X’s decline is far from secret, and now we have the figures to confirm it. The platform lost more than 10 million users in Europe — 9.8% of its European user base — during the six months to March 31, 2025, the platform’s latest transparency report for the EU Digital Services Act reveals. The steepest losses were seen in Luxembourg -25.99% and Poland -20.28%, followed by France -13.42%, and Germany -8.01%. 

Meanwhile, Threads rolled out ads globally and Meta revealed the app topped 350 million global users as AI improvements to its recommendation system drove a 35% increase in time spent on the app. 

For influence marketers brave enough to navigate X’s choppy landscape, average engagement rates of 14.7% over the last 12 months far outstripped those of TikTok, 4.3%, and Instagram, 3.3%, according to Kolsquare data. Whether it’s the type of engagement that suits your brand is another question.   

Threads is clearly reaping the benefits from its connectedness with Instagram, and the transition of brands and creators to the platform is on. Its willingness to steal ideas from emerging micro-blogging competitors like Bluesky (whose CEO Jay Graber is winning the zeitgeist with her T-shirt troll of Mark Zuckerberg) and Mastodon underpin its ambition to become Meta’s next major app and a new home for influence marketing.

— Sophie

As a longtime observer of influencer marketing in the beauty sector, I've witnessed L'Oréal consistently positioning itself at the vanguard of influencer marketing. The group's commitment is evident in its substantial allocation—over 50% of their marketing budget—to influencer campaigns, and its recent strategic consolidation of agency relationships to manage creator programs across its portfolio of 32 brands in 150 countries.

L'Oréal's LOREALISTAR platform in the DACH region exemplifies the company's innovative approach—a loyalty mechanism designed specifically for micro and nano-influencers that employs reward-based gamification to enhance creator collab scalability. By including influencers with followings as small as 1,000, L'Oréal over-leverages its use of authentic content creators who are now driving 70% of global brand collaborations. A parallel  initiative in Australia and New Zealand with WPP's Beauty Tech Labs creates a unified influencer marketing structure that ensures both consistency and robust governance with appropriate compliance protocols.

In my professional capacity working with many beauty brands both locally and internationally, L'Oréal's strategic vision is particularly noteworthy. They've moved beyond transactional influencer engagements to cultivate enduring relationships while simultaneously leveraging creator content across multiple marketing channels. The group's substantial investment in specialised tech infrastructure reflects a fundamental understanding that scaling influencer marketing effectively demands sophisticated platforms and tools—and positions them for continued leadership in this evolving space.                                                                                                            — Jeanette

Is social media over? Zuck seems to think so. 

Influence goes mainstream. YouTubers Sidemen rock Netflix, and the big bucks roll in.

Facebook needs freshening up? Wait, what? The platform announces it's cracking down on spammy content.