Surviving digital detoxes and the creator economy in 2025
Discover practical strategies to engage your audience during digital breaks and build fair, lasting relationships in a dynamic creator economy
quick summary ⚡️
Tips on how to keep your community engaged while they go offline
Insights into the creator economy and dispelling myths about creator income
Cultural Gems: Preparing your digital afterlife, the “YouTube-ification” of TV and more
Why dating apps are the perfect digital strategy inspo
surviving the digital detox era: strategies for social media leaders
As more users step away from digital overload and opt for social media detoxes, brands and marketers face the challenge of staying relevant. Here are key strategies to ensure your brand remains top-of-mind—even when followers are on a detox:
Create problem-solving, evergreen content:
Post less and focus on creating content that addresses your audience’s challenges head-on. Consider step-by-step guides, practical checklists, or how-to videos that offer real solutions. Brian Kelly, more commonly known as The Points Guy, has done this effortlessly. Not only does he have an enormous amount of resources on his owned site, he is constantly sharing his best tips and tricks across his social channels. His audience [of over 4 million 🤯] knows that his content is there to help them travel with ease and improve their travel experience. Creators and brands, be like Brian!
Build off-social communities:
, the creator behind one of our favorite newsletters, , has built a thriving community by hosting a dedicated Discord channel where subscribers meet, connect, and draw inspiration. Digital detoxes may impact open rates, but they won’t impact her booming community.
Strengthen your email lists, blogs, or even a dedicated community forum. This ensures your audience has multiple ways to connect, even when they’re stepping back from social media.
Actionable tip for busy leaders: When planning your content calendar, remember that less is more in 2025. Your audience craves meaningful content that enhances their scrolling experience. Instead of posting just for the sake of it, channel your creativity into identifying and filling the gaps in your audience’s needs—then deliver that targeted content.
P.S. Shoutout to ALL of you who love the idea of a digital detox, but can’t because, ya know, social doesn’t run itself. We’re all in this together 🫡
empowering digital entrepreneurs: the reality of the creator economy
For digital entrepreneurs and thought leaders, understanding the creator economy is essential for creating meaningful and healthy relationships with creators. A recent article from the American Influencer Council sheds light on a key insight: most creators are middle-class, and fair compensation is critical for sustainable growth.
The middle-class creator reality: Contrary to the glamor you might see online, a lot of creators are actually living on middle-class budgets. Understanding this is key to building a fair digital space. Take Ari Weindling from @thehungryfork_, she recently posted a TikTok sharing a really negative experience with a brand that wouldn’t pay her and basically dismissed her work and audience [of over 160k!]. The comments were flooded with other creators who’ve had similar experiences, all urging brands and partners to rethink how they value creator content.
Tiktok failed to load.
Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserWhy paying creators matters: Compensating creators fairly not only supports their craft but also enriches the overall community. When creators are rewarded, they’re empowered to produce higher-quality content and invest in strategies that scale engagement on a macro level.
Actionable strategies for thought leaders:
Listen to creators: Even though it may seem like the most outspoken creators are landing six-figure deals for just a few posts, that’s not the reality for most. Get real insight by joining creator communities—this is your chance to gut-check your assumptions about what truly goes into crafting compelling branded content and partnerships.
Implement fair practices: Reevaluate your compensation strategies to ensure creators receive fair rewards. Whether through sponsorships, revenue sharing, or innovative models, appropriate payment builds community trust and loyalty. Remember, creators share their experiences widely, and you want to be their top choice for collaboration.
💎cultural gems💎
The monocultural moments and news that caught our attention this week:
🕊 HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR DIGITAL AFTERLIFE, ny times
“How do you want your social media pages, smartphone photos and computer files handled after you die?”
🤖 HOW FANDOM USES AI TO TURN YOUR OBSESSIONS INTO GOLD, inc.
“As the world’s largest online repository of pop culture and entertainment information, Fandom has big plans to help advertisers develop a better understanding of fans with a new AI product, powered by one of the internet’s largest treasure troves of data.”
📺 UNDER THE INFLUENCE: BEAST GAMES AND THE YOUTUBE-IFICATION OF TELEVISION, the guardian
“On a stylistic level, the show erases what line remained between YouTube and television. Beast Games has a higher production budget than any of MrBeast’s YouTube videos, which run anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes and reach upwards of 360 million subscribers… But it maintains the same aesthetics and incentives of addled attention. It looks like YouTube content – content being the operative word.”
📍INSTAGRAM WILL NOW LET YOU SCHEDULE AND PIN DMS, the verge
“Meta says the changes are intended to help with messaging people who live in different time zones or to keep important messages (read: memes) visible in busy group chats where things are easily missed.”
we can all learn from the dating apps ✍️
You don’t have to be single to get inspo from the dating apps.
dove into how Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge have all adapted their strategies to the changing dating world. What stood out to us is that their approaches are actually a breath of fresh air: they aren’t chasing every possible user, but instead focus on delivering value to the right people.
Our premium subscribers get the full breakdown of how they do it, but here are the high-level takeaways:
Tap into relatable scenarios but maintain a thought leadership position: Apps balance viral social content with data-backed thought leadership to stay culturally relevant.
Showcase product efficacy: Success stories demonstrate value, crucial for trust in a skeptical market.
Own your differentiator: Tinder is focused on the swipe, Bumble is “for the girls,” and Hinge is the place to romanticize modern dating app culture.
Click here to read about how they do it.
Thanks for the Discord shout!
Very interesting, thank you for sharing!