Gains in the country (it more than doubled its user base there last year) helped Snapchat achieve a 20.9% increase in worldwide users in 2021. User increases will be much slower in the rest of the world, generally in the mid-single-digit percentages in 2022. The next fastest growing region will be Central and Eastern Europe, up 6.6% this year.

Like many marketers, the social companies haven’t always taken creators seriously. That’s now changed. “Except for YouTube and maybe Instagram, the social platforms have long had this mindset that creators are no different from any other user,” said Eric Dahan, co-founder and CEO of influencer marketing company Open Influence.

Social network ad spending also spiked in 2021, though not as sharply as search—mostly because social platforms held their own in 2020, while search suffered as many consumers were conducting online searches that weren’t easily monetizable.

These manufacturers are trying to tap into a market for AR and VR devices that the International Data Corporation (IDC) expects will have a compound annual growth rate of 67.9% between 2021 and 2025. Why It Matters. The metaverse is still amorphous, with different companies holding different visions.

On today's episode, we discuss the opportunities and challenges within social advertising and how automation will play its part. We then talk about what to expect from micro- and nano-influencers in 2022 and what the most interesting social media video statistics are. Tune in to the discussion with global director of marketing at Smartly.io Riikka Söderlund and eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Debra Aho Williamson.

This quarter, we are adding TikTok to our social media update series, which analyzes key developments for marketers from the major social platforms.

Lower receptivity to advertising on social could indicate a deficiency of trust. According to a January 2021 YouGov survey that asked which advertising types are deemed trustworthy, US adults were least likely to cite social media advertising. Just 19% said they find ads on social media either very or somewhat trustworthy. Consumers in other global markets had higher levels of trust.

Social commerce has also taken off on social platforms, providing new opportunities for brands and retailers to sell products either directly or indirectly. This year, the number of annual social buyers ages 14 and older in the US will grow by 14.2%, to 90.2 million, according to our estimates. That comes out to 44.0% of the country’s social network users.

AR shipments will jump from 1 million in 2021 to 21 million in 2025, and VR shipments from 8 million to 29 million, according to the International Data Corporation.

Find out how to produce always-on marketing that is consistently authentic, relevant, and able to keep up with today’s fast pace and heightened consumer expectations

The concept will be based out of existing kitchens and use restaurant employees, but TikTok Kitchens will be responsible for recipes sourced from the social platform as well as food packaging. Menus are to be rotated quarterly, though it remains to be seen if that’s fast enough to take advantage of viral food trends.

Our most-read story of the year: Twitter leaped ahead in social media’s crypto race (9/28). Before the metaverse became a household term, Twitter was shaking up how content creators get paid—and fueling the convergence of social media and blockchain technology. The watershed moment? Tipping fellow tweeters with Bitcoin. Direct indexing prompts Vanguard’s first-ever acquisition (7/15).