After a tumultuous year, the social platforms will close 2020 on a high note in terms of ad revenues and users—and with features that closely resemble each other.

This report explores the latest developments in the social media landscape, including a look at TikTok Global, Instagram’s launch of Reels, and new election-related moves from Facebook and Twitter.

Augmented reality (AR) is becoming more widely available on social platforms. It’s mainly been a tool for entertainment and brand awareness, but the pandemic is pushing marketers to explore new use cases.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the we-used-to-share-things economy, Amazon's new online pharmacy, Twitter keeping some election tactics, the sudden surge in disappearing messages, the share of Facebook content that's political, why movie previews are called "trailers," and more.

Social network ad spending has substantially rebounded since the early days of the pandemic. In 2021, the biggest issues social media marketers will face are in the areas of brand safety, ethics, and privacy.

Many social media platforms have started making measurable gains in social commerce, but according to a June 2020 Bizrate Insights survey conducted for eMarketer, there’s still a ways to go.

Never in the past two decades of social media history have the features, ad formats, and other business initiatives of the four major social platforms looked as similar as they do today.

From the growth of TikTok and of social commerce to the challenges of brand safety and the cookieless future, 2021 will be another year of big stories for social media.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch, vice president of content studio Paul Verna, and senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Sara M. Watson discuss how social media might (actually) be regulated, social commerce, the ceiling for Disney+, Snapchat rolling out TikTok competitor "Spotlight," Spotify testing Snapchat-like Stories, Facebook paying UK publishers for news in 2021, why you should never trust a raven, and more.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

In 2021, we expect more major marketers will pull or severely restrict their ad spending on social media platforms due to brand safety or ethical concerns.

Despite the hype, most US consumers won’t make a purchase via social media in 2021. Discovery and consideration, rather than direct transactions within social apps, will remain key opportunities for brands next year.

This report explores the latest developments in the social media landscape, including the Facebook ad boycott and new monetization opportunities from the platforms, as well as our latest forecast for social network ad revenues.

Many people turned to social media in recent months to stay connected with friends and loved ones and to share information. But the pandemic didn’t increase the number of people using social networks or messaging apps.

eMarketer junior analyst Blake Droesch and principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Debra Aho Williamson, Mark Dolliver, and Jeremy Goldman discuss how social media might change as a result of the continued spread of misinformation on the platforms and general negative sentiment surrounding them. They then talk about the best way to use Stories, influencer ad disclosure, and which consumer group has increased its social media usage the most during the pandemic.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Nicole Perrin, junior forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Oscar Orozco discuss what the coronavirus pandemic has and hasn't done to print media. They then talk about racial diversity in ads, millennials in decision-making roles, and American teens' favorite social media platforms.

Well into the pandemic, consumers still say they are spending more time with social media. Activities like live streaming, video chatting and gaming are drawing some of them in.