The company formerly known as Facebook will face its toughest challenges ever, while viral commerce will take center stage, TikTok-style short videos will evolve, and social audio will fade away.

Among US social video viewers, YouTube is the most popular place to watch live content, with 52.0% tuning in on the platform. Facebook ranks as their second app of choice, used by 42.6% for live video, while Instagram and TikTok tie for third with 33.4%.

Facebook is the largest player with its ISR product, though advertisers are also investing in commercials on Snapchat shows. For its part, Meta (formerly Facebook Inc.) is still investing in Facebook Watch with plans to substantially increase its content acquisition budget next year, per The Information.

Key developments to watch in 2022 include the evolution of in-store retail technology; hotter competition in the paid-for video marketplace; the revival of digital out-of-home ads; and ongoing issues with digital privacy and security.

The past two pandemic-driven years have accelerated digital transformation and consumer behavior. Here are our top 10 trends to watch in 2022.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss how to recreate those water cooler moments in the digital world, how much Super Bowl LV commercials are going for, watching Instagram Stories on Facebook, parents' more positive view of devices, the number of Facebook Watch viewers, the difference between frugal and cheap, what you didn't notice about that double rainbow, and more.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analysts Blake Droesch and Nina Goetzen at Insider Intelligence discuss the recent conversation around a Facebook ad boycott. They then talk about why Zynn ditched its pay-to-watch feature, Snapchat's announcements and why WhatsApp's digital payments service in Brazil was suspended so quickly.

Nell Shapiro, CEO and founder of Kibou, shares how she reimagined the diaper bag brand’s go-to market strategy by leaning into Facebook Groups, Pinterest, and virtual touchpoints to build brand awareness and reach its target demographic. Watch Industry Voices, a conversation between Nell and Marissa Coslov, vice president of business development at Insider Intelligence, in celebration of Women’s History Month.

Watch Party: Inside the Social Video Boom. Barely five years after Facebook launched Facebook Watch in a play for marketers’ digital video budgets, social media is close to becoming a video-first advertising channel. In 2021, social ad spending rose nearly 37%, to $63.07 billion.

Among US gamers, Facebook Gaming is the most popular destination for viewing live gameplay, with 42% watching esports and other gaming livestreams on the platform.

Meanwhile, Facebook has its own TV app, Facebook Watch, that is available via a range of TV partners. Instagram doesn’t have any deals to show its content on larger screens, but with Meta’s strong push into video this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if that happened. Why do social platforms want to make their videos available on larger screens? It’s simple: for the ad dollars.

Video advertising, also known as digital video advertising, includes in-stream video such as those appearing before, during, or after digital video content in a video player (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll video ads) and video overlays; includes social network in-stream video advertising on platforms like Facebook Watch and Snapchat Shows; includes outstream video ads such as native, in-feed (including video