With the decline of cookies and the move towards new kinds of digital advertising, there are a host of new terms for you to get your head around. We decided to break down the most important and helpful abbreviations to help you to navigate the new challenges of digital marketing - think of it as your go-to cookies abbreviation dictionary.

According to McKinsey's 2021 holiday survey, 57% of shoppers say that YouTube has influenced their buying decisions. That means you definitely want to use YouTube to reach customers and tell people about your brand. The only question is: what method of advertising should you use?

We sat down with Check My Ads co-founders, Claire Atkin and Nandini Jammi, who noticed a huge increase in brands' digital advertisements appearing on websites that they didn’t intend their marketing efforts to support. They were also alarmed with the role digital advertising played in spreading disinformation. Jammi and Atkin exposed the stem of the issue, clarified their roles in the system (for all those trolls in the back), explained what brands can do today to double check their marketing efforts and highlighted the power brands have if they work together. ‍

It’s safe to say that just about everyone had an “I need a break to just catch my breath” moment (or two) this year and depended on quality content to turn to during those happy, difficult, or confusing times.

Ad blockers represent a technology that challenges this status quo, allowing users to enjoy a different kind of internet experience - without excessive ads or data tracking. Essentially, ad blockers show people what a cookie-free internet could look like.

As one of the most respected sports law professionals, Darren Heitner has great, first-hand insight into the recent change in NCAA rules regarding athletes’ ability to earn money for their name, image, and likeness. Heitner breaks down NCAA’s past NIL regulations, the current state of student-athletes ability to profit off their NIL, and how college athletes and brands should take advantage of this new opportunity.

YouTube has recently announced that they are making the dislike count private (only visible for the specific creator) in order to protect creators - but this button shows a lot more than just a thumbs down for viewers, creators and brands. However, YouTube has seemingly not considered what the 'thumbs down' tells us about audience behavior on YouTube and how this varies across different types of content. ‍

Here’s everything you need to know about how contextual advertising works, why it matters, and how your brand can take advantage of this huge shift in how marketers are reaching their audience.

The information released in the leaked Twitch data illuminates not only the extent that creators can make on the platform but also foreshadows potential content trends and outlines certain expectations for creators and their audience.

Google has announced that it will be banning all third-party cookies by 2023. This decision means that advertisers across the world are left in the lurch, and need to seriously rethink many of the digital advertising strategies they have relied on up to now. So what's next? This article dives into the difference between first, second and third party cookies, and looks at what alternatives come to replace them.

Dan Weinstein has been in the creator space since the beginning, playing in the ‘creator economy sandbox’ before it was even really known as, well, creator economy. Weinstein is the co-founder of Underscore Talent, a next-generation talent management company that focuses on helping today’s content creators leverage their talent and influence. He takes a deep dive into what led him, and his partners Michael Green and Reza Izad, to found the newly formed management company, where he sees the creator economy heading, how creators can utilize their social influence to catapult into more opportunities and why brands should continue leaning into the world of influencer marketing.

With 2022 just around the corner, it's almost time for 'new year, new...tactics' - let's take a closer look at the crucial role content creators will play in the cookie-less future.

The internet is filled with finance 'guru's. But, as a brand, how do you know who you should actually partner with?

ChefPK, who has 274K subscribers, shared with us what it’s really like to be a content creator on YouTube, touching on how he continues to weave his hotel chef manager experiences into the wild west of YouTube, sharing major YouTube secrets and insider tips, and giving aspiring creators tools for success.

A new era is dawning for the web, and it's one where the all-encompassing cookies used by web browsers to track users around the internet are about to get a major kick in the teeth. Even though Google has pushed back its own deadline for stamping out third-party cookies from 2022 to 2023, the end is on the horizon. 

We sat down with Craig Hewitt who took a deep dive into what it really means to be a podcast hosting and analytics platform, how to succeed with private podcasting, why monetizing podcasts with ads is “garbage” and the value of community within the podcast sphere.

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering what the heck is an NFT, who is talking about NFTs, and what kind of brand would ever sponsor NFT-related content?

From their easy-to-use interface (that doesn’t require a graphic design background) to their video editing tools, it’s safe to say that Canva has created a killer product that attracts the right people. Canva received 27M impressions for the brand, pretty much for free - without spending money on content sponsorships. We’re going to look at how this brand achieved this impressive coverage through organic mentions alone. 

We sat down with John Lee Dumas who gave us a quick look at what he did (and continues to do!) to dominate the podcasting realm. From nailing time management (he literally works a total of 6 days a month) to current trends that can catapult you in the industry, you’ll definitely want to take some notes.

You can tell a lot about a person from the podcast they choose to listen to, especially the one that got them hooked. Here are the podcasts that caused our Thought Leaders to fall down the rabbit hole of the podcast realm

We sat down with Phil Ranta to get the inside scoop about being a futurist in the bleeding edge tech realm, Wormhole Labs’ pivot from B2C to B2B due to COVID-19, the metaverse future, what brands should do today to get prepared and much much more.

News/politics related podcasts have thrived! Let’s take a look at 5 top players in the podcasting news world.

We sat down with Bryan Barletta to get the inside scoop about the current state of podcast adtech, everything from the golden metric to the biggest problems in the industry.

What can you do better next time? What questions are you too afraid to ask and what methods should you use to dig deeper and find that million dollar question? We sat down with Andrew Warner, founder of Mixergy, who shared his insights, as well as tips & tricks about the marathon that is entrepreneurship.‍

News/politics related podcasts have thrived! Let’s take a look at 5 top players in the podcasting news world.

Amzn.to is the shortened link for the Amazon Associates program, the driver of the world's biggest affiliate program. In this piece we will be diving into the story of this link, how its dominance has grown to be the one link to rule them all.

Get the inside scoop about Twitch from James Davidson, their Influencer Relations Manager. Listen to learn what it really means to be a full-time Twitcher, how brands can get started with Twitch partnerships, and much much more.

ThoughtLeaders supports advertisers and content creators by providing sponsorship intelligence. We aim to help both groups by providing accurate sponsorship data. To do so, we transcribe millions of YouTube videos, podcasts, and Twitch streams every day and then detect and extract sponsorships. In this article, we'll take a closer look at how we do so, starting at the beginning - what exactly is a sponsorship and how can a machine detect one? 

YouTube is probably the best platform for promoting wellness supplements - not only is it the second-biggest search engine in the world but it's a great way to get a more ‘honest’ review by someone you trust. Brands have found ways to cater to a wide range of categories on YouTube, including fitness channels, travel vloggers, makeup moguls, and more. Here are 4 wellness supplement brands that successfully capitalized on the health & wellness trend on YouTube:

Since the global pandemic spread like wildfire, people scrambled for answers and, most importantly, for ways to stay healthy and resist getting infected. One of the most common 'cures' being mentioned- probiotics.

The world is becoming more modern and progressive which in turn is affecting how we view formerly taboo subjects in society, such as “drugs”. This has also had a significant impact on the advertising world - as CBD came more into the mainstream, YouTube was forced to follow suit.

Subscription boxes are nothing new - from meal prep services to gardening boxes, there’s a subscription box for just about anything and anyone. When the pandemic rolled around, consumers realized that they were about to spend a lot of time at home and it was an ideal time to dedicate to self-care. Unsurprisingly, this societal change positively impacted the beauty industry.

Each creator tool has its own niche and specialty and oftentimes creators need to use multiple tools to get the precise effect and result that makes their content special.

Exciting updates - welcome Twitch to ThoughtLeaders, we are transcribing more and more podcasts and creating more filter options

How is the content relating to cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency wallets represented on podcasts?

As a YouTuber, how can I get started with brand sponsorships? Lets take a closer look at the most commonly asked questions - how big of a channel should i have to work with brands? Do brands care more about subscribers or views? How do I figure out my rate?

Let’s dive into why creators might not want to feature an advertisement on a specific video/channel.

Let’s dive into why creators might not want to feature an advertisement on a specific video/channel.

eSports content is growing incredibly year after year, just let the data do the talking.

Whether you’re with the times or not, podcasts have taken a spicy direction. Sex, sex, sex - everyone is talking about sex!

The global Esports market is currently worth $1.08B and is expected to reach $1.62B by 2024! Esports is the fastest growing industry - can you keep up? Here's why you should be tapping into this industry and how to get started.

Athleisure flourished during the pandemic! Take a look at how 4 clothing brands that jumped on the athleisure trend did in 2020-2021.

Top 5 sports podcasts that help you stay up to date about all-things sports

Here's what it was really like to be pregnant and give birth during a pandemic

We look at how you can get advertisers on your podcast but targeting the relevant brands that will want to sponsor your show

We look at how to advertise on podcasts with this step by step guide to getting started.

YouTube is filled with travel vloggers who document their adventures around the world, highlighting the good, the bad, the yummy and the lost in translation moments. Here are the top 5 best travel vloggers.

With the market crashing, where should you invest - cryptocurrency or in the stock market?

We look at the reasons why you should advertise on podcasts and how you can get started.

Here are the top 5 LGBTQ+ podcasts of 2021! There is much more to this community than just “coming out” stories, especially on podcasts.

Growing up in a Jewish community in Argentina, the idea of being queer wasn't talked about or even considered. YouTube helped me find a community, became my support system and gave me the confidence to open up about my own sexuality.

We provide some guidelines for the basic cost for advertising on podcasts, and look at the different kinds of pricing models that are generally available for podcasts.

We look at whether podcast advertising is effective, with examples of studies and brand strategies that show us that this kind of advertising really works.

2021 has become a pivotal year for the LGBTQ+ community as this year welcomed the most “coming out” videos uploaded to YouTube than ever before.

Did the Israel-Palestinian conflict receive disproportionate attention from the international media? We let the trends data decide.

Welcoming the newest additions to the ThoughtLeaders’ VIP Program! Our VIP program helps creators make profit from their high quality content.

A step-by-step guide on how to kickstart your sponsorship strategy. Find out what it takes to make your brand known on creator content.

Introducing an exciting addition to the ThoughtLeaders' platform, podcast transcripts!

Check out this overview of Squarespace's sponsorship marketing strategy. Infographic included inside of Squarespace on YouTube!

For the first time ever, we have the unique ability to teach ourselves musical instruments, free of charge, under the virtual tutelage of a passionate pro - thanks to the top 6 YouTube Musicians!

How can TV content producers take full advantage of Youtube?

Don't roll the dice - get everything you need to know about DnD here

YouTube and food seem to go hand-in-hand - how do brands use this space to promote their products?

Who are the influencers today?

Here are the keys to understanding how topics pick up speed over time

Find out what the dangers of being a Youtuber are and how to not fall into the common pitfalls.

How did content creators adapt their content to the current situation and to maintain their sponsorships ?

5 essential podcasts for female founders that are guaranteed to give your business a boost.

How is Nike using their female influencer-athletes to highlight women empowerment, and are their updated marketing strategies too little, too late?

Here is our top 8 entrepreneurship podcasts for your listening and enjoyment needs

A look at influencer marketing and sponsorships

The Hustle is one of our favorite long term partners, so in honor of that great relationship we wanted to show you some cool data around their content.

Introducing the NEW Trends report

Here are our favourite 6 crossover stars of YouTube and Podcasts

First impressions of a brand new social media app

Welcome to our new VIPs

A closer look at ThirdLove's marketing strategy

In spring 2020, if you weren’t baking sourdough, what were you doing with your time?

We decided to take on Adam’s recipes in our first team Taste Test. The challenge was to each pick and cook a recipe that had featured on Adam’s channel. Here are some of the best results: 

Here we dive into some of those trends to better understand what parents across the world have been struggling with during the past year: 

As we enter Women’s History Month, we’d like to take the opportunity to highlight 3 top female YouTube creators who are currently triumphing the sponsorship space - and who’s channels you should check out right now. 

Here are a few tricks on how to make sure to get a repeat brand deal.

Let's have a closer look at Ridge Wallet's marketing strategy !

Let's take a closer look at Skillshare's strategy!

Deep dive into Dr. Squatch's marketing strategy

After many years of struggle, Youtube now stands as a prime advertiser for gaming companies as well as becoming the #2 website for streaming gameplay content and having 100 billion hours of gaming content being watched in 2020.But why do gaming brands love Youtube?

Which are the family channels we'll keep our eyes on this year?

In this article we look at certain aspects of the new 24/7 home reality and how that has affected what we do.

We are excited to announce the addition of two up and coming gaming creators !

Check out the most important influencer marketing trends to watch in 2021. We’ve put together the big picture of what’s been happening on YouTube, podcast, and private e-newsletter in the past 3 years leading up to 2021 to give our readers insight into what will happen in 2021 - and what marketers should be doing to capitalize on these trends. 

Let’s take a deeper look at the growth of podcasts and audio sites to gain a broader understanding of the relevance of Audible as a service. 

Mack Weldon is a DTC clothing company focussing on reinventing mens basics

Deep dive into Brilliant's marketing strategy

We asked the ThoughtLeaders team to reflect on the content creators that stood out to them this year and helped to get them through. 

Earlier this year, we launched a podcast to sit down with some of our favorite content creators, and find out what it takes to build an audience and a career out of their passion projects. 

Earlier this year, we launched a podcast to sit down with some of our favorite content creators, and find out what it takes to build an audience and a career out of their passion projects. 

Why is Raycon sponsoring everywhere on YouTube? Raycon is a perfect case study for marketers who want to learn how to harness the power of savvy content partnerships to make a splash for their brand. 

Case study of Scentbird's sponsorship strategy

Case study of Honey's sponsorship strategy

Case study of Cariuma's sponsorship approach