Hi CCs,

Lots of great social tid bits this week. And apologies for missing some issues. Luckily I have just onboarded a new awesome research assistant — say hello to Marvin! 👋 — who is helping with the workload tremendously to bring you the best in social every week.

Let’s get into it!
xoxo Winter

🔥 Featured Content

What are the 10 Dark Arts of TikTok?

“Most creators focus on what to say. But the top 1% obsess over how it's delivered. The most viral content on TikTok uses what CreatorOS affectionately call the Dark Arts - techniques creators use to keep you watching, and increase their viewer retention stats, whatever their sector or genre. Why? Because viewer retention = virality with content-led algorithms.”

Download the playbook below for free:

The end of the “Aesthetic Era”

“What was once aspirational is now alienating. What was once ‘effortless’ feels, ironically, like way too much effort. On TikTok, it's not about looking good. It's about being interesting. And if you're not interesting, you better be unhinged. Even LinkedIn has entered its ‘post-buttoned up’ era...” — Lauren Vilips

Fuck the feel good. The science behind negative brands.

“Are you sick of the overly positive, kombucha-sipping wellness whackos? Well you’re not alone. It turns out ‘healthy’ can be more than pastel colour palettes and minimalism. A growing number of FMCG players are doing the opposite: leaning into death, chaos, sadness, and irony. They’re not trying to make you feel safe. They’re trying to make you look twice.” — Brent Vrdoljak

🤳 Content Inspo

Share your “off duty” moments. [LINK]
I love this format by illustrator and author Koichiro Kashima where he shows the lovely little things he does in-between his work. This is a great concept where you can give your audience a glimpse of your personal life and quiet daily tasks.

Make a “meet the team” humor-driven intro video. [LINK]
Explore a freeze-frame style intro video, assigning a character archetype to each member of your team, influencers at an event, or just your friend/family group on vacation as an engaging way to introduce everyone.

Can you recommend something? [LINK]
Great for any kind of business, in-person or online, where you have multiple products or services. Have someone ask for a rec for something super specific, and then make your recommendation, going into detail about your product or service.

💬 Tip of the day:

📡 On Our Radar

e.l.f Cosmetics airdrops sunscreen, cat treats to viral sailor. [LINK]

Empty posts are out and brand world-building is in. [LINK]

Jimmy Fallon will lead a cutthroat marketing agency in new competition series ‘On Brand’. [LINK]

How creators are shaping the media narrative in Diddy’s trial. [LINK]

Two years on, X is still not close to its ‘Everything App’ vision. [LINK]

How to use influencer marketing to reach older consumers. [LINK]

Trump signs controversial law targeting nonconsensual sexual content. [LINK]

🎶 TikTok

TikTok and SoundCloud announce new Add to Music App partnership. [LINK]

Introducing AI Alive: bringing your photos to life on TikTok Stories. [LINK]

TikTok adds more accessibility features, including Alt Text for photos. [LINK]

US-China trade deal could break TikTok impasse. [LINK]

📸 Meta / Instagram

Instagram launches first official use of Lockable Reels. [LINK]

ICYMI: Meta introduces new Meta AI App. [LINK]

Meta will soon enable advertisers to test experimental AI features. [LINK]

🧵 Threads

Threads Ads expand to all Meta advertisers. [LINK]

🤳 YouTube

New ‘YouTube Charts’ to showcase the most popular podcasts on YouTube. [LINK]

YouTube expands voice replies, adds Shorts quiz sticker. [LINK]

YouTube outlines new ad options and usage stats at BrandCast 2025. [LINK]

☠️ 𝕏 

X adds new elements to its Grok AI chatbot. [LINK]

X implements new measures to detect manipulation of Community Notes. [LINK]

X rolls out support for 4K video uploads. [LINK]

🦋 Bluesky

Bluesky is plotting a total takeover of the social internet. [LINK]

🟦 Linkedin

LinkedIn announces new video ad options at NewFronts. [LINK]

LinkedIn launches AI-Powered career discovery tools. [LINK]

🍥 Pinterest

Pinterest outlines how to optimize your marketing approach. [LINK]

Pinterest rolls out enhanced visual search features. [LINK]

Pinterest launches new promotional campaign focused on personalized looks. [LINK]

👻 Snapchat

Snapchat may soon unpin its ‘My AI’ chatbot from the top of feeds. [LINK]

Snapchat announces AI-powered ad updates and expanded sponsored Snaps. [LINK]

Refer, Earn, Grow: introducing Snap’s affiliate program. [LINK]

Next Stop: a report on the emerging trends in travel. [LINK]

🤖 AI Boom

OpenAI’s next big bet won’t be a wearable. Instead, it will be a compact, screenless device, fully aware of its user’s surroundings. [LINK]

Beyond SEO: enter “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization” where ChatGPT is becoming a link and shop discovery engine. [LINK]

Google announces a range of AI powered ad updates at Marketing Live. [LINK]

How to use Google’s new “try it on” feature. [LINK]

OpenAI adds Shopping to ChatGPT in a challenge to Google. [LINK]

Building trust in the age of AI: from the newsroom to the niche. [LINK]

GenAI creative is just about to change the face of out-of-home advertising. [LINK]

Winter Mendelson
Co-Founder and Creative Director
Posture Media

P.S. I will probably have typos in the event that my dad is unavailable to proofread. Sorry in advance.

​Creative Commerce is a newsletter for entrepreneurs, marketers, and social media managers. It is written, edited, and published by Posture Media, a social media agency based in Brooklyn.

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