Leveraging social platform features for deep-impact creator collaborations

News organizations in 2025 are increasingly partnering with content creators to reach audiences on social media. The strategy makes sense: nearly 4 in 10 adults under 30 get their news from influencers, according to Pew Research. By collaborating with popular creators and using platform-native engagement tools, news outlets can build community and trust in new ways.

We’ll look at how newsrooms and their creator partners can use engagement tools on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to deepen audience connection. Each of these platforms offers its own features that, when used intentionally, can help build trust. Knowing how to leverage these tools upfront also helps set expectations for how they’ll be used in collaborations. That clarity can be especially useful when outlining agreements and contracts, ensuring engagement strategies are part of the partnership conversation from the very beginning.

We’ll also share quick, practical tips on emerging influencer spaces such as LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Facebook and Substack, where communities gather in different but equally valuable ways.

Instagram

Why this platform

Instagram offers a toolkit of interactive features that newsrooms and creators can use to spark conversation and gather feedback from the community, which makes them feel involved in the story. These collaborations aim to build trust and transparency, expand reach through combined followings, and foster loyalty with recurring interactive posts that turn audiences into active participants rather than passive consumers.

Key tools/features

• Story stickers invite input: Newsrooms and creators can design quick polls, emoji sliders or Q&As around community issues using Instagram stickers. When both partners run the same prompt, the combined responses give a fuller picture of public sentiment. A joint follow-up video answering the top questions shows transparency and closes the loop.
• Instagram Live allows real-time interaction: Instagram Live allows newsrooms and creators to run a real-time Q&A or discussion. These sessions are often framed around a theme, like discussing local election issues or unpacking a trending news story. Because Instagram notifies followers when someone goes live, both the newsroom and the creator benefit from that built-in distribution boost.
• Collab Reels increase reach: Instagram’s Collab feature allows two accounts to co-author a Reel or feed post so that it appears jointly on both profiles. Many newsrooms prefer to post first and then invite the creator to Collab, since the originating account gains deeper analytics, including follower data tied to the video. On the other hand, many creators (and commercial marketers) find it more effective when the influencer leads the posting. Their audience already trusts the influencer’s voice, so the content often feels more authentic and achieves stronger reach. The newsroom can still amplify by resharing and adding its voice after. Decide on the lead poster based on your goals: newsroom-first if detailed analytics matter most, creator-first if authenticity and maximum audience trust are the priority.

Instagram collaborations work best when newsrooms treat audiences as active participants. Using interactive tools both extends reach and proves that community voices are shaping coverage.

TikTok

Why this platform

TikTok’s rise as a news source comes from its immersive, interactive style that invites participation. For newsrooms, collaborating with creators on TikTok is a chance to join conversations in real time, answer questions and correct misconceptions. This approach builds trust, expands reach to younger audiences and turns journalism into something audiences actively engage with rather than passively consume.

Key tools/features

• Q&A and video replies start dialogues: TikTok’s built-in Q&A feature lets viewers submit questions on a user’s profile, which the creator can then answer with either text or video. When partnering with a creator, newsrooms can use TikTok’s Q&A tools to directly surface community questions and build follow-up content around them. Newsrooms can also monitor the comments on a creator’s video, identify recurring themes or misconceptions and provide the journalist’s perspective in a co-produced reply.
• Duets create side-by-side storytelling: The Duet feature allows you to create a split-screen video where your content plays alongside another user’s video. Newsrooms can duet with a creator who is covering a story, effectively adding a journalist’s commentary next to the influencer’s take. This format feels native to TikTok’s participatory culture. For example, if a local creator posts a TikTok about city budget cuts, the newsroom’s account might duet that video to provide additional facts or context. The original video and the new one appear together, allowing viewers to see both perspectives.
• Stitch to add context and fact-checking: TikTok’s Stitch feature is similar to Duet but allows sequential storytelling. A newsroom might take a snippet of a trending video that might contain misinformation and immediately follow it with its own reporting, essentially placing facts right next to the content audiences are already engaging with.

On TikTok, collaborations work best when newsrooms let creators lead the conversation and then add reporting, turning audience questions into journalism that feels authentic, responsive and shareable.

YouTube

Why this platform

YouTube gives newsrooms and creator partners the chance to build lasting communities around their work. By sparking conversation in the comments, producing ongoing series and collaborating with creators who bring in fresh audiences, news organizations can deepen trust, expand accessibility and turn viewers into loyal participants in the journalism.

Key tools/features

• Pinned comments can spark discussion: Pinned comments let newsrooms and creators set the tone for audience interaction. After uploading a video, a newsroom might pin its own comment asking a question to invite viewers to share their stories. In collaborations, a creator can leave the first comment linking to a related video, sharing a personal reflection or encouraging responses. When the newsroom pins that comment, it guarantees the creator’s voice is highlighted at the top of the conversation, signaling to both audiences that the partnership is front and center.
• Design videos with interaction in mind: YouTube’s comment section is strongest when the video itself encourages participation. Newsrooms can collaborate with creators on formats like audience-sourced Q&A sessions, where the creator asks questions gathered from viewers and a journalist responds on camera. Framing creators as the “voice of the audience” while the newsroom provides context shows viewers their input shapes the coverage and makes the journalism feel more conversational.
• Use YouTube Live for real-time engagement: Going live on YouTube lets creators and newsrooms hold longer-form, interactive sessions. Viewers can ask questions in the chat, and moderators can surface key comments for the hosts to address. A newsroom might host a live explainer with a creator co-host. Live sessions combine the credibility of journalism with the creator’s trusted presence, and recordings can be saved as evergreen content afterward.

On YouTube, collaborations work best when newsrooms and creators design videos for conversation, turning viewers into active participants.

Tips for other platforms

Every audience is different, so it’s wise for newsrooms to meet them where they are. Here are some brief tips for leveraging engagement tools on other platforms, including those popular with niche and non-English-speaking communities:

• WhatsApp: WhatsApp is especially powerful in Spanish-speaking and international communities, where it often functions as a primary news source. A newsroom and creator could collaborate by running a joint broadcast list, sharing both story updates and creator-led explainers directly into people’s chats. They might also co-design a tip line: the creator invites followers to send in questions or rumors, and the newsroom responds with verified information. This kind of partnership builds trust by blending a familiar, personal channel with journalistic rigor.
• Facebook: Despite its reputation as an “older” platform, Facebook remains a hub for community conversation. Collaborations here can center around groups: a newsroom and creator can co-moderate a space on a shared topic, posting prompts, sharing reporting and guiding respectful debate.
• Substack: Many newsrooms are experimenting with publishing newsletters on Substack in attempts to deepen engagement with audiences. It can also be a space for joint authorship with a creator. For example, a creator might co-write a guest edition of the newsroom’s newsletter, blending their personal storytelling with data and analysis from reporters. Cross-promotion is built into the platform, as a creator can share the edition with their own community, while the newsroom introduces them to loyal subscribers.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is increasingly positioning itself as a publishing platform, with heavy investment in newsletters, long-form articles and social video. For newsrooms and creators, this opens up several collaboration opportunities. A creator might co-author an article with a newsroom reporter or guest-write a newsletter that the newsroom distributes to its professional audience. Social video is another area where LinkedIn is pushing hard, and newsrooms can experiment with a co-produced explainer or short interview clip to tap into LinkedIn’s algorithmic boost for native video.

Collaborations in action

Collaborations look different on every platform, but the common thread is clear: audiences respond when creator voices carry the journalism.

Local tech news site Technical.ly co-produces Instagram Reels with its creator-in-residence, TaTa Sherise, using the Instagram Collab tool. The videos often cover entrepreneurship and tech topics and are posted to both @technical_ly and @tatasherise, exposing each account to new viewers and racking up combined comments and views. Co-publishing content in this way ensures that the story reaches both the newsroom’s audience and the influencer’s community, leveraging trust from both sides.

 

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For Sherise, the key is authenticity. “When it feels natural, my audience leans in — not just scrolls past,” she said. “If it’s real and funny, they listen. Newsrooms give me the facts, I give the funny — that’s the partnership.”

Cuban American newsroom El Toque has taken its Instagram collaborations a step further for Spanish-speaking audiences. To promote its Abogados Confiables initiative — a community platform that enables newly arrived Cubans in the U.S. to evaluate and recommend legal services based on their experiences — the newsroom partnered with creators. Joh Wayne7, Chris & Omar and Billy Talento produced short, creator-led Instagram Reels that explained the project in relatable, everyday language.

“The main source of information for our community — the Cuban American community in South Florida — is content creators,” El Toque editor in chief José J. Nieves said. Its team members appeared on popular live YouTube podcasts and interviews with popular Spanish-speaking creators, including Ernesto Morales, who spoke with Nieves, and Guena Rod, who interviewed El Toque’s legal adviser, Eloy Viera. These sessions, streamed to thousands, allowed for real-time questions and in-depth discussions about immigrant rights and fraud prevention. For bilingual audiences, some interviews even included auto-dubbing in English, widening accessibility.

“We could keep believing that our media outlets are the most serious and important sources of information, but the reality, confirmed by surveys and our own experiences, is that most Cuban Americans get their news from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook,” he said. “To succeed and truly reach them, we need to forge alliances with content creators who share our vision and understand the importance of providing accurate and relevant information to their followers.”

On TikTok, collaborations often hinge on real-time responsiveness. Western water advocate @WesternWaterGirl, who often collaborates with journalism organization High Country News, does this effectively: she asks her TikTok followers for questions, then posts short answer videos to clarify complex water policy issues in the West. Newsrooms benefit from her authentic voice and trust, while audiences see their curiosity reflected in the coverage.

@westernwatergirl Replying to @Eco Erin #longhair #longhairdontcare #grwm #ootd @High Country News ♬ original sound – Western Water Girl

Pittsburgh’s Public Source collaborated with filmmaker Dean Bog on the final YouTube video in his “Neighborhoods” series, bidding farewell to Pittsburgh on both YouTube and Instagram. Bog brought his filmmaking expertise and audience, while Public Source brought journalistic storytelling. Since Public Source began these collaborations 18 months ago, its Instagram followers have doubled and engagement has increased.

The common thread across all these platforms is intentionality. The best engagement happens when news organizations use native tools in a thoughtful way.

Your newsroom doesn’t need to be everywhere at once. Especially when collaborating with creator partners, it’s often best to start with just one or two platforms where you can consistently post, engage, and learn what resonates. By focusing your efforts, experimenting with engagement tools, and responding to audience input, you’ll build stronger relationships and set a foundation for sustainable growth with creators over time. The result is a win-win-win for all involved by creating a more informed, involved public and a stronger, more responsive media ecosystem.