SOCIAL
YouTube Expands its $100 Million Shorts Fund to 30 More Countries

After first announcing its ‘Shorts Fund‘ back in May, which will see the platform pay out $100 million to top Shorts creators over time, in order to provide additional support, and motivation, for their efforts, YouTube has now announced an expansion of the funding program to Shorts creators in even more regions.
Our @YouTube #shorts Fund is coming to to 30+ more countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Italy, South Korea and so many more. We’re always looking to expand how we support creators around the world! pic.twitter.com/Mx1XjJMDVE
— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) September 29, 2021
As per YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan, the Shorts Fund is now available in over 30 new regions.

Creators in these countries will now be able to get a piece of that big chunk of funding, with YouTube paying out between $100 and $10,000 each month to channels based on the performance of their TikTok-like Shorts clips.
But ‘performance’ in this context is not entirely clear:
“There’s no specific performance threshold to qualify for a bonus. The level of performance needed to qualify for a bonus payment may change from month to month based on various factors, including the location of your viewers and the overall growth of Shorts.”
So YouTube can’t say what you need to do to get that Shorts cash. But the idea is that by holding out the carrot of immediate cash payouts, that will motivate more YouTubers to at least give Shorts a try, which could keep them posting to YouTube, instead of migrating to TikTok instead.
Facebook’s also trying the same, with a new Reels funding program, while Snapchat has seen good success with its Spotlight funding, which initially saw it paying out $1 million per day to incentivize Spotlight content.
But that did also sour fairly quickly. A few months into the program, Snapchat reduced its payout amounts, which impacted creators who had quickly built a reliance on funding. Some Spotlight creators have since reported delays in payment and other issues, which has left them feeling jilted by the app – so while it can be a solid lure (Spotlight rose to 125 million users), such programs can also backfire if creators end up working specifically for those payouts, and the platforms, when they look to reduce associated costs, haven’t established a process that can effectively replace that reduced income.
Which is an inherent challenge with short-form video. You can’t add pre or mid-roll ads to 30-second clips, so in order to generate more creator interest, the platforms are reliant on direct funding like this, in order to boost interest in such options. Ideally, that also buys them some time to establish new monetization routes – like brand partnerships or eCommerce listings – but if those pathways don’t solidify, there will come a time when creators will lose income as a result of any such changes.
But still, the potential of $10k per month will no doubt generate major interest. And maybe, if YouTube can get more people posting Shorts clips, that will boost the option, and make it a bigger consideration, which, again, will keep its top stars at home, instead of considering TikTok instead.
And with TikTok rising to a billion users, its lure is strong, and you can bet that many creators, from many platforms, are also now at least dipping their toes in the TikTok waters, and eyeing its next developments to monetize their efforts.
Can Shorts offer similar reach potential – and will creators even care about Shorts, when they have TikTok instead?
I mean, YouTube says that Shorts is already generating 6.5 billion daily views, so the potential is there. Maybe, then, through more funding options, it will become a bigger element of the app, and maybe YouTube will be better placed to lead the Shorts Fund into more paid options built into its broader platform offering.
You can read more about YouTube’s Shorts Fund here.
SOCIAL
New Guide Highlights Key Considerations for Effective TikTok Ads

Looking to make TikTok a bigger focus of your marketing effort in 2024?
This will help. TikTok recently partnered with creator intelligence platform CreatorIQ to conduct an analysis of the key factors that make for a resonant TikTok promotion, culminating in a 26-page report which covers a range of key notes and tips for your planning.
You can download CreatorIQ’s full TikTok ads guide here, but in this post, we’ll look at some of the key notes.
The report is broken up into five key pillars of TikTok ads creation, which echo much of the best advice that’s been shared for the platform over time.
CreatorIQ’s five key TikTok marketing notes are:
- Grab attention from the start
- Foster a personal connection
- Show your product in action
- Use high-impact creative elements
- Close with a clear call to action
For each of these elements, the guide digs deeper into how to enact them, and the critical considerations of each, including stats on effectiveness:
Tips on TikTok-specific trends and tools:

As well as case study examples to underline each point:

It’s a handy overview, with a range of valuable notes, though the main finding, above all of the creative pointers and advice, is that established creators perform better for TikTok promotions.
As per CreatorIQ:
“The report found that creators overwhelmingly make the best-performing TikTok ads, with recommendations carrying more weight than traditional brand advertisements and celebrity spokespeople. In fact, after watching a creator-driven Spark Ad, 57% of TikTok community members say the creator is trustworthy, 56% say they can trust the brand because the creator shared it, and 71% say creator authenticity led them to buy a product.”
So while there are a heap of practical notes and pointers for increasing the resonance of your in-app promotions – like this:

The key point of emphasis is that creators make better TikToks, and thus, better ads, so partnering with relevant influencers in your niche is still likely a better way to go.
Some good considerations, and some valuable, data-backed tips, which could help to get your TikTok promotion plan on the right track in the new year.
You can download CreatorIQ’s full TikTok marketing report here.
SOCIAL
Adobe Highlights Rising Visual Trends in 2024 Creative Trends Report

Looking for creative inspiration for your 2024 strategic planning?
This will help. Today, Adobe has published its annual Creative Trends Report, which incorporates insights from Adobe’s 30 million+ Creative Cloud users, in order to determine rising visual styles of interest, which look set to resonate with audiences in the new year.
Based on its research, the Adobe team has established four creative trends that are worthy of note:
- Calming Rhythms – Fluid and flowing forms that soothe the senses and support emotional balance
- Wonder and Joy – Visuals that inspire a sense of awe, joy, and enchantment
- Dynamic Dimensions – Where all dimensions and types of content seamlessly merge
- The New Nostalgia – Contemporary interpretations of vintage styles
Adobe’s 22-page report, which you can download here (with email sign-up), provides more insight into each of these trends, along with various examples, and data that explains why they’re set to gain more momentum.
There are handy notes and insights for each, which help to illustrate how to use them in your process.

Interestingly, a lot of the images used by Adobe in the report look like they’ve been created by generative AI. I don’t know that they have, but it is worth noting the composition in this regard, as another potential means to tap into these trends.

The report provides some interesting perspective on rising visual trends, which could help in your planning. Maybe one of these resonates especially well with your branding, or aligns with what your target audience has been sharing.
Either way, some additional, data-backed considerations, which could be helpful in your process.
You can download Adobe’s “2024 Creative Trends Report” here.
SOCIAL
Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

In a significant development in the social media industry, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is reportedly engaging in preliminary discussions …
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