What to know about the latest must-have data: Viewership insights
As social platforms continue to prioritize algorithmic distribution, viewership insights have become an increasingly important signal for understanding who a creator actually reaches. Let’s break down what they are, why they’re becoming essential for creator discovery and selection, and how you can leverage them when they matter most.
So, what is viewership data?
Viewership insights show demographic information—like location, age, and gender—for the actual viewers of a creator’s content. These insights complement follower audience data by offering a verified understanding of who content is reaching–followers and beyond.
Why should you care?
Follower audience insights remain a valuable signal, but they don’t always reflect how content is distributed today. With algorithm-driven feeds, creators often reach far beyond their followers.
Viewership data adds an important layer of context, helping you better understand real audience reach and make more informed decisions when evaluating creators.
This is exactly why platforms like YouTube and Snapchat are leaning into viewership data. As distribution becomes less follower-dependent, platforms are increasingly recognizing the need to provide brands and creators with clearer, more accurate signals of reach. First-party viewership insights are reported from the platforms themselves, which makes them reliable and uniquely valuable.
When does viewership data matter most?
Viewership insights are especially powerful during creator discovery and vetting. While this data has already been available in CreatorIQ for authenticated creators in Community, thanks to our recent integrations, it can now be leveraged directly in Discovery—where creator searching and shortlisting actually happen—without authentication.
That means you can assess audience alignment earlier in the process, start stronger, and move forward with more confidence
Why do viewer insights on Snapchat and YouTube matter right now?
According to our 2025–2026 State of Creator Marketing Report, YouTube is the #1 platform for enterprise agencies, while Snapchat usage among agencies is up 10% year over year. With YouTube continuing to dominate attention and Snapchat gaining momentum, being more strategic about audience reach on these platforms is increasingly important.
How can you access this data?
You can view first-party viewer insights directly in Discovery, Lists, and Creator Profiles in CreatorIQ—no authentication required.
These insights are available for Snapchat and YouTube creators who are part of the relevant social platform programs and have opted in to share their data.
We always work closely with our social platform partners to stay on top of new APIs and metrics and to bring the most valuable data straight into CreatorIQ. Keep an eye on this space—we have more to come!