long-term monetization opportunities.
• NIL-era athletes, especially women, are building strong personal brands that transcend their sport, opening new doors in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Some great examples of this include Suni Lee’s recent collaboration with Tatcha as well as Paula’s Choice tapping Azzi Fudd after a successful partnership with Ilona Maher.
• Brands have a unique opportunity to support athlete-creators early by investing in long-term partnerships and storytelling-focused campaigns that align with the athlete’s values, audience, and off-the-field identity.