Meta pays creators $3B, TikTok and Tubi launch a creator streaming program, and the Staples Baddie goes official

Facebook's Creator Fast Track offers guaranteed pay to pull top talent from TikTok and YouTube. The Creatorverse Incubator gives TikTok creators a path to long-form streaming on Tubi. And Staples signed viral employee Kaeden Rowland after her organic TikToks drove measurable store traffic.

Creator Economy Stats: March 23, 2026

67% of U.S. consumers think creators are more authentic than TV, signaling a major shift in entertainment consumption and new avenues for creator-led content development

$3B paid out by Meta to creators in 2025, a 35% increase from 2024, as the company launches its Creator Fast Track program to attract top talent to Facebook

80% of marketers say influencer content outperforms brand content, reinforcing the case for creator partnerships over traditional advertising

41% of local businesses depend on social media to drive revenue, underscoring the critical importance of social media marketing for business growth and sustainability

What Should Marketers Know This Week?

TikTok hosted its first-ever CMO Collective in England, gathering 65 senior marketers from major brands and agencies.

This strategic event aimed to strengthen client relationships and drive commercial growth, signaling TikTok's intent to attract larger advertising budgets from enterprise clients. TikTok is positioning itself as a serious advertising platform for big brands—worth watching for increased brand collaboration opportunities.

Creator marketing needs standardized measurement to unlock its full potential as a media channel.

Brands like Unilever are investing billions in creator marketing after seeing it drive sales and customer acquisition, but the sector still lacks standardized measurement and performance metrics. Creator marketing works, but proving ROI remains the biggest gap. Marketers pushing for bigger creator budgets need to build measurement frameworks now.

Gen Z is leading the shift to AI-powered shopping, with AI platforms driving higher-converting referral traffic.

Shopping queries on AI platforms are growing faster than any other category, and referral traffic from AI is converting at higher rates than traditional search. AI is becoming a direct purchase channel, especially for Gen Z. Marketers need to adapt discovery and content strategies for AI-driven shopping.

TikTok and Tubi launched the Creatorverse Incubator, a joint program to bring social media creators into streaming.

The Creatorverse Incubator will transition popular TikTok creators into developing original scripted and unscripted series for Tubi's 100 million monthly active users—giving creators a path from short-form to streaming. Creator-led content is moving into long-form streaming. Brands should watch for new integration opportunities as social stars get their own shows.

What Changed on Social Platforms?

Meta

Facebook launched Creator Fast Track, a program offering established creators from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube guaranteed pay and boosted reach on Facebook Reels to pull top talent onto the platform. (About)

Meta began beta-testing its Manus AI agent across Instagram, Ads Manager, and WhatsApp Business—automating campaign reporting, creator discovery, and content management for brands. (Facebook)

YouTube

YouTube launched Creator Partnerships, an evolution of BrandConnect that uses Gemini AI for creator discovery and updated measurement tools to streamline creator marketing for brands. (Blog)

YouTube added an AI-powered Reimagine option for Shorts that lets viewers generate new videos based on scenes from existing clips. (Social Media Today)

TikTok

TikTok expanded its #BookTok bestseller lists across Europe and the UK and introduced a new #BookTok label for physical books in stores, deepening the platform's role as a discovery engine for publishers. (Social Media Today)

Snapchat

Snapchat is retiring its standalone Bitmoji app by June 30, consolidating all avatar features into the main Snapchat app where 320 million people engage with Bitmoji daily. (Social Media Today)

Which Brands Are Working with Creators Right Now?

Staples

Staples officially signed TikTok creator Kaeden Rowland—the "Staples Baddie"—as a brand partner after her organic posts drove measurable store traffic increases and a 44% engagement rate on her first sponsored TikTok, earning $236K in estimated media value. (MediaPost)

McDonald's

McDonald's partnered with Love Island star Olandria Carthen for its "First Job Confessional" campaign—reality TV-style confession booths touring NYC, Austin, and Pittsburgh where customers share first-job stories. Carthen was picked because her mom and sister both worked at McDonald's. (MediaPost)

MAC Cosmetics

MAC tapped The Traitors Season 4 winner Rob Rausch for a Times Square billboard announcing its Sephora U.S. debut. His content delivered nearly 8 million impressions across global social channels in three days. (WWD)

Audible

TikTok creator Elyse Myers (7.1M followers) highlighted her ongoing Audible partnership at ADWEEK House, advocating for trust-based collaborations where creators keep full creative control—saying consistent quality beats chasing viral moments. (Adweek)

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