Authenticity (35%) and track record (32%) are the top two factors US adults consider when deciding which online product reviewers to trust, according to Ipsos data from October 2025.
The IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy report shows creator marketing has become a full-fledged media channel—one projected to reach $37.1 billion in spend next year, growing 26% YoY and outpacing the broader ad market by a factor of four. Nearly half of advertisers now call creators a must-buy, yet workflows remain fragmented across budgets, discovery tools, and measurement systems. With AI accelerating both production and complexity, the report lays out the emerging mandate: treat creator marketing as its own discipline with centralized budgets, standardized vetting, unified measurement, and formal AI governance. For marketers, real performance now requires real structure.
Australia’s ban on social media accounts for under-16s, which will take effect on December 10, is the clearest signal yet that the youth web is being rebuilt. Under the new rules, platforms will be compelled to block or remove minors or face fines up to AUD 49.5 million ($32.6 million)—a world first that other governments are watching closely, per The BBC. Brands will need to future-proof their playbooks by looking at alternatives like connected TV (CTV), offline events and sponsorships, and other privacy-safe campaigns.
Reddit and mobile apps were the fastest-growing US ad channels in Q3, showing their emerging importance to advertisers. Ad spend on Reddit increased 46% YoY, per Sensor Tower’s Q3 Digital Market Index report, and mobile app ad spend grew 42%. Reddit is becoming a high ROI opportunity for early movers. Its growth suggests that highly engaged micro-communities (subreddits) are offering more precise targeting and less competition. That makes Reddit a strong testing ground for community-based and brand awareness campaigns for consumers who are actively looking to discover new content and products.
TikTok and Instagram are shifting where marketers can reliably reach and influence their audiences, though YouTube and Facebook remain Americans’ most widely used social platforms. Usage of TikTok and Instagram continues to rise—37% of US adults say they have used TikTok as of this year, up from 21% in 2021, and 50% have used Instagram, up from 40% in the same time span, per Pew Research. Brands should rebalance media mix regularly to capitalize on platform maturity and develop platform-specific content, especially for short-form services such as TikTok and Instagram Reels and long-form friendly sites like YouTube.
A federal judge handed Meta one of its biggest legal wins in years, ruling that its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions do not violate US antitrust law. The decision leaned heavily on how TikTok and YouTube now compete for the same user attention Meta once dominated—proof, the court said, that the company cannot be considered a monopoly. The ruling arrives just as Reels accelerates across Instagram and platforms converge on short-form video and AI-driven discovery. For marketers, the outcome underscores a simple reality: user attention sits across the big three video platforms, and planning must follow that distribution.
Luma AI has secured a $900 million funding round led by Humain, pushing its valuation above $4 billion and marking one of the largest investments to date in AI-generated video. As agencies, studios, and brands increasingly adopt AI for editing, narration, testing, and full video generation, Luma’s raise signals a shift: AI video is becoming the creative backbone for modern advertising, powering faster iteration, scalable personalization, and multi-format production across every screen.
Podcast hosts are the most influential creators among weekly listeners, with 56% saying hosts have the greatest impact, per a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights report. Recognizing the unique ability of podcast hosts to drive outcomes compared with other influencer types is critical—but as the podcast space becomes more saturated, brands need to seek hosts with specific attributes.
TikTok is letting users control how much AI content appears in their feeds with a slider to dial genAI content up or down depending on preference. The feed-filtering option is only as good as TikTok’s ability to detect genAI content, so the platform is also testing invisible watermarking that adds labeling only TikTok can see. Marketers should monitor how users adjust their AI content preferences and tailor creative accordingly to prioritize transparency and authenticity where AI skepticism is high. Pressure-test TikTok media plans to ensure campaigns consistently appear alongside content that reinforces trust.
Earlier this month, celebrity and influencer Shay Mitchell launched rini, a line of “clinically backed” and “scientifically proven” beauty face masks for kids. Although rini has attached itself to rising beauty trends, consumers and marketers across social platforms are criticising the way the brand is targeting an audience who might still be mastering their ABCs.
Engagement and reach are now top priorities for social marketers as brand awareness sinks to the bottom of the list. Last year, 76% of marketers named brand awareness their No. 1 priority; this year, that number plummeted to 22%, per PhotoShelter. The sharp pivot from brand-building to performance indicators suggests marketers are under growing pressure to prove ROI in fast-moving social environments, even at the expense of longer-term brand health. To balance reach and awareness, brands should build dual-track strategies, measure brand lift, and optimize for both attention and actions.
Meta added content theft protections to Facebook Reels, giving creators more control over their work. The offering is automatically available to qualifying creators in Facebook’s Content Monetization program. Users that enroll with the content protection program will get notifications when content that’s similar to or identical to theirs is posted on Facebook or Instagram. Brands should encourage partnering creators to enroll in the program to safeguard content. The offering could lower the risk of inadvertently using stolen content, making compliance easier and ensuring creators have full rights to the assets that brands invest in and amplify.
32% of US and UK consumers say AI is negatively disrupting the creator economy, up from 18% in 2023, according to July 2025 data from Billion Dollar Boy.
Key stat: 72% of US buy-side retail media advertisers say they are buying video ads offsite, second only to social media, according to a March RetailX survey commissioned by Koddi.
LinkedIn’s AI-driven people search lets users type plain-language queries like “marketing leaders with AI experience” and instantly find matches—even if those exact words don’t appear on a profile, per TechRadar. The upgrade, available to US Premium subscribers, makes LinkedIn far more context aware—and strengthens its role as a precision targeting engine at a time when its ad business keeps climbing. For marketers on LinkedIn, the implications are significant and offer improvements in precision targeting, campaign efficiency, and intent-driven discovery.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the three big questions surrounding Meta in Q3 and beyond: How will AI-generated social video affect social media? What’s the biggest takeaway regarding Meta using AI chatbot conversations to target ads? And do Meta's new smart glasses really have a future? Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Analyst Emmy Liederman, and Principal Analyst Minda Smiley. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
A Snapchat, Publicis Media, and Ipsos study revealed creator preferences for brand collaborations, outlining the path ahead for brands who increasingly rely on influencer marketing. Accounting for creator preferences is key to striking influencer partnerships that last and make a tangible impact.
Video consumption behaviors are shifting across generations, according to a Deloitte study. Over one-third (35%) of overall consumers spend more time watching video on social media than streaming platforms. For cohorts like Gen Z, that figure is even greater: 58% of their time with video is spent on social media. Advertisers must adjust their definition of “TV” to account for different preferences for digital video consumption and adapt budgets accordingly.
Bluesky’s growth is defying social media convention. COO Rose Wang told EMARKETER the platform’s momentum comes not from algorithmic reach but from conversation and community. “People are coming for the discussion and staying for the connection,” she said. Bluesky, now past 40 million users, is attracting audiences fleeing top-down platforms and gravitating toward participatory, user-led spaces. Custom feeds and decentralized moderation let culture form organically, giving advertisers a glimpse into early-stage cultural formation. For marketers, Bluesky’s appeal isn’t reach—it’s relevance. As Wang put it, “People still want to gather.” In a fragmented ecosystem, that’s a powerful foundation.
Facebook is creating a more social Marketplace experience with collaborative features aimed at making buying and selling feel more interactive. The platform is rolling out “collections” that let users create groups of Marketplace listings and invite friends to browse together. It’s also adding reactions and comments directly on listings. Brands should explore ad placements within the shopping platform to meet high-intent, young customers who are already in a product discovery mindset.