Corporate marketing consultant and Creator advisor :

I've provided insights for corporate clients such as:
• Google 
• Robert Half
• AT&T
• TA3 Swim
• Viral Nation
• Dick Clark Productions 
• Kik mobile message app

I've also led creator workshops and personal branding sessions for clients such as:
• Colin and Samir's Creator Startup live community sessions
• Macy's Style Crew
• Riot Games' Game Changers 
• The Costume Designers Guild

Social + Influencer Marketing Consultant

UCLA Extension

Lecturer for UCLA Extension's Leadership, Management and Communications Programs and Corporate Education courses.
• Personal Branding and Becoming an Influencer
• Influencer Marketing: Employing Influencers
• Social Media Marketing

I've also created custom lectures for students in study abroad programs from Zhejiang University, SKEMA Business School and ESIC University.

Instructor, Social Media Marketing and Influencer Marketing

Fit Body App

Led marketing efforts for female-focused fitness and nutrition app and successful launch of Vitalura nutritional supplements, founded by CEO, NASM certified trainer and influencer Anna Victoria.

2022 Webby Honoree Health + Fitness Apps and Software
2021 American Influencer Awards Winner Best Fitness Program

Chief Marketing Officer

Beachbody

Launched Beachbody's health and fitness video vertical, BODlife, on YouTube, IGTV and Facebook with a mission to increase loyalty among the current audience and identify and attract new audiences. 
• Increased YouTube channel video views by 100% month over month with through strategic ideation of new content.
• Produced the channel’s most successful organic video of 2019-2020 through understanding of audience insights, analytics, creativity and team collaboration. 
• Ranked as the number one Google search result for seven keywords and phrases using SEO to result in positive brand sentiment, increased referral traffic and video views.

Executive Director, Editorial 

Livestrong.com

Managed 20 team members running a leading health and fitness brand with an average of 20M monthly website uniques. 
• Launched influencer marketing, podcast marketing and events programs, video production and distribution strategy.
• Developed branded content opportunities worth $2M annually for partners such as Walmart, Thrive Market, Athleta, Del Monte and Jenny Craig.
• Executive produced a day-long wellness conference at the Rose Bowl with Jillian Michaels as host while establishing new relationships with sponsors including Hum Nutrition, Swisse, Bob’s Red Mill and Vital Proteins.

VP Content & Operations

TheWrap

Led audience development and social media marketing efforts for daily news website covering the business of entertainment. 
• Negotiated syndication partnerships with NowThis, Yahoo Movies, IMDb, AOL Entertainment and msn Entertainment.
• Positioned the site as an early adopter of technologies such as live streaming and AR to incorporate as part of editorial coverage.

Director of Audience Development

Yahoo

Ran social strategy for Yahoo's entertainment properties, growing the social audience from 100K to 3M in my time there through audience-first campaigns and innovative content strategies. 
• Provided strategic sales solutions for red carpet and awards show partners such as Lionsgate, Sony, LiveNation, CBS, the Television Academy and The Academy.
• Led the integration of social efforts in the merger between Yahoo's Celebrity vertical and CBS' The Insider.
• Led global best practice training and mentoring efforts for social media teams in Canada, the UK and Australia.

Social Lead, Entertainment

E! Networks

Managed 12 team members for leading entertainment news and cable network website. 
• Grew traffic from three to eight million monthly uniques during my time there. 
• Worked closely with multiple departments, including marketing, public relations (PR) and global media (Europe and Israel), to promote the overall E! Entertainment Network brand domestically and internationally.
• Consulted on a range of NBC Universal digital properties including Daily Candy and the Style Network.

Editorial Entertainment Director

Bauer

Oversaw staff of writers, reporters and stringers to create a weekly celebrity magazine. Duties included writing, assigning and editing entertainment news with a heavy emphasis on fashion and lifestyle; also coordinated New York and Los Angeles entertainment events calendar.

News Editor

E! Online

New York entertainment news lead for E! Online. I kicked off the day's news budget; wrote, assigned and edited stories and handled coverage of New York events.

Associate News Editor

Creator Economy Expert | Advisor | Educator

I bridge the gap between brands, creators, platforms, and audiences — translating corporate for creators and keeping brands plugged in to the creators, platforms, and online communities that can help them drive growth

💼 As a corporate marketing consultant, I've provided social and influencer marketing insights for brands such as:
* Google
* Robert Half
* Adobe
* AT&T
* Dick Clark Productions 
* Kik mobile messaging app
* Riot Games
* Viral Nation

~ If you're interested in custom reports, I create internal newsletters for corporate clients. Reach out to learn more.

📲 I've also led creator workshops and personal branding sessions for clients such as:
* Disney's Creator Collab
* Colin and Samir's Creator Startup live community sessions
* Macy's Style Crew
* Riot Games' Game Changers 
* The Costume Designers Guild
* US State Department International Visitor Leadership Program

🎓 I teach social media marketing and influencer marketing at UCLA Extension and have created custom lectures for students at:
* USC
* Zhejiang University
* SKEMA Business School 
* ESIC University. 

📰 I’ve been featured on NPR’s Planet Money and quoted in Business Insider, The Washington Post, Wired, Fast Company, Marketing Brew, Ad Age, The Information, and more. 


👉🏻 Every week, I write a creator economy-influencer marketing newsletter for 45K subscribers across LinkedIn and Substack called ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) that Buffer declared one of the Best Marketing Newsletters 2023, 2024 and 2025.

💻 Along the way, I’ve worked in-house at media and tech brands including: 
* E! News 
* Style Network
* Yahoo
* Livestrong.com
* Fit Body App

⚡ My focus on social media marketing, influencer marketing and the creator economy has led to speaking and partnership opportunities with: 
* Sprout Social
* Linqia
* Kajabi
* Typeform
* Dash Hudson
* Thinkific 
* Arcade
* Mavrck
* #Paid
* The Influencer Marketing Factory
* Influence.co

🎙️ Public Speaking engagements:
* Adobe Max 
* VidCon
* Social Media Week
* CreatorIQ Connect
* State of Social
* Duel Tech's Social Commerce Summit

🔥 What drives me: Translating my expertise into actionable takeaways for people just getting started in their careers (especially women) and supporting anyone who wants a seat at the table.

Not everything needs to be a social post. 

Urban Outfitters tapped into insights from their UO Insiders (the brand’s community of 10,000+ highly engaged Gen Z shoppers) for its free templates partnership with Canva.

Urban Outfitters found that over half (54%) of college-aged customers prefer to use wishlists and presentations to share holiday gifting ideas. Yes, milk, cookies and a PowerPoint for Santa. 

It probably doesn't hurt that we've also seen Gen Z (and Millennials) making presentations for everything from pitching their parents on summer vacations or friend nights where everyone explains what they do at work — with the help of a slide show.

So Urban Outfitters partnered with Canva to offer free holiday wishlist presentation templates + seasonal stickers.

Like I said, not everything needs to be on social. Sometimes what you need to do is listen to your community, understand their cultural norms and show up in ways that are truly helpful to them.

After all, who doesn't love a free template?!

https://lnkd.in/gy7kkPXp

Lia Haberman

Urban Outfitters template on Canva. Image text reads: Holiday Survival Guide. Plan your holiday season with UO! Photo is of a winter wonderland scene

ICYMI is turning 5! I launched the newsletter in December 2020 and have been shipping every Friday morning for 5 years 🤯 I've got a wrapped edition coming on Friday since this is the week of Recaps and Wrapped reports.

I also have some incredible insights from Rare Beauty's Director of Creative Strategy MacKenzie Kassab.

To celebrate the ICYMI anniversary, I hosted a fireside chat with MacKenzie at the Team One offices in LA (thank to Lindsay Calabrese 🍜 and friends for sharing their space with us!).

MacKenzie and I talked last April when she had just launched the Rare Beauty Substack newsletter and she had so much to share about the journey since then (including the most requested office tour involving a behind the scenes look at the company restroom). 

Like anything I enjoy, it was a combo celebration meets education opportunity — and I deeply appreciate all the friends and familiar faces who came out to join us! 

*I also turned Lindsay's office into a coffee shop — which is a popular video theme these days — and you can see that version on Instagram.

Photo credit: Team One, Brian Mcguffog

Hi, I’m Lia. CMO. External Mentor. Advisor. Educator. Here’s my story…

💡 My expertise: I’m external mentor and consultant for organizations or teams who want to accelerate employees' personal branding and professional development and/or take their social media and influencer marketing programs to the next level.

My superpower is understanding business needs at an executive level while translating that vision for internal and external stakeholders to get everyone on board and moving in the same direction.  

🕛 In the beginning: I started as an entertainment news journalist and author of Scholastic books for teen girls before shifting to social media management and audience development. 

More than telling stories, I was interested in how to share stories to reach new audiences and make a greater impact. 

Mid-career, I also shifted from the world of traditional celebrities to digital creators and influencers as they became the glue that connected online communities. 

💻 Along the way, I’ve worked in-house at media and tech brands including: 
* E! News 
* Style Network
* Yahoo
* Livestrong.com
* Fit Body App

⚡ My consulting work on global marketing, content media and personal branding strategies includes advisory and training roles with: 
* AT&T
* Riot Games
* Viral Nation
* Mavrck
* Dick Clark Productions 
And many others

🔥 What drives me: I teach social media marketing and influencer marketing at UCLA Extension and feel passionately about translating my expertise into actionable lessons for students. 

I also share my insights in a weekly marketing trends newsletter called ICYMI — trusted by 5K marketing insiders — that’s very much geared toward solo-preneurs, small teams or early-career social media managers trying to make sense of industry news and trends.

Today's newsletter is slightly different. I asked the ICYMI community for the social platforms and content formats they predict will drive results for this annual predictions piece.

Thanks to everyone who voted and/or responded. 

Marketers shared:

👉🏻 Their priority social platforms
👉🏻 The most valuable content formats
👉🏻 Where else brands are showing up in 2026
👉🏻 Their creator marketing hot takes
👉🏻 How marketers are using AI at work
👉🏻 3 key social trends for 2026

The tl;dr - 

If there’s a through line in this year’s report, it’s a quiet recalibration. Marketers are still betting big on the usual suspects (Instagram, short-form video, creator partnerships), but you’re also searching for slower, more intentional ways to connect — through newsletters, podcasts, and smaller online communities.

Beyond the obvious, a few themes stood out: LinkedIn’s glow-up as a creative, culture-driven platform, the rise of in-house content studios, and a renewed appetite for real-world connection stemming from digital burnout and a desire to make social media — and the work itself — feel human again.

Let me know what you're betting on for 2026 — and if there's anything we all missed?!

Welcome to the annual ICYMI Predictions Report — where YOU share the platforms, content formats, and trends most likely to drive impact in 2026. Insta

Open article: Your 2026 Predictions on the Social Platforms + Content Formats Driving Results by Lia Haberman • 3 min read

Your 2026 Predictions on the Social Platforms + Content Formats Driving Results

We’re in our slow social era. It’s a broad idea capturing our collective fatigue — the doomscrolling, the avalanche of AI slop, the realization that trend-jacking doesn’t hit the same when every brand is posting the same orange-glitter moment.

Plus the week's most important platform updates and social news!

⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY

👉🏻 TikTok will let you control how much AI content you see in the FYP

👉🏻 TikTok announced Bulletin Boards — its version of Broadcast Channels

👉🏻 YouTube is testing DMs, which they say has been a top feature request

👉🏻 YouTube hosted a creator-led, film-festival-style showcase for “key decision makers”

👉🏻 Instagram now allows for 20 minute Reels

👉🏻 Threads is working overtime to be a destination for podcast creators and communities

👉🏻 A former Twitter employee is relaunching Vine as Divine

👉🏻 IAB Report: U.S. creator ad spend is growing 400% faster than the rest of digital media

⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY TikTok will let you control how much AI content you see in the FYP TikTok announced Bulletin Boards — its version of Broadcast Chan

Open article: We're heading into our "Slow Social" era by Lia Haberman • 7 min read

Dropping today: the first ever YouTube Recap, a personalized highlight reel of everything you watched in 2025.

It’s like YouTube Rewind — the controversial compilation series — only this time, it’s your turn to be the star.

YouTube Recap breaks down your top interests, the channels you binged, the creator you watched the most, and even assigns you a YouTube “personality” (eg. The Creative Spirit, The Self-Improver, The Serenity Seeker). 

Your music history gets folded in too — If you use YouTube Music, your Music Recap will appear in both places.

Along with Rewind, it’s giving Spotify Wrapped energy — but instead of top artist and top song, it spotlights a broader list of creators, channels, and genres, letting viewers show off their viewing habits like a badge of honor.

“YouTube… listened?!” Marques Brownlee announced — he’s been calling for a Wrapped-like feature for years. “You could even call it ‘Rewind.’”

And like any good recap, YouTube bundles your data into a set of animated, shareable cards you can download or screenshot for social.

One thing to know: it reflects everything watched on your account. So if you share an account, expect a few wildcard surprises — and no, you can’t exclude anything. (So you won't see screenshots where my husband's interest in lock picking videos are featured.)

So, the question to ask today is who's your top creator?

I’m about to have a full-on fangirl moment… One of my absolute favorite campaigns of the year was an extended carousel celebrating the 40th anniversary of IKEA’s meatballs. I’ve referenced it so often it’s practically my Roman Empire.

So imagine my excitement that I now get to hang out with IKEA’s Global Social Media Specialist Elissa Wardrop, along with Trend Forecaster Coco Mocoe and Paul Nowak, Senior Manager of Brand & Customer Insights at Sprout Social. 

Together, we’re breaking down the strategic insights you can bring back to your team for 2026 planning.

Join us Thursday, Dec. 11, at 8am PT (10am CT) for a 45-minute deep dive into the consumer behaviors shaping the future of social media. 

You’ll walk away with:
- A clear view of the consumer patterns defining 2026
- Practical tips and tactics to translate signals into strategy
- Real-world proof from brands already putting these patterns into play

*Meatballs, sadly, not included

📍 Webinar: From Signals to Strategy: 2026 Social Behaviors That Matter with IKEA & Coco Mocoe

📆 Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 8am PT / 10am CT / 4pm GMT

🤩 Speakers: 
Coco Mocoe, Trend Forecaster
Elissa Wardrop, IKEA
Paul Nowak, Sprout Social

🎙️ Moderator: Lia Haberman

🤗 Who can attend: Anyone and everyone is welcome!

📣 Hosted by: Sprout Social, Inc.

🔗 Link - in comments! 

#SproutSocialPartner

Webinar: Decode the social behaviors that will shape 2026. Speakers:  Coco Mocoe, Trend Forecaster, Elissa Wardrop, IKEA, Paul Nowak, Sprout Social. Moderator: Lia Haberman. Thursday, December 11


We are in an era of participatory social. People don't want to sit back passively and consume content. They want to get involved. They want to co-create.

I got a look at Deloitte Digital's new Social Media and Fandom report and then hopped on a call with Head of Social, Content and Influencer Kenny Gold to break it down — and here’s where that co-creation piece becomes really important.

👉🏻 75% of Americans age 18 and older consider themselves part of a fandom. 

Cool.

👉🏻 73% of today’s fandom members say they’ve discovered a brand they like because of a fandom. 

Great.

So how can brands actually connect with their most devoted fans and tap into this new, fan-driven digital landscape?

“First and foremost, I'm bringing my listening ears,” joked Kenny, pointing to a tactic even his three-year-old can grasp. “And I’m really understanding what exists within that fandom.”

Because it’s not enough to just show up — or worse, try to take over the conversation. Fans want to be seen, heard, and included.

👉🏻 42% of fans want to be involved in product or content development.

“Listen to those fandoms, understand what makes those fandoms tick,” confirmed Kenny. “Have a little bit of humility and don’t think that just because you are a brand, you have a right to win with that fandom.”

Fans want to drive the experience, not be driven through the experience.

The magic happens when brands listen to fans and amplify what’s already there, not when they try to run the show themselves.

*link to report in comments

It's giving season and creators are becoming a real force for good. 

A new report from Tiltify shows that 61% of Gen Z say a creator’s involvement makes them more likely to donate to charity. And as Make-A-Wish CEO Leslie Motter recently shared, creator-led wishes have more than doubled in the last decade.

"When social momentum picks up (shares, comments, creators posting about us, or a hashtag taking off), we see spikes in website visits, donations, and volunteer sign-ups," Feeding America's Alison McDonald Gargano told me.

This was part of a larger conversation about what it actually looks like to run social for a nonprofit during the most important giving window of the year — and beyond. 

I asked seven leaders running social at mission-driven organizations across the U.S. how they navigate tight budgets, shifting algorithms, misinformation, burnout, and the pressure to create high-impact storytelling that resonates on platforms built for speed?

I'll include the link to the full interview featuring nonprofit social strategies from the following incredible folks in the comments:

💫 Zack Waldman, Senior Social Media Strategist, GBH (formerly WGBH)
💫 Liz Caselli-Mechael, VP of Communications, World Central Kitchen, and Marketing and Chief Communications Officer, Watch Duty
💫 Madeline W., Social Media Manager & Podcast Host, Aquarium of the Pacific
💫 Shannon Hickerson, Communication Specialist, Direct Relief
💫 Lyss Hyacinthe, Social Media Director, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
💫 Tharaha Richards, Digital Content Editor, DonorsChoose 
💫 Alison McDonald Gargano, Social Media Manager, Feeding America

This is one of my favorite newsletters ever — and even edited, it's a whopper. There were just so many gems to include. What you see published represents about half of the responses I got from everyone I spoke with. If you work for a nonprofit let me know and I'll share the entire transcript with you!

Back in June, I told you about a test TikTok was running for "Bulletin Boards" — basically a Broadcast Channel dupe... Welp, now it's official!

TikTok just officially announced Bulletin Boards, a new in-app channel for creators to communicate and share content with their fans and followers.
 
It's a one-to-many channel that sits on your profile page and so far has been tested by the likes of the Jonas brothers, People magazine and Paris Saint-Germain football club.
 
Bulletin boards will be available to creators who are at least 18 years old and have 50,000 followers.

I have mixed feelings about one-way communication channels — it goes against the one-to-one nature of social media. But I can see how it might be a welcome feature for public personalities who want to release updates to their fandom without any debate or dissent in the comments.

In particular, artists and musicians on TikTok can share their music with their followers via Bulletin board. For instance, they can share new tracks or albums, or a 'pre-save' for a future release. Fans can then save the song or album to a music streaming service, via TikTok's 'Add to Music App' feature.

Here's what I originally wrote about this: https://lnkd.in/gQSHRdjK

I'll link the new release in the comments

What's your main reason for using social media? Survey says: Keeping in touch with friends and family.

We're not talking enough about these slides in the recent 2026 Global Digital Report from Meltwater.

Across the board — ages 16 to 65, globally and in the U.S. — the main reason people say they use social is to keep in touch with friends and family.

And yet we're moving more toward pure media and interest-based recommendations and away from personal connections.  

Who you follow doesn't matter, it's about your interests.

But that fundamentally ignores who audiences and app users want to connect with online.  

So when Adam Mosseri says the number one way people share on Instagram is through DMs... yep, that tracks. And yet, the feed experience doesn't reflect this desire for personal connection. 

We spend so much time chasing the algorithm, I think it's important to look at how people actually want to use these platforms — along with the hacks or work-arounds they've found to connect with others:

- DM activity on Instagram is up 15% year over year
- the comments section on TikTok is often the best part
- YouTube is testing DMs, saying it's a top feature request

If people want connection — and millions of years of social behavior suggest they do — then the brands that feel relatable, human, and supportive of consumers relationships will outperform those chasing pure reach.

And as for the platforms: entertainment is great, but don’t forget the product promise. You can be a streaming service, but users still expect social connection.

Is this just me or how do you interpret these slides?

october 2025 chart with main reason for using social media with 50.2% choosing keeping in touch with friends and family

October 2025 chart with main reasons for using social media broken down by age demographic, across the board it's friends and family

Everyone was so quick with the Wrapped knock-off roll outs this year. Was it just sitting in drafts?? Somebody spill, please!

ICYMI has been around for 5 years. Thank you for making this possible!
So, let me set the stage for today’s newsletter:

✔️ I celebrated by reuniting with Rare Beauty’s MacKenzie Kassab on Tuesday for an update on their branded Substack, Rare Beauty Secrets, that I could share with you
✔️YouTube dropped their first ever personalized Recap report
✔️And I got to attend Spotify’s Wrapped party Thursday night, celebrating their 2025 report

Combine these things and you’ve got a wrapped and recapped theme, including some of the amazing insights MacKenzie shared about brand storytelling.

Plus all the important platform and social headlines:

⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY

👉🏻 YouTube launched its first ever YouTube Recap

👉🏻 Spotify had its biggest Wrapped launch ever

👉🏻 TikTok’s new Nearby Feed connects you with local content

👉🏻 TikTok Shop saw nearly 50% more U.S. shoppers YOY during BFCM

👉🏻 Meta is testing an AI support assistant to help you recover your account

👉🏻 Instagram orders employees back to the office 5 days a week

👉🏻 Facebook launched its first-ever Facebook Marketplace Holiday Shop

👉🏻 Starting December 10, Australia will no longer allow kids under 16 to access social media

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