On Thursday 5 June, we hosted The Social Shift Dinner, bringing together a powerhouse group of CEOs and founders from across the UK’s social and influencer landscape. With 20 leaders around the table, it was a rare and valuable moment for peer connection in a fast-moving industry where collaboration is often overdue.
The evening was anchored by Richard Waterworth, who served as General Manager for Europe at TikTok and previously led marketing for YouTube across EMEA. Rich shared timely insights across a wide spectrum of topics. These included the evolving impact of AI on social platforms, monetization models, regulatory pressures from the EU, and the shifting role of agencies and creators in an e-commerce-driven content economy.
Agencies and creators seeing the most success today are those who truly understand the unique dynamics of each platform, especially when it comes to native creativity and audience culture. Thriving on TikTok and YouTube isn’t just about polished content; it’s about authenticity, agility, and working in close collaboration with creators rather than taking a top-down approach.
AI was, as expected, a hot topic; seen not as a threat, but a transformation force. Whilst polished AI-generated content may feel out of place on platforms like TikTok, there’s growing opportunity for AI to enhance creative workflows behind the scenes, driving smarter scripting, editing, and personalization.
We also explored the social-commerce pivot: TikTok is leaning hard into commerce, and creators must now evolve into sellers. Agencies, in turn, must help talent navigate affiliate tech, conversion strategy, and product integration.
The energy in the room, the generosity of ideas, and the quality of exchange made it a genuinely valuable evening; one that highlighted the value of bringing this community together.
Thank you again to all who joined us and special thanks to Richard Waterworth for sharing his insights and sparking such thoughtful discussion.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to explore this topic further.
