The news: Two-thirds (65%) of marketing and advertising decision-makers worldwide worry about the suitability of their ad placements on social platforms, per DoubleVerify’s 2025 Global Insights report.

Nearly half (46%) say their top challenge in social marketing is simply reaching target audiences, and 32% cite brand suitability and content alignment.

Marketers can no longer assume reach, even on mature, scaled platforms. Instead of relying on platform algorithms for broad exposure, brands need to build intentional, demonstrable pathways to users and verify where and how their messages appear—requiring a more hands-on approach to reaching users in the right environments.

Zooming out: Consumers’ use of a variety of social platforms is splintering audiences. This is compounded by emerging algorithm control features on platforms.

• YouTube is testing a feed customization tool that lets users refine their content recommendations with conversational prompts.
• Pinterest and TikTok are boosting users’ ability to refine their feeds by blocking out or reducing genAI content.

Broad reach strategies will become less reliable and effective as algorithms prioritize niche interests, micro-behaviors, and individual preferences. That shift is already making precision tools for audience targeting and contextual verification valuable—51% of marketers say these are the most important third-party tools for effective media planning and buying.

Brand concerns: Audience fragmentation, more personalized feeds, and greater user control over algorithms raise both brand safety risks and campaign performance challenges. As platforms divide into smaller, more individualized content pathways, advertisers may lose control over where their messages appear and the neutrality of ad environments.

To maintain ROI, marketers need tighter control over content adjacency and platform quality.

• 64% of consumers worldwide say the genre of nearby content influences their perception of ads.
• 16% of consumers think social platforms aren’t suitable for brand advertising.

Platforms listen: Social sites are starting to respond to brand concerns.

• Reddit offers a DoubleVerify-supported ad tool that places ads in contextually appropriate environments.
• Meta recently launched tools to give advertisers context on where ads appear and suitability scores for adjacent content.

What brands should do: Focus on specific consumer segments—such as hobby-based micro-communities or high-intent shoppers—and use AI to quickly adapt content for each group. Deploy iterative creative variations that meet users where their personalized feeds are trending rather than building net new campaigns for every audience.

To address brand safety, brands should use contextual targeting tools to place ads in suitable environments and track how changing algorithm controls on social media platforms affect visibility.